Zionism 101: Young Zionist Leadership Conference

This weekend, I had the privilege of participating in the 2012 Young Zionist Leadership (YZL) conference. While it was meant to have nothing to do with my process of preparing to make aliya and become a lone soldier, the experience had a profound effect on my mentality in moving forward. I realize that I have yet to discuss my reasoning for wanting to serve in the IDF and, while this post may allude to some of my beliefs, I still wish to leave that for its own story at its own time a bit later down the road.

The conference was sponsored by the World Zionist Organization (WZO)and was attended by young Zionists from across North America. It also included professionals from virtually all of the major organizations who contribute to the Zionist movement. It is structured in a way that groups participants together mostly by the region they represent (determined by the area of the university they are enrolled in) in “primary groups” to discuss the substantive content of the conference, while allowing “general sessions” to have everyone together for larger activities. An example of one of these is that Israel Maimon, former Cabinet Secretary for Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, and a personal hero, addressed us all on the opening night.

It should be noted that I didn't choose to attend the conference for a specific personal reason. Additionally, a huge part of the mission of YZL and of the WZO in putting on the seminar is to inspire and prepare the Zionist youth to go back to communities and campuses and use the knowledge attained there. Needless to say, at the end of my college career, as nice as it would be to act now, even this goal could only have a limited potential in coming away from the conference. So while I have always been interested in and enthusiastic about advocating for Israel (and have attended other such events on the topic), and while I consider myself a committed and growing Zionist, the main appeal of participating in this conference was to hear what the rest of the Zionists had to say. I'm not sure what I was expecting to hear, necessarily, or who I was expecting to meet. I can say, though, that I never expected to leave with new challenges and questions about my own Zionism or to feel much different at all, for that matter.

I found, for one, that the history of Zionism, which had to be taken off the old DKJA High School shelf in my mind and dusted off, instantly provided questions. It took five minutes of discussing the Zionist movement for it to occur to me that there is more to the whole thing than individual effort and decision-making. I found myself asking what kind of Zionist I am to feel the way I do about Israel. And I found myself asking what that meant for the rest of the community if most of its members disagreed. What does it mean if Israelis disagree? It was strange to be put into a situation so quickly in which I found myself searching for answers. The conclusions I started to make, too, were convoluted and challenged, and remain so.

The “primary group” of Florida's most intelligent and hilarious college students (I was the only Knight, but the Gator majority were great in adopting me, and there were three Owls, and a Bull) made conversation and discourse that did become genuinely thought-provoking in a way that I have not experienced in myself for a long time. Despite the heavy and often academic nature of Zionism, the discussions in our group were engaging and absolutely passionate and allowed me to do nothing but reflect and converse on a belief that has driven me for my entire life.

While the entire experience was invaluable and completely exceeded my expectations, as I previously mentioned it did provoke challenges and questions for me. To see and be a part of a community as it expresses its many varied editions of Zionism in a truly authentic way was inspiring and re-invigorating. Even faced with the daunting incompleteness of Zionism, it only became more beautiful. It only became that much more righteous. And even though it has added to the philosophical weight of my decision to make aliya and serve in the IDF, I could not be more thankful for the enrichment it has provided.

It goes without saying that the members of my "primary group" were incredible and I owe them all a huge debt of gratitude for being such an incredible part of the experience. I am thrilled to have made all of the new allies and friends!

I also lastly wanted to make special mention of my facilitator at the conference. Josh Kahn is an Australian-born American who decided to move to Israel on his own and serve as a “chayal boded” in the Nahal Brigade. If that wasn't enough of a contribution to the Jewish community and to the Zionist movement, he has since dedicated his time, his tireless effort, and his heart and soul to the Zionist network of the University of Florida and the United States. Even in the few short days that Josh facilitated our “primary group,” it was clear what a perfect Zionist he is and what a gift he has been and continues to be to the Jewish people. I feel privileged and honored to meet any lone soldier, former or current, but to meet one with such a Zionistic presence does provide a very sincere hope that we still, as a people, have minds and leaders who can have a limitless impact on our future. Although he would never approve of his mention, especially in such complimentary terms, there are too many Jewish heroes who are not recognized, and Josh is, in every aspect, one of these individuals.

With the knowledge that my own personal Zionism is alive, well, and ever-developing, we will soon have more news about our preparation for our aliya. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!   

     - Darren

P.S. To read an article about YZL in which I am featured, please visit www.yallaisraelmagazine.com