Israel

Student Stories

Deepening Relationships and Connections at Israel Summit 2025

Author

Julia Nikkhoo

Date

March 24, 2025

Earlier this month, I traveled from New Hampshire to Chicago for the Hillel International Israel Summit. The information and lessons I learned energized and inspired me, and so did the connections I made and the community I felt throughout the summit.

The first plenary, where all the students, Jewish Agency Israel Fellows, stakeholders, and young alumni gathered in a massive ballroom to hear various speakers, was one of the most powerful moments of the summit. After sharing a Dartmouth Hillel hello with fellow Dartmouth student Oren Poleshuck-Kinel and our Israel Fellow Maya, Oren and I sat in the audience and cheered for Maya as she introduced Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh, the first Druze-Israeli woman to serve in the Knesset. Maya is the first Druze Jewish Agency Israel Fellow, and the connection between the two women made the moment extra powerful.

Mreeh’s talk was electrifying, and I learned so much about complex identities, representation, and the power of resilience. Mreeh’s life story also is so inspiring. In addition to breaking barriers as the first female Druze member of Israel’s legislature, she was the first Druze woman to anchor a Hebrew-language news program on Israeli television. I was incredibly proud to see Maya standing up there, representing our Dartmouth community. 

The sense of shared celebration and support reminded me of the importance of community and gave me a renewed sense of vigor for tackling the challenges that I face on campus and in my own life. After congratulating Maya on her amazing moment, I attended a relational advocacy workshop. At Dartmouth, our Hillel and Aquinas House (the Catholic student center) have a great relationship, where we come together for everything from apple picking for Rosh Hashanah to canoeing in the Connecticut River. Hillel International Israel Action and Addressing Antisemitism Senior Manager Maddi Jackson talked to us about how to deepen those types of bonds, and her advice really resonated with me. She focused on approaching relationships not as a one-time effort, but as a long-term commitment rooted in trust and curiosity. 

In so many relationships, I feel like people tend to focus on what they have to gain, or where the other side is falling short of expectations. Maddi’s approach of giving all you can give and not fixating on what you gain is selfless and refreshing, and it’s advice I’m going to try and implement in my day-to-day life, and in relationships I build on campus. The highlight of the summit for me was when I had the chance to moderate a session with Sarah Hurwitz, a White House speechwriter during the Obama administration and author of “Here All Along,” a book about finding meaning and spirituality in Judaism. 

The minute I sat next to Hurwitz, she immediately put me at ease. Her talk included advice on showing rather than telling when having a difficult discussion, and grounding conversations in mutual trust. I especially loved her focus on always leading with empathy and understanding. If you’re not willing to listen to someone else, how can you expect them to listen to you? 

Sarah’s impact wasn’t just from what she had to say, but her warmth, friendliness, and expertise that made her session come to life. It gave me a new perspective on navigating difficult conversations, both at college and in my life more generally. Moving forward, I’m resolving to enter challenging conversations thoughtfully and directly, while leading with empathy.

At the end of the summit, as I waited for my taxi to the airport, the weight of what I had gained over the last two days really settled in. The conversations, the connections, and the insights left me feeling more grounded and energized. I left Chicago not just with new knowledge, but with a clear sense of what I want to accomplish back on campus, from celebrating my community’s wins and building stronger relationships, to communicating with more intentionality. I’m counting down the days until the next Israel Summit!

Julia is a junior at Dartmouth College, majoring in Economics and English. Originally from Los Angeles, Julia traded sunny California for East Coast snow. In between classes, Julia loves to ski, hike, and swim in the Connecticut River.  

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Hillel International Scholarships

Jewish History

Jewish Identity

Carrying a Family Name and Legacy – and Building a New Future

Author

Oscar Seltzer

Date

November 26, 2024

Editor’s note: An aspect of the Thanksgiving story that strongly resonates with many people in the Jewish community is the experience of immigrants trying to create a home in a new place. This Thanksgiving, we spoke to a student whose story shows the lasting impact of seeking a new home and a new future.

I never met my grandfather, but he’s always with me.

I mean that literally — I’m named for him, and I carry that name with me everywhere I go. But I also feel his legacy in everything I do, because his choices and his bravery made it possible for me to live the life I have today.

My great-grandparents, my grandfather Oscar’s parents, fled pogroms in Ukraine in the early 20th century. They came to the Americas, looking for a safe place to raise their Jewish family. At that time, because of quotas on Jewish immigrants, they were only able to enter Argentina, Cuba, or Mexico. They ended up in Mexico City, where my grandfather was born. 

As a teenager, my grandfather left Mexico to make a new life in the United States. When my dad tells the story, he always shares that my grandfather’s only belongings when he entered the country were the watch he got for his bar mitzvah, the clothes on his back, and one stick of salami. Once he arrived in the United States, he found a lawyer who was willing to trade his services for my grandfather’s one valuable possession: his bar mitzvah watch. So he gave it to the lawyer, and the lawyer helped him get his citizenship.

That watch became a symbol in our family, and ended up starting a tradition. My father received a watch for his bar mitzvah, and eventually, so did I. In fact, the one I received has my grandfather’s original watch band, which he was allowed to keep, and the watch face is the one he eventually replaced for himself almost 70 years ago. I wore it proudly at my bar mitzvah, along with my grandfather’s tzitzit, a ritual garment. That day is still one of my most powerful memories: I was reading the Torah, wearing my grandfather’s watch and tzitzit, and bearing his name. It was like he was there in the room with me, watching his legacy take shape. 

When I finished reading the Torah portion, I hugged my dad, and cried at that feeling of connection. That moment opened my eyes to the element of my Jewish identity that I treasure the most: no matter how tough any day gets, thanks to the sacrifices of my great-grandparents and my grandfather Oscar, I have a deep connection to a Jewish community that has my back, no matter what.

My grandfather died when my dad was in his early twenties, but I don’t think he could have imagined the life I live today. He never went to college, though my father did. Today, my sister attends Harvard University, and I’m studying mathematical data, science, and economics modified with computer science at Dartmouth College. 

Jewish student life at Dartmouth is amazing, with a large Hillel community and so much programming that’s available to Jewish students. One of my favorite things to do is to stop by the Hillel offices to talk to Rabbi Seth, the Hillel director — he’s a great resource, but also just asks such wonderful questions. I love the way he makes me think about Judaism and life.

 As a Hillel scholarship recipient, I feel a sense of gratitude to the organization — and knowing that Hillel is part of what makes my life at Dartmouth possible makes me feel like I really have the support of the Jewish community, like they came together to help me achieve my dreams.

When I think about my grandfather today, I sometimes wonder what he would think of his legacy. Not just what he built, through his own successful businesses, or what my dad built through his career, but what my sister and I are building through our education and our commitment to Jewish life. 

If I could talk to him today, I’d ask if he was proud of me. I think he would be. I’m certainly proud of him — and even prouder to carry his name, each and every day.

Oscar is a 2024 recipient of the Lilly E. Reiser Undergraduate Student Award, which awards eight incoming college students with up to $10,000 for every year for their undergraduate degree up to four years. Find out more about Hillel International scholarships today.

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Birthright Israel

Campus Trip

Dartmouth College

Trip Dates

11/30/2025-12/11/2025

Departure Location

NY Area

Campus Contact Info

Maya Sakran, maya@uvhillel.org

Apply Now

This trip is a gift from Birthright Israel

The gift of a Birthright Israel trip is made possible thanks to an innovative partnership between Jewish philanthropists, Jewish communities and Federations, the people of Israel through the Government of Israel, tens of thousands of alumni, their families, and individual donors from around the world who believe in our mission.

Birthright Israel

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