You know how people say the best kind of experience is the hands-on kind? I experienced that firsthand this summer in Washington D.C. Sure, I took AP Government in high school and haphazardly paid attention to the news on political activity. However, I never felt like I was able to fully grasp what was happening until I spent my summer immersed in the life and, for lack of better words, politics of Washington, D.C. Being constantly surrounded by people whose livelihoods revolve around this bill passing and that Senate committee meeting, that watch C-SPAN like it's ESPN and talk about Harry Reid like he's a personal friend (because he probably is) are what brought my understanding of the inner workings of the city to a whole new level.
Given my above statement you might have thought that I interned on Capitol Hill or in the White House. Well, that is not the case. In fact, I interned at Americans for Peace Now, which is a Non-Government Organization that advocates for peace in Israel. Americans for Peace Now is an extension of Shalom Achshav, or Peace Now in Israel. The organization got its start in the 1980s around the time of the Lebanon War, and the American branch initially started as fundraising effort in the states before becoming its own organization.
I was placed at this internship through the six week summer program I was participating in through the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (more commonly known as 'the RAC,' pronounced 'rack'). This program combines social justice, academic study, and a community of like-minded peers for a meaningful six-week summer experience in Washington. We all lived together in Ivory Tower, a residence hall at George Washington University (and right down the street from some of the monuments). The students I was with came from a variety of universities as small as Colby College in rural Maine to large research universities like OSU such as Arizona State and University of North Carolina. Every student was placed at an internship akin to their interests, and we would come together several times a week for classes, meals, and activities around Washington.
Projects I worked on at my internship included legislative research, updating their social media, doing research about Israel advocacy on college campuses, working with other interns through APN's partnership with American Task Force on Palestine, attending events, and various intern-like tasks. Because I was only there for six weeks, I am constantly reminded of how much I actually did while I was there.
At the beginning, my internship was really challenging. Although I have been studying Hebrew and have been to Israel, I felt completely lost when discussing Middle Eastern politics. It was a big learning curve delving into the complexities of the region, but after a few weeks I felt like I was much more knowledgeable after reading the News Nosh and other news sources daily.
I have two events that I would like to highlight from my summer in Washington. One of the events I attended was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum called the What You Do Matters Leadership Summit (with Daniel!) which was an experience that greatly enhanced my time in Washington (and what I wrote my summer blog about!). Another was the chance to go bowling at the White House with my group, which was simply a fun, exciting time.
Sometimes I couldn't help but feel like just one of the many interns in the big sea of Washington. However, I felt empowered by the work I was doing because I felt like what I was doing was making a difference for the organization I was working for. I may not feel like I contributed to the the goal of peace in the Middle East, but I feel like I came away from my hands-on Washington experience with an even stronger drive to become an active, engaged intellectual student to continue striving for the best on the path I'm pursing.
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