In the interest of full disclosure, this reporter was an attendee of the Religious Action Center trip.
At the beginning of March, over 400 Jewish high schoolers from all over the country took a stand to make their voices heard in the nation’s capital, lobbying for a range of pressing issues — reproductive rights, the Israel and Gaza war, LGBTQIA+ rights, gun violence prevention, climate change, immigrant justice and antisemitism.
Over the course of the four-day program, starting Feb. 28 and ending March 3, attendees reflected on prevalent issues that affect them and their communities. The Religious Action Center and L’taken Social Justice Seminars supplied students with all needed materials to write arguments to present to their state’s elected officials, contradicting or supporting current bills and laws. For example, attendees were given lobbying topics to choose from, sentence structure suggestions, examples of speeches from past years and Jewish texts to use as evidence.
Attendees learned to support their speeches with compelling evidence, integrating Jewish values from both ancient and modern contexts that display students’ religious beliefs and why Reform Judaism may disagree or agree with current legislature. While brainstorming, attendees were given examples of issues to practice lobbying; for example, the debate over equal pay.
The RAC aims to give teenagers a chance to advocate for themselves in an environment that could effectively put proposals into action. Rabbi Max Antman of Temple Sholom in Chicago shared his hope for younger generations and the significant role they will play in shaping the political landscape.
“I think now more than ever,” Antman said, “our democracy is reliant upon young voices to speak truth to power and bring about issues that are most prevalent in their lives, both locally and nationally.”
Speeches ended with personal anecdotes, supplying the presentation not only with factual information, but also heartfelt and persuasive stories, Antman said. After lobbying simulations, attendee Madeline Meyer of Temple Sholom in Chicago shared her support of teen advocacy.
“I think that, because we’re the next generation, we have to fight for what we want to see in our country,” Meyer said.
A Jewish concept highlighted by the RAC is “Tikkun Olam,” or “repair the world,” which emphasizes the responsibility of people to improve and repair the world. The RAC translates this concept by taking political action. In discussing the significance of political involvement and the role of youth in our government, Rabbi Lisa Berney, of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, emphasized the need for teens to understand the political system and how they can make meaningful contributions to social change.
“I think it is important to get to know your elected officials and to understand how the ‘system’ works so that you are able to advocate for and represent not only your Jewish values, but also your values as a constituent,” Berney said. “When advocating to elected officials, teens learned to stand their ground, even if they only have one small contribution to a bigger movement. Even though you can’t vote right now as teens, you still have interests that the elected leaders need to hear and know about.”
In addition to lobbying and learning, students visited museums such as the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Outings such as museum visits and free time in shopping areas like Georgetown gave students time to decompress, have fun and further bond with their congregations. Meyer appreciated having free time to explore the city at the end of the day.
“I liked walking around Georgetown with my friends,” Meyer said. “It was nice after services and sitting through seminars.”
The trip, overall, served as a call to action for teens across the U.S., allowing typically unheard kids to speak up for who they are and what they believe in.
“[The goal was] to make sure their members of Congress know that Jewish teens and teens in general are paying attention” Antman said. “[We] want to make sure that policies are passed that represent their values,” Antman said.
Berney offered advice for younger generations who are seeking to make noticeable changes to their communities.
“Become informed not just so you know things but so you can also know the questions to ask,” Berney said. “Think about what’s at stake when talking about immigration or reproductive rights or climate change, and how do you partner with other teens to represent a larger community so elected officials can listen and pay attention to what matters to you.”
