MERCAZ Newsletter - Summer 2005

MERCAZ/WLCJ Essay Contest Winners

MERCAZ USA congratulates the winners of the December 2004 biennial Essay Contest, organized by MERCAZ USA, MERCAZ Canada and Women’s League for Conservative Judaism.

The competition, which started in 1994 and is open to Movement-affiliated high school students, focuses on aspects of Zionism and Israel and is organized in coordination with the biennial Women’s League convention. Teenagers from all over North America compete for scholarships to subsidize the costs of Conservative Movement-sponsored trips to Israel.

Nearly 30 entries were received for the latest round of competition that was dedicated to the memory of Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, on the 100th anniversary of his death in 1904. After two rounds of judging, there were seven prizewinners:

3rd place (tie) – Danielle Ruth Natelson (Long Beach, CA); Jacob Margel (Toronto, Canada) and Gabriel Seed (Toronto, Canada). Each essayist received a $100 scholarship.

2nd place (tie) – Julianna Storch (Scottsdale, AZ); Isaac Rubin (Los Angeles, CA) and Jeremy Burke (San Diego, CA). Each essayist received a $400 scholarship.

1st place – Elizabeth Lovinger (West Bloomfield, MI). Elizabeth, an 11th grade student at North Farmington High School whose family are members of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, received a $1000 scholarship for use in attending the Camp Ramah TRY (Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim) Program, the 4-month high school semester in Israel. Elizabeth’s prizewinning essay “What is the Value of Zionism and the State of Israel” was published in the Spring 2005 issue of Women’s League Outlook.