To see photos from this event, click here.

We were given an assignment during the open plenary session by Erica Brown, Scholar-in-Residence from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She asked the crowd of nearly 1100 young Jewish leaders from all over the country to think about the following question during our three day conference, “Why Be Jewish?” and how can we, as young Jewish leaders, make our time and effort matter. The following three days provided many opportunities to understand the significance of being Jewish and all the ways we can affect social, political, global and environmental change.

Our East Bay delegation of 10 people spent the three days attending lectures, workshops, debates, and heard from a wide array of keynote speakers like former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, NBC White House Correspondent David Gregory, Ari Fleischer the former press secretary for President Bush, Jonathan Greenblatt the co-founder of Ethos Water, and Ari Sandal who won an Oscar for his short film called West Bank Story. Each speaker had their own story of ‘Making it Matter’ and inspired each of us in different yet profound ways.

The purpose of this conference was to make our time matter in ways to turn our passion into action through philanthropy, advocacy and social action. Our final day was an organized visit to Capitol Hill to advocate on four pressing issues in the Jewish community: Urge Continued Support for Medicaid, Pass the Expanding the Promise for Individuals with Autism Act, Thank Members for their support – past, present and future – for a strong US – Israel relationship, and Curtail Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Proliferation. I have never felt a part of something that was so powerful and so important as our trip to Capitol Hill. Imagine 1100 young Jewish people meeting with their local representatives, both house and senate members, discussing issues important not only to the Jewish community but the world at large. It was amazing seeing bus load after bus load of conference participants stepping out on the steps of Capitol Hill; having a strong, unified voice and showing just how much we as Jews in America care about the world around us.

There were many times during the conference I thought about “Why Be Jewish?”. Does it mean having a sense of responsibility for a better world–Tikkun Olam, or is it having a sense of purpose or teaching others or ensuring a future for Israel? I think we all may have different answers for that question, but after the Washington 15 conference, I believe that we all have a greater sense of determination and a better understanding of how powerful and influential our voice, action, and time can be –not only in our local Jewish community, but the larger world around us. Imagine what our world would look like if Jews had this kind of access 60 years ago. We are fortunate to live at this moment in time as we are able to impact the world in profound ways.

Those three simple words–“Why Be Jewish?”–could provide a lifetime of answers, and today is only the beginning. It was an honor to represent the East Bay Jewish community as President of YLD and thr ough the support of the East Bay Jewish Community Federation, I was able to attend. Thank you for such an amazing opportunity.

Michele Levine
YLD President