Ronald S. Lauder Fellow Gila Aberman wanted to encourage her fellow classmates to step beyond their “Jewish bubble” to learn more about critical issues in society. She had two main topics she wanted to focus on. The first was mental health awareness and the LGBTQIA+ community, and the other was an Israel Awareness campaign.
For her focus on mental health and the LGBTQIA+ community, Gila organized two panels. The first included five panelists where the discussion surrounded sexuality and Judaism in their South African Jewish community from an LGBTQIA+ perspective. The second was a mental health themed event focusing on growth and mindfulness. One of the speakers was a well-known Rabbi who spoke on the about mental health in Judaism. The main goals for these two events were to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and to showcase how Jewish people care about the wellbeing of others.
The third project Gila organized was with the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) and their Israel Awareness campaign. In the past, Israel ‘Apartheid’ Week had always taken place in person on college campuses across South Africa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the week took place online. Gila knew this was the perfect opportunity to share a South African Zionist perspective. Gila organized an ‘I am a Zionist’ social media campaign, creating a place for Zionists around the world to speak out and create their own narrative of Zionism.
