AIPAC Journals - Day 1

     As I rose very early Saturday morning and bustled about packing for AIPAC, I was filled with excitement and anticipation. The intense and grueling college course final was behind me, and now I could focus on my dream of attending AIPAC becoming reality just beyond the end of my packing!

   Although I left a little later than I originally planned, I had allotted plenty of time for travel and was confident that I would arrive in time for to register for the conference, check into my hotel, and attend the evening activities. My confidence slipped greatly, however, when upon the suggestion of my family, I called ahead to see at which hotel AIPAC had booked me to stay. Both hotels informed me that I was not on a list of their guests. Unfortunately, after numerous calls and quite a bit of time on the phone, I was informed that I would have to wait until I arrived in Washington, DC at registration site to resolve my hotel issues.

   I arrived in my hotel and hastily registered. Thankfully, I was informed immediately at which hotel I would be staying, but unfortunately my hotel room would not be available until the list of new bookings was processed.

   For much of the rest of the evening, I simply waited and checked in with the front desk. Then I waited some more and checked again. Before leaving for the DC Convention Center to attend the Campus Coffee House event, I checked my bags with the hotel, because my room was still not available.

   After a walk to the Subway outside the Convention Center (because the food stations at the AIPAC Village were not open yet), I sat down in the AIPAC Village to relax, eat dinner, and enjoy the amazing and beautiful village with its pavilions, porches with porch furniture resting on AstroTurf. After snapping some pictures of the attendees at a student government dinner I did not attend (I am not a student government president), I headed to the coffee hour and providentially met up with other fellow AIPAC attendees who had no one at the conference they knew. In my case, I had some CUFI on Campus brothers who were attending the student government dinner, and I enjoyed meeting up with several of them following the coffee hour.

   While waiting for the coffee hour to begin, I had received a call from the hotel informing me that my room was secured and ready. Following the coffee hour, the CUFI on Campus brothers whom I had met up with kindly offered to walk me back safely to my hotel. I was so grateful for their chivalry and companionship, and they demonstrated by their action yet again why my CUFI on Campus family is one of the most important blessings in my life.

   I had unpacked and settled in for the night when my roommate, P., arrived. I was soon to discover that I was paired with the perfect roommate for me. She was friendly, talkative, accommodating, and a pleasure to be around. We hit it off right away and enjoyed spending time together for the remainder of the conference.

   With a busy, long, and somewhat stressful day, I settled in for the night with great anticipation for the official start of the AIPAC Policy Conference.

It Is "Musical Monday" Again!

     When I first started my blog in August 2011, I had great plans for making it a platform for projecting my voice and sharing with others my love for Israel and politics. Although I began to implement those plans, my college course load beginning in January 2012 quickly eliminated most of my writing time for my blog due to my increased amount of writing for school assignments.

     In recent months however, I have increasingly wanted to refocus my attention on using my blog and Twitter to share about my pro-Israel activism experiences. Writing for school assignments can be an excellent challenge, but my writing is always most inspired by simply writing with passion and purpose and freedom.

     Years ago, I announced that I would be posting on "Musical Mondays" to share music that I love with my blog readers. So here, in the spirit of posting more blog posts, is the next installment of "Musical Mondays."

   Some of you are aware that traditional Israeli folk music is one of my favorite genres of music. The band performing in this video is one of my favorite Israeli folk bands, The Mark Novak Band, and they are playing a sampling of their traditional Israeli folk offerings:

    

   
     If you enjoy listening to The Mark Novak Band, be sure to like their page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheMarkNovakBand?fref=ts) and check out their website (http://TheMarkNovakBand.com). If you live in the Washington, DC/MD/VA area, you may be interested in hearing the band in concert on Sunday, May 19, 2013 (https://www.facebook.com/events/263799693751123/).

Shalom,
Nili

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Americas-Hatikvah/250897508280121?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericasHatikva

AIPAC Journals - Invitation and Preparation

   I recognize that I have not posted regularly on this blog for well over a year, but I recently attended the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC and wanted to share with you all my experiences at the conference through a series of #AIPACJournals. My hope is that you will find these #AIPACJournals interesting and informative as you view this important conference through the eyes of a pro-Israel college student. Enjoy!

Invitation and Preparation 

   Several weeks ago I received a text from my dear friend and fellow Christians United for Israel on Campus (CUFI on Campus) student activist, A., inviting me to attend AIPAC with her. Last year as I viewed the Facebook posts my friend, M., and others were posting about the AIPAC Policy Conference, I wished I was at the conference and began to hope that next year I would be able to attend. Not surprisingly, I was very excited to receive A.'s invitation and immediately planned to check my school schedule to see if I could attend the conference.

   After reviewing my school schedule, I was delighted to discover that the AIPAC Policy Conference coincided perfectly with my spring break. Thus, began the process of registering for the conference and anxiously waiting for the confirmation email. When the email finally came through, I began to recognize that my dream of attending the AIPAC Policy Conference was about to become reality.

   Thankfully, I attend a school that has always been supportive of my activism and had a professor this semester who was very understanding and reasonable. I alerted my professor to the fact that I would be finishing up my course a little bit early in order to attend AIPAC and then worked hard last week to finish on time. Late Friday night dragged into early Saturday morning as I worked for almost 4 hours to complete my final (essays) for my course, but I knew that all this hard work would be well worth the effort.

   I went to bed in the wee hours of Saturday morning and rose later that morning to pack for my trip and travel to Washington, DC to begin my adventure!

Shalom,
Nili Smit

AIPAC - First evening

     Last night I attended my first student event at AIPAC, the "Campus Coffee House" networking event. (I also took pictures of the Leadership Dinner for College Democrats/Republicans presidents and student government presidents which occurred immediately prior to the Coffee House event.) I enjoyed meeting and chatting with attendees and meeting up with fellow CUFI on Campus students who are attending AIPAC. I will be live tweeting throughout the event, and you can view my pictures from the event and tweets @AmericasHatikva (no final "h").

Shalom,

Nili

Headed to AIPAC!

     I am headed to the AIPAC Policy Conference. Please follow me on Twitter @AmericasHatikva (with no final "h") to follow my experiences at the conference! Thank you.

Shalom,

Nili

Happy Hanukkah!!!

Hanukkah holds special memories for me. When I was growing up, we as a family attended a Messianic Jewish congregation and enjoyed celebrating the Biblical Jewish holidays that Jews have celebrated for centuries. We so enjoyed opening a present each night of Hanukkah from my maternal grandmother's Hanukkah basket that she prepared for us each year. For eight nights we opened presents that included Hanukkah necessities like candles and Hanukkah gelt (chocolate "coins") and homemade treats like pizzelles and date nut bread. Each night we lit a candle of the menorah which prominently stood on the wide ledge of our bay window that faced the nearby road. As cars drove past our home on the outskirts of a small city (which was more like a town), drivers probably assumed that a Jewish family was celebrating Hanukkah (which was fine with us), when in fact we were a Christian Gentile family with a deep, genuine, multigenerational love for our Jewish Messiah, for the Jewish people, for Israel, and for our Judeo-Christian heritage. We loved celebrating Hanukkah!

So on this special first night of Hanukkah, I want to wish each and every one of you a Happy Hanukkah! May G-d bless you with a special and safe Festival of Lights as you celebrate His faithfulness and the Light He brings into each of our lives. We look forward to the day when the Messiah, the Light of the World, is welcomed in Jerusalem, the heart of Israel.

Here is a video of President and Mrs. Bush celebrating Hanukkah at the White House in 2004: 

Shalom,
Nili Smit

Election 2012 -- Substance and Passion

   Please watch this video to discover why I am supporting Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in her run for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. She has demonstrated very strong adherence to the Constitution and accountability to "We the People." It is time for conservative Republicans, Democrats, and Independents  and all Constitution-loving Americans to unite around a candidate that will not just say what we want to hear, but will fight in the White House for a government "of, by, and for the people." I am tired of politicians who pay lip-service to conservative principles and ideals but retreat only minutes into the beginning of a skirmish. I am tired of politicians who go to Washington, D.C., after we have propelled them to victory, claiming they will remember us and take our voice to Washington only for them to turn around and tell us to shut up months later. The Presidency of the United States is an important position in the world and we need a stateswoman to occupy the Oval Office. We need someone to "Occupy the Oval Office" who represents the true 99% of Americans who want to "occupy a job" instead of a President who wants to "Occupy the Oval Office" only to promote an agenda antithetical to America's founding Constitutional principles of limited government and democratic republicanism. The current occupant of the White House represents the 1% of malcontents who want to destroy our Constitutional democratic republic and replace it with European style socialism or worse. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann represents the 99% of Americans who love our Constitutional Republic and want to restore it. With Michele Bachmann, we have the chance to restore America to our Founding Father's vision of an America where the people have God-given rights and are governed by Judeo-Christian laws, which ensures freedom and justice for all citizens.

Michele Bachmann's Substance and Passion: http://bcove.me/b1k9h8qv

http://www.michelebachmann.com/

Shalom,

Nili Smit

P.S. Michele Bachmann has been a member of Christians United for Israel and is a strong defender of the state of Israel.