MERCAZ USA Newsletter — Spring 2009

Youths Reflect On Israel's Past and Future

MERCAZ USA -- Matan Goodblatt, at the front of the camel, in the Negev The sixtieth anniversary of the State of Israel, which occurred last year, gave Jews throughout the world the opportunity to ponder the meaning of the Jewish State and evaluate where it has come from and where it is going. As with the old joke about the Jews and the number of synagogues that they needed, the answers generated were probably as many as the number of Jews that are currently living, approximately 13 million.

While a far smaller number than that participated in the biennial MERCAZ USA/Canada-Women's League essay contest, the nearly two-dozen teenagers who took part in this competition had unique perspectives about Israel at this milestone event.

Teenagers from all over North America, competing for scholarships being provided by MERCAZ USA, MERCAZ-Canada and Women's League for Conservative Judaism, weighed in on Israel's key accomplishments and challenges. And when the judging was completed, three American boys — Matan Goodblatt from Portland, OR, Jacob Kotz from Tucson, AZ and Ron Shapiro from suburban Philadelphia, PA — were among the top prizewinners.

For Jacob Kotz, a high school junior whose family belongs to Congregation Anshei Israel, Israel's primary accomplishment is her sheer survival: "Israel is the ultimate success story. She arose from the midst of struggle and heavy resistance to become advanced culturally and technologically, to become strong militarily and emotionally, and to become a major contributor to the world in immeasurable ways."

Yet, as Kotz, one of two third-prize winners noted, "Israel's greatest challenge as she heads into the future is the continued struggle for survival."

Matan Goodblatt, another 11th grader from Neveh Shalom, also addressed the question of survival but placed primary emphasis on a cultural achievement, the revival of the Hebrew language: "The most extraordinary thing is that Israel's greatest accomplishment was not our military power or the technology we've developed but the language we've revived.

At the same time, Goodblatt, one of two first-prize winners who is currently attending the RAMAH "TRY" [Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim] high school semester program, the most important challenge facing Israel is "saving its faltering educational system. . . [which] threatens the future of Israel. . . Israel relies on a scientific-based education so that its economy can thrive. . . [Additionally] without a [successful] education system, families are becoming more tentative about making aliya."

Ron Shapiro, a senior from Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, PA, focused on a spiritual accomplishment even more difficult to secure, the achievement of unity: "It is clear that when united, the state of Israel cannot be defeated."

However, as Shapiro, also a first prize winner who is planning to attend the USY Nativ Year Course this coming fall, noted, "As Israel heads into the next 60 years, its biggest challenge will be to sustain unity."

Two Canadian girls — Danielle Klein from Ottawa and Sara Levine from Toronto — rounded out the list of winners.

The biennial essay contest has been a regular feature for more than a dozen years, with winners being announced at the biennial Women's League convention. All together, the three sponsoring organizations — MERCAZ USA, MERCAZ-Canada and Women's League — provide $2500 in prizes. The next essay contest is scheduled for Fall 2010.

As Dr. Stephen Wolnek, MERCAZ USA President remarked as he congratulated the winners: "Sixty years from now, may the Jewish People be privileged to celebrate Israel's 120th anniversary, an event that will be achieved, as our essay winners posit, through Israel's continued struggle for survival, the strengthening of the country's educational system and the maintenance of unity."

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