History major Becky Grossman '08, along with Pitzer College junior Adam Rosenzweig and other members of the national board of Hamagshimim, will lead a four-day conference Oct. 26-29 in Newport Beach, designed to provide an in-depth examination of parts of modern Israel's character. About 100 students from across North America are expected to attend the event, which will feature remarks from keynote speaker Elliot Chodoff, an Israeli officer in the Israeli Defense Forces and founder of the think-tank Middle East on Target. Chodoff also is scheduled to discuss Israel's War with Lebanon at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29 on the Pomona College campus.
Grossman, who serves as national president of Hamagshimima Zionist youth movement sponsored by Hadassahsays the multi-day, educational seminar is a chance for students to "get a look at Israel from the inside," while enjoying social activities with fellow members.
During her freshman year at CMC, Grossman, who has been on the national board of Hamagshimim for two years, founded The Claremont Hamagshimim chapter with Ilana Eydus '07 and Scripps College senior Eli Winkelman. Last year, the Claremont chapter participated in the national Zionist T-shirt campaign to raise more than $10,000 for Hadassah Hospital in Israel. The chapter also incorporated the Hamagshimim Israel Fellowship into its programming last year, with Grossman and Natasha Bogopolskaya'08 serving as coordinators. The Fellowship is a peer-led educational program in which selected 5C students spend a semester attending sessions to learn more about Israeli politics and culture. Current leaders are Mike Seidan'08 and Pitzer College junior Dania Gottschalk.
Grossman says her interests in modern European and Middle Eastern history come partially from her early involvement with Young Judaea, a Zionist youth movement. After spending the summer before her senior year of high school in Israel, "I became more committed to Israel activism and decided to get more involved in college," she says.
"I think the most pressing issue for Israel is establishing peace in the region while maintaining a Jewish identity," Grossman says. "As a Jewish college student in America, I feel a strong connection to Israel and want to do what I can to support it helping both its reputation in the rest of the world, as well as its internal problems. Many of the campaigns undertaken by Hamagshimim involve coexistence and peace, and I think that in no way compromises the idea of Zionism. I think supporting coexistence will make Israel a better state and I am committed to helping that happen."
Grossman says being involved at a national level allows her to meet students with goals similar to her own. And as a leader in the movement, "It has challenged me to try to help these students get, and stay, involved," she says.