This year, 5 high school students, Tova Bossewitch, Abigail Eliav, Elior Weinberger, Jacob Leibowitz, and Ness Gelman, had the privilege of attending Yeshiva University’s 35th Annual Model UN conference. Many other Jewish high schools across the world attended as well. After much preparation, the students finally had the opportunity to act as delegates for Jordan, the country Hebrew Academy represented, and demonstrate all that they had worked for.
The students departed from Miami International Airport on Sunday morning and landed in JFK. They then stopped on Central Avenue for a delicious lunch. The students made their way to Stanford, Connecticut, and later in the afternoon arrived at the hotel where the conference would take place.
From Sunday afternoon until Tuesday morning, each of the 5 students took part in a different committee and got to argue and ‘resolve’ a variety of different issues in our world, just like the real UN attempts to do.
The students began with one meeting on Sunday night and then sat through 5 consecutive meetings the following day. And while much of the meetings consist of debating on one of two topics and creating resolutions, there are certainly some entertaining aspects as well.
For instance, in CSW - the Committee for the Status of Women - which Tova Bossewitch took part in, the committee spent plenty of time discussing maternal mortality rates and women in humanitarian crises and conflict zones. But in addition to this, that committee spent over an hour having singing competitions and even came up with their very own song “Friends in the UN”.
Model UN was not just an educational experience for Hebrew Academy’s students - it allowed them to grow on a personal level and meet numerous new friends. Overall, Hebrew Academy is extremely grateful to have been able to participate in YUNMUN this year, and is already working on preparing for the conference next February!
By: Tova Bossewitch (11th)
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