Gaining insights into political issues

Panim el Panim (Jewish Institute for Leadership and Values) is a program that took place in Washington, D.C. from Dec. 7-9. Students from many schools, including the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High School, met and discussed political issues, such as health care and gun control. HAFTR students were accompanied by Social Studies Chairman Jason Gelman. 
Students met with politicians with opposing opinions, and had an opportunity to debate these issues and also bring in specific concepts from the Torah to help support their arguments.  When the topic of gun control was being discussed, students talked about how in the Torah addresses self-defense. On the last day of the program, the students visited Capitol Hill. There, they met with Congressional leaders and advocated for policies that they wanted the leaders to endorse.
Students also participated in a service project that focused on the homeless people in the nation’s capital. One junior who attended the program, Nicole van Amerongen, said, “Going on Panim el Panim, I did not really know we would be learning. But from this program I gained an in-depth knowledge about political issues and I learned how complicated these issues really are.  I also learned how amazing it is that the Torah actually helps us with these daily issues even though it was written a very long time ago. It felt great to be able to state my opinion and feel that I was able to make a difference.” 
Through this engaging and stimulating program, students were able to learn about politics and the legislative process, meet Jews with different backgrounds, and form new relationships with people who they normally would have never met.
HAFTR participants were Leah Ginsberg, Ryan Gluck, Charlie Goldschmiedt, Ayelet Rosenbloom, Allison Scharf, Emily Shafran, Nicole van Amerongen, Judah Weinerman and Hannah Zanger. A thank you to Mr. Gelman for providing us with this enriching opportunity.