Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Spotlight: Shaked Bustnay

��vlogl — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 18:12:54 +0000

Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Spotlight: Shaked Bustnay

Author

Date

November 30, 2022

In reflecting on my journeys recently, I realized that my wanderlust comes from my grandfather. A Yemenite sailor, he came to Israel as part of Operation Magic Carpet and set my family on a new path. He loved to travel the world, but he loved my grandmother, their family, and Israel even more. He shared that love of Israel with his children, and they shared it with theirs. It’s that love that inspires me in my work as a Jewish Agency Israel Fellow.

I grew up in Yokne’am, Israel and went to school in the kibbutz school system just like my father. That education was a big part of forming my identity in a different way than if I had attended the regular Yokne’am school system. It taught me the importance of balancing community and independence. My first encounter with leadership and working with younger students was when I participated in the Tzofim (Scouts) in high school and worked as a camp counselor.

I enjoyed the Tzofim experience so much that I volunteered to participate in Taglit (Birthright Israel) when I was serving in the army. Meeting students from America who were my age but who lived such different lives from what I was used to was an incredibly powerful and moving experience. I decided to live in Canada for a year after my army service to see more of the world and to build my own independence. It was hard to live so far from my family and friends, but it was worth it to form relationships and learn the life lessons that I did during that year.

When I returned to Israel and decided to study International Relations at Hebrew University, I also decided to participate in a fellowship that would give me opportunities to travel outside of Israel and speak about my love for Israel and its people. As part of that fellowship, I visited a university campus in London that has a strong anti-Israel movement. It was one of the most impactful and difficult experiences of my life, but it left me with a strong sense of my purpose — to travel and be a positive voice for Israel in the world.

Being an Israel Fellow at University of California, Berkeley gives me the opportunity to connect with students and be that positive voice for Israel in a way that constantly inspires me. I’ve also had the opportunity to offer Mizrahi Heritage programming to help students connect with their own stories, traditions, and culture. Working with Berkeley students, helping them create safe spaces for each other to learn and grow, has given me an appreciation for how connected Jewish people are all over the world and how our similarities outweigh our distances.

Jewish Agency Israel Fellow

University of California Berkeley

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Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Spotlight: Yonatan Eyov

��vlogl — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Israel

Leadership and Career Skills

LGBTQIA+

Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Spotlight: Yonatan Eyov

Author

��vlogl

Date

October 31, 2022

I was at a birthday party a few years ago and a friend said to me, “You should really apply to become a Jewish Agency Israel Fellow on a college campus in the States.” After studying at a mechina (military preparatory program), serving in the Israeli army, and graduating from college with a degree in communications, the last thing I wanted to do was commit the next few years of my life to another program. But I love Israel, and sharing that love has always been so important to me, so when my friend came back to me a few months later and told me that Stanford University was looking for an Israel Fellow at the last minute, I decided to apply. A month and a half later, I was settling into California life.

My love for my country and for the Jewish people was ingrained in me from when I was very young. I was born in Ethiopia, and the central heartbeat of the Jewish community there was a yearning for Jerusalem and a return to our homeland. When I was six, my family moved to Israel and experienced the joy of coming home. I grew up in Lod and served as a criminal investigator in the Israeli army. I have seen the problems Israel faces both internally and externally and with all its flaws, I love its story.

Bringing that love with me to Stanford has inspired me to share my unique Israel story with the students here, and as their Israel fellow, connect with them on a personal and communal level. I’m gay, and I created a space for Jewish queer students on campus so they can understand how their Jewishness and queerness contribute to their stories. I’m Black, and that often triggers important conversations with students about differences within Judaism, racism in America and in Israel, and the variety of experiences that Black people face all over the world. I’m Ethiopian and have introduced students to holidays like Sigd which they may not have experienced otherwise.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to work with an incredible team at Stanford Hillel who have been a family and a community for me when my own family and community are far away. Packing up my life in a month and a half and coming to Stanford to share my love of Israel with the campus community here was the best decision of my life.

Jewish Agency Israel Fellow

Stanford University

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Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Spotlight: Shaked Bustnay