Instead of sitting at a desk in the school gym for three hours taking the United States History & Government Regents Examination alongside my peers, I sat in a room for three days with senior Israeli officials, diplomats, policy veterans and members of the press.
As a rising senior at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaways in New York, I attended the second annual JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, held at the Waldorf Astoria in June. The conference featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and international diplomats, all gathered to discuss Israel’s strategic future in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023; in the shadow of the ongoing conflict with Iran; and in light of the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Trump administration.
In the words of JNS co-publisher Josh Katzen: “The point of this conference is to figure out what the hell is going on.”
Since Oct. 7, Israel has been battling a multi-pronged war against regional enemies with another front that has proven powerful in a way not necessarily expected: the information war.
Misinformation and propaganda have shaped global opinions against Israel, whose effects can be seen in sessions of the United Nations and the European Union, as well as the protests on U.S. college campuses. It’s a lot harder to correct once it spreads, and it spreads like wildfire over social-media platforms. Less than 24 hours after Hamas slaughtered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 others, dragging them to Gaza, and then documented their barbarism on the internet, posts began appearing justifying these attacks with false claims and criticisms of Israel.
And while the other physical battlefronts can have a winner, a loser, a ceasefire or a truce, the media war is seemingly never-ending. It has been a relentless, ongoing issue, especially as major international news outlets publish more and more articles that use misinformation, deepfakes and misleading claims all to attack Israel. Clickbait is as eye-catching as it is profitable.
During her plenary speech, JNS co-publisher Amelia Katzen quoted English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s famous phrase, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Being in a room filled with wielders of both the pen and the sword is an experience no one gets in a classroom. The policies discussed in that room will affect our lives for years to come, and we—the students and future leaders—should be in there to hear them.
There were policy forums on a wide range of topics, but I found international legal issues—United Nations, International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice—of particular interest. One panelist, Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, detailed his findings on the corruption of the United Nations and its affiliated organizations, and how, in regard to Israel, procedure is disregarded.
The creation of the United Nations is part of the curriculum for the United States History & Government Regents Examination, the test I should have been taking. Students are taught that the world body was created to be a fair and honest council of countries that promotes international cooperation and fosters human rights. Yet the work of these panelists showed how that chapter of the textbook in use is no longer accurate.
Instead of being tested on outdated information, students should be encouraged to experience the world and see whether what they were taught is still true. There is no good in sending people into the real world without properly educating them. Listening to the speakers at this summit is a way to prepare the next generation—my generation—for the realities of being an adult in contemporary society.
I was one of the few people at the conference under the age of 18. At a gathering with so many political, economic, academic and agency movers and shakers, there should be more than a few people from the generation that will at some point also move into such roles. How can we inherit the world when we don’t actually know what’s really happening in it?
In the future, there should be more representation from high school students at the summit. Not only will the topics discussed prepare them for reality, but the networking opportunities can give students a professional edge over their peers.
I do not regret missing the United States History & Government Regents exam at all, even if I still have to take it after camp. The information and experience I gained from attending the summit far outweighs anything I could have been tested on. This conference has also helped me better understand what I want once I leave high school.
You can always take a Regents on another date (and I will). But being around and listening to some of the leaders of the free world is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I would do it again, and again, if the opportunity presented itself.
