AUJS building leaders for life
CELEBRATING Chanukah at the White House and meeting with high-profile Israel advocate Alan Dershowitz were just some of highlights of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students’ (AUJS) recent Leadership Development Program (LDP).
CELEBRATING Chanukah at the White House and meeting with high-profile Israel advocate Alan Dershowitz were just some of highlights of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students’ (AUJS) recent Leadership Development Program (LDP).
The five-week program saw 10 AUJS executives travel to the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel and engage with speakers, lobbyists, academics, politicians, diplomats and leaders from all over the Jewish world.
Former AUJS national chairperson Daniel Nash said the program was an “investment in ensuring capable and committed leadership for Australian Jewry tomorrow”.
“For decades, AUJS LDP has inspired committed Jewish young adults to take up leadership roles in the Australian Jewish community,” he said. “Our aim is to develop young Jewish leaders who reflect deeply and critically on how to continue building our community and its future.”
University of Sydney AUJS president Amie Liebowitz said a personal highlight of the program was meeting US diplomat Elliott Abrams from the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Before LDP I had used their journals, studied his whereabouts and his approach to geopolitical theory, and to meet him in [Washington] DC was everything and more,” she said.
“Another [highlight] would be experiencing and understanding what life is like for other Jewish students around the world.”
During the program, participants also met American Jewish Committee executive director David Harris, members of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Israel’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Haim Waxman, Israel’s first female Brigadier General Amira Dotan and Druze MK Ayoub Kara.
They also visited United Israel Appeal and WIZO community projects in Israel.
AUJS Victoria president Stephen Machet described the program as “the journey of a lifetime”.
“We met with some of the most inspiring leaders – including in two special briefings with Alan Dershowitz in New York and David Harris in Washington, DC,” he said.
“The ability to compare and contrast different political, cultural, social and policy views was the defining element of my LDP experience.”
Past LDP participants include Zionist Federation of Australia president Philip Chester and executive director Ginette Searle, and Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation director Mark Baker.
GARETH NARUNSKY
AUJS LDP participants enjoy Jerusalem.
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