Home
Scheck Hillel Seniors Learn and Lobby
Scheck Hillel Community School’s Class of 2022 Seniors engaged in an action-packed day of local South Florida lobbying, with a visit to the Israeli Consulate and meetings with AIPAC representatives and staff from the offices of Congressman Ted Deutch and Senator Rick Scott.
Upper School Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Uri Pilichowski led the trip as part of Scheck Hillel’s advocacy curriculum, which prepares students to interact effectively with policy makers, opinion leaders and others on behalf of Israel.
The first stop was the Israeli Consulate in Miami, where students heard from the Deputy Consul General about the benefits of the U.S.-Israel relationship from the Israeli perspective. At Young Israel of Hollywood, students learned from Joshua Donner about AIPAC’s role in Israel advocacy and how teens can get involved.
Later, congressional representatives explained why the lawmakers support a strong US-Israel relationship and took some challenging questions from the teen participants. Participants lobbied for even stronger support of the US-Israel relationship from their already supportive representatives.
To end the day, students watched and participated in a debate between famed Israel activist Joe Zevuloni, where Rabbi Pilichowski played the role of anti-Israel activist and Mr. Zevuloni played himself. In Zevuloni’s confident answers the students saw a model of activism and how they should act when confronted by anti-Israel rhetoric.
Senior Max Wagenberg reflected, “This experience allowed us to put into practice what we have learned in our years at Scheck Hillel, especially applying our knowledge from Rabbi Pilichowski’s Capstone class."
