‘Here we are’: Zionist teens stand with Israel at Club Z’s annual conference
Some 165 high school, college students meet in L.A. for annual gathering dedicated to a fallen U.S.-born Israeli border guard
Their faces painted with blue and white Stars of David, a group of Jewish students gathered on the bridge over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles on Sunday, holding Israeli and American flags, posters of the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 and signs reading “Honk for Israel.” The teens were standing up for Israel as participants in the Club Z 2024 National Conference, embodying the conference’s theme: “Hinenu” — “Here we are.”
Club Z, an organization that aims to strengthen Zionist identity in high schoolers, took over much of the ground floor of the Luxe Hotel on Sunset Boulevard over Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend, for their conference; meeting rooms and patios were designated as breakout workshop rooms, with many areas doubling as social spaces.
Keeping with the Israel-centered purpose of the gathering, the areas had been renamed — Lt. Col. Habaka, Sgt. Shkoty, Staff Sgt. Levi, Lt. Col. Greenberg and others — in memory of soldiers who had been killed in the Israel-Hamas war. The conference was dedicated in memory of Rose Ida Lubin, an Atlanta-raised Israeli Border Police officer who was killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Nov. 6.
During keynote speeches, the entire group — the 165 participants, from ninth graders to college students from over 25 cities nationwide — gathered in the ballroom at the Luxe to hear speakers such as retired British Army officer Col. Richard Kemp, an outspoken critic of the international community’s position on Israel; Dor Shachar, who had been born in Gaza but who fled to Israel and converted to Judaism; and comedian Joel Chasnoff, an American who moved to Israel and served in the Israeli army as a lone soldier, writing a book about his experiences, The 188th Crybaby Brigade.
During a candid “Ask Me Anything, War Edition” session, Kemp fielded hardball questions. In response to a query about trading terrorists for hostages, Kemp said the issue of whether to prioritize the return of the hostages or the destruction of Hamas is “the only real division in Israel.” Asked about which presidential candidate he thought would be better for Israel, the colonel said that President Joe Biden is not his favorite leader, but has been more supportive of Israel than he expected. Still, Kemp said, former President Donald Trump was “better suited to the position,” and the teens cheered.
Jennifer Bukchin, a high school junior from Palo Alto, Calif., initially joined Club Z because her brother had joined and, she joked, her mother forced her to.
“It’s the secret saying of Club Z,” Bukchin told eJP, “that ‘Club Z is the best decision your mom has ever made.’”
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Shabbos Kestenbaum is a student activist and the lead plaintiff against Harvard University, alleging pervasive and systemic antisemitism. He is a regular contributor on national media, has testified in front of the United States Congress multiple times, and lectures internationally on Jewish communal issues.
Shahar Azani is a veteran Israeli diplomat, passionate advocate for Israel and a frequent contributor to various media outlets focusing on Israel, Jewish issues and the Middle East.
Rawan Osman is a Syrian-Lebanese/German activist advocating for peace with Israel. Rawan previously served on the executive committee at PeaceComms and as a speaker at SharakaNGO. Currently, she is studying Islamic and Jewish Studies at Heidelberg University and is the founder of ArabsAsk. Additionally, Osman serves as the Chairwoman of PostOctober7 e. V.
Colonel Richard Kemp was a British infantry commander who spent most of his life combating terrorism and insurgency in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Northern Ireland, where he was wounded in a terrorist attack. His name appeared on an Al Qaida kill list in 2013.
Dalia Ziada is an Egyptian award-winning writer, peace activist, and political analyst specializing in governance, geopolitics, and defense policy in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. She has been globally recognized for her leading role as a civil rights activist in the Arab Spring revolutions of 2010-2011 and for her uncommon stance as an Arab Muslim intellectual in support of Israel’s war against Hamas in 2023.