Enjoying the Panim el Panim trip

The Panim el Panim seminar, held in Washington, D.C. from Sunday, Nov. 17 through Tuesday, Nov. 19, was one of the best experiences of my life. Nineteen juniors from HAFTR High School had the opportunity to experience an outstanding event that introduced us to the world of politics. Yeshiva high schools from New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, and Michigan were among the participants. We all got acquainted with each other, debated, and spoke about important issues relating to current events in the nation’s capital.

Each day, different speakers came to discuss important matters such as conflict minerals in the Congo, America’s relationship with their most trusted ally, Israel, homelessness, lobbying, and the Affordable Care Act, which is popularly called Obamacare. All of the students got involved and passionately expressed their views.

On Sunday night, chesed (kindness) was the word to be heard. Two people who experienced homelessness described their painful journeys. I was moved by their words and was stunned by the high rate of homelessness, not only in the country’s capital, but also in our entire country. From there, we took action. We divided into groups to search out the homeless on the D.C. streets to distribute needed items.

What’s a trip to Washington D.C. without a walking tour of the monuments! On Monday night, we ventured out and visited the Washington Monument, and Lincoln, World War II, Vietnam War, Korean War and the Martin Luther King memorials. To top it off, we took in a breathtaking view of the Capitol.

During the seminar, it was the Panim staff’s main objective to prepare the delegations for our lobbying visits. After learning about the important issues and taking part in a Congressional simulation, the entire group was prepared to pose questions and lobby with their respective representative. The highlight of my trip was visiting Representative Carolyn McCarthy’s office. Her legislative assistant made us feel important and responded to all our inquiries and matters.

Many thanks to our wonderful Advanced Placement political science teacher, Jason Gelman, and Social Studies teacher Melony Mindicino for organizing an amazing and memorable trip. This is definitely one experience we will never forget!