2008 Woodie Awards
A Call to Action
Avi Posnick
Issue date: 8/31/05 Section: Opinion
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The past year at Yeshiva University was great. Yeshiva students adopted many issues relating to the Jewish community and tried to make a difference. They took on a range of issues, including the Iranian nuclear program, staging a rally outside the Iranian Embassy in midtown, raising over $70,000 for the poor in Israel, as well as bringing about awareness of the perpetration of genocide in Sudan, organizing a non-profit organization which is now part of a national effort.
There is, however, still much more that must be done. For example, there has been a rise in anti-Semitism, not just in France, Great Britain or the Arab World, but right here in the United States. In 2004, there were over 1,821 anti-Semitic incidents in this country. Over 35,000, or 1%, of Americans hold "hardcore" anti-Semitic beliefs. Anti-Semitism is not just on the college campuses but in our societies as well. We have to understand that anti-Semitism is a live doctrine, not an historical anachronism. I ask, why are Yeshiva students not taking a stance and trying to do something?
Many of us have friends or know people on other college campuses. Some may experience anti-Semitism while others may not. Either way, we will be working to establish a network among the colleges in New York. We will work with like-minded students in the area to affect and cause change on issues about which we feel strongly.
The Hispanic community in this country is growing. Demographic reports show that they will be a very influential voting block in this country in the next ten years. Yeshiva students should reach out to foster relations with this influential block. Today's choices and policies shape what the future will bring. We, as future leaders, need to take a strong stand to help influence what the future will look like. Why wait to see how the problems evolve with time? Why should we not begin dealing with them now?
I will form, along with the help of many dedicated students here and at Stern College, a new club on campus to handle these issues and to devise a plan of action to deal with them. This new club, which will be called the Yeshiva University Public Action Committee (YUPAC), will be formed with the intent of being the public action club of Yeshiva, taking on issues related to the Jewish community, not limited to Israel. We will, of course, be working with the Israel Club on certain issues, since Israel is always of greatest concern to the Jewish community. This new club's purpose is to take on those issues for which there are no clubs established. One of the original programs that YUPAC hopes to create is the Proud to be Jewish Campaign. Many of our students will go on to become business and maybe even political leaders. Through this program, students will hear from Jewish congressmen, senators, mayors, governors, and business leaders about the importance of their jobs, and, as Jews, the difficulties and challenges they face. They will explain why its important to strive to be involved in public life. Yeshiva students will have the opportunity to interview these people and not only learn about their lives, but also to establish valuable relationships with various public figures.
YUPAC will have the support of both the Israel Club and the Political Science Society. I am urging everyone to join all, if not one, of these clubs. As I mentioned, we have the potential to change the world. Someone once said, "Never doubt that a few dedicated and hardworking individuals can change the world...because it is the only thing that ever has." If a small group of people can have such an effect, imagine what we as an entire university can accomplish by working together.
Avi Posnick, co-president of the YUPAC, is a Yeshiva College junior majoring in Political Sciene.