“I had been told how great the conference is, but I had no idea what I was in for,” Jennie Chudnow told me as we returned from Washington, D.C., last month.
On March 21, we traveled to Washington as part of a group of 14 young Jewish Milwaukeeans and two Israelis from Israel’s Sovev Kinneret region, which is connected to Milwaukee through Partnership 2000.
We attended the United Jewish Communities Washington 14 Conference. Held every two years, the conference brings together young Jews from around the country for three days of seminars, panel discussions and debates, culminating with a trip to Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress on issues important to local Jewish communities and Israel.
“The enormous sense of community really impacted me. At the opening plenary, when I just got a sense of the magnitude of the conference — being in a room with 1600 young Jews from around the country and Israel — I felt a rush,” Chudnow said.
Gary Lippow agreed. “It’s always easy to talk about us each being a part of a global community, but it was much more meaningful to experience that community first-hand. I’ve now come back to Milwaukee much more aware of how I am connected to this community, and I’ve become much more inspired to find ways to participate in, and to give back to, that community.”
“I just wasn’t expecting the sheer size and scope of the conference — how many participants there would be, how many quality speakers there would be, and on such a broad range of topics, how many different activities there would be,” Lippow added.
The theme for this year’s conference was “Make a Difference.” Program sessions covered the wide range of issues Jews face today. There were seminars on domestic and international issues, Israel and the Middle East, Jewish culture, spirituality, community action and politics.
Conference sessions featured more than 105 speakers, including scholars, authors, professors, politicians, and rabbis. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.); Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.); and Raanan Gissin, aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, were among the presenters.
Moreover, the conference coincided with hot current events, explained Phillip Katz. “As if there weren’t enough current events to make the conference important, current events literally unfolded before our eyes with the assassination [of Sheik Ahmed Yassin] and the world leaders, newsmakers, and opinion makers were all before us and were compelled to comment,” he said.
Making an impact
A major component of the conference was preparing participants to lobby their respective representatives on Capitol Hill. After meetings, in which we were lectured on the pertinent issues, the Milwaukee contingent met with Sen. Herb Kohl, Sen. Russ Feingold, and aides to Congressmen Jerry Kleczka and F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
We discussed their positions on Iran’s nuclear program, last year’s temporary increase in federal contributions to Medicaid, and increased federal support for programs that fund affordable housing for the sick and elderly.
For many, this was the pinnacle of the trip. As first time attendee Dan Schnoll explained: “After I left [Sensenbrenner & Kohl’s offices], I said to myself, ‘What a great country we live in…. I truly feel we made an impact in the legislative process. I have never felt this strongly about the process,” he said.
I am confident that the galvanizing effect the conference had on the Milwaukee contingent will benefit the Milwaukee Jewish community at large. As Jodi Polacheck said, “I will be more involved with issues concerning Milwaukee. I intend on making this a better place for everyone to live.”
Thanks to the executive committee of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, who made the decision to subsidize registration costs for first-time participants, and the effort of federation staff and lay leaders, this year’s delegation was our biggest ever.
I urge all young Jews to consider attending Washington 15, set for 2006. As attendees this year can attest, the conference charges participants with knowledge and passion to return to our communities and make a difference.
Aaron Bernstein, a member of the 2004 planning committee for the Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society (a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation), is involved with the federation’s Young Leadership Division.
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