Learning more than just about government

Hillel Friedman, a senior at Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) High School, was one of the two presidents in charge of organizing the 23rd annual Yeshiva League Model Congress on March 14 at the Young Israel of Woodmere and despite his moments of stress and doubt, more than 300 students from yeshivas across New York and New Jersey participated.

Friedman, along with fellow HAFTR student Gabrielle Lovett, was responsible for booking the location, obtaining a keynote speaker and inviting the yeshivas, among other tasks.

“There are moments where we are under

a lot of stress to ensure that the event

came together successfully,” he said. “Despite these moments of doubt, we were able to pull it together with a lot of hard work and persistence.”

Model Congress is a simulation of a Congressional conference where students are placed in various Congressional committees and experience American government through role playing. Students prepared and debated bills pertaining to important issues such as armed services, education and labor as well as environment and public works. HAFTR students were the chairpersons of each committee while students from the various yeshivas were involved in the debates.

Dr. Sharon Goldman, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s northeast regional political director, spoke to students at the event.

Friedman met Goldman about a year ago when she spoke at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence. “After hearing her background, I thought she would be ideal for our Model Congress,” he said. “She represented a combination of political and Jewish activism that we seek to promote at our Model Congress event. I knew she would be able to connect with the students and she did. Students were truly wowed by her speech at Model Congress and she inspired a great day of passionate debate at our congress.”

Andi Koppelman, a physiology teacher and assistant director of student life at HAFTR, was the faculty advisor for Model Congress. “It allows the students to debate relevant topics that affect their daily lives,” she said of the event. “I hope students came away with more knowledge about the inner workings of our government and how laws come into effect.”

Next year, Friedman will spend a year in Israel and plans to attend Princeton University to major in molecular biology, while ultimately pursuing a career in medicine and science research. “I absolutely loved my experience with running a major event,” he said. “Running Model Congress has provided

me with an incredible skill set and my ability to organize and plan for a large scale event was strengthened immensely. I also appreciate the political process more now that I have seen what it takes to craft and ultimately pass a bill.”