Jackie Blumenfeld never expected to return from a four-day trip with her Jewish group a changed person. But that’s exactly what happened. The High School South sophomore attended an intensive learning program, February 15 to 18, for Jewish teens sponsored by Panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values and came home with a decidedly different view of the world and her future. She traveled with five students from the Princeton area affiliated with the Jewish Center of Princeton and met up with 47 other students from Virginia, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Indiana.
The program included opportunities to explore the political, social, economic, and cultural landscape of the nation’s capital. Although the group did not get to meet with Congressman Rush Holt, they did meet with Jim Kapsis, Holt’s Communications Director and Legislative Assistant. “We always thought that they have their own little world and that they don’t care about what you have to say,” says Blumenfeld. “He really listened to us six teens.”
“Here in Representative Holt’s Washington office we are always available to talk to young people from central New Jersey to help answer their questions about the issues and policies that affect them, their families, and their communities,” says Kapsis. “Representative Holt believes it is critical to inspire future leaders like Jackie Blumenfeld to become active and engaged citizens. As I always tell students who come and talk with me, Representative Holt wants more young people to pursue their idealism and consider careers in public service. After all, our democracy will only be as strong as the citizens and leaders who take it upon themselves to participate.”
“I was never a fan of politics, and I was skeptical about how much this program could give me,” says Blumenfeld, “but everything interested me because it combined Jewish values with politics. I had never thought that being Jewish was more than a religion but now I know that being Jewish can apply to other situations.”
At one point, the group visited with homeless people in a park. They not only brought them socks and gloves, they spent time with them. “This was one of the most moving things we did,” says Blumenfeld. “I didn’t see a person with a past. We gave them friendship, and we asked them about their lives. We learned that it’s OK to ask how they ended up on the streets; they enjoyed talking.”
The group also attended a session on capital punishment, which affected Blumenfeld deeply. “It scared us when we heard about the large amount of innocent people being convicted.” She was also very moved by Stanley and Phyllis Rosenbluth of Virginians United Against Crime, who spoke at the session. Their son and his wife were victims of murder. “I sat there and couldn’t take my eyes off them,” Blumenfeld says. “They put a face with the issue, and I was really affected. I learned that killing people because they killed other people is not the correct thing to do.” The group also heard Kristin Houle and Ginny Simmons from Amnesty International speak against capital punishment.
The students toured the U.S. Capitol, the monuments, and visited Georgetown, the Smithsonian, and the Holocaust Museum. “I had been to the Holocaust Museum when I was there little, but this was different,” says Blumenfeld, whose grandparents, residents of Englewood Cliffs, gave a testimonial for the museum. “We wandered on our own, which was good because I didn’t want to be near anyone else. I wanted to be alone. It was very moving, and we only had a few hours to see it all.”
“Not only does Panim el Panim help students relate Judaism to the hot issues of the day, it also helps them realize that their active involvement in social and political issues is a way to affect tikkun olam (repair of the world),” says Rabbi Sid Schwarz, founder and president of Panim.
At High School South, Blumenfeld has been playing volleyball for about two years; she was on the junior varsity volleyball team and will be trying out for varsity. “I love volleyball — it’s my outlet,” she says. She is among six West Windsor members of South Jersey Volleyball Club, a group in Voorhees.
Assistant sports editor this year for the Pirate’s Eye, the school newspaper, she will be the sports editor next year. She is also on the yearbook staff as sports editor.
Born and raised in West Windsor, she attended Hawk Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Grover Middle schools. Her older brother, Matthew, a graduate of High School South last June, is a freshman at University Wisconsin in Madison. Her mother, Ruth Plawner Blumenfeld, works in New York at Price Waterhouse Cooper in the communications department. Her father, Michael Blumenfeld, a former architect, now buys land for Kushner Companies.
“Though the program kept the students out of school for two of the four days, the lessons they learned were educational — and invaluable — in a different way,” says Jackie’s mother, Ruth.
Her daughter says she would like to combine journalism and working with the homeless. Her interest is in starting a newspaper about “street sense,” and she hopes to meeting others with similar interests through Youth Venture, a national non-profit organization for young people ages 12-20 that provides tools for organizations, clubs, or businesses, including media opportunities and up to $1,”000 for seed money.
“From the Washington trip I learned how you can affect politics,” says Blumenfeld. “I learned that I don’t have to go into the field of politics to make a difference. It opened up my eyes to all I can do.”
