Testimonial by Lauren Brody-Hyett, Jewish Student Life Coordinator,
University of Pennsylvania Hillel:
In February 2007, I attended one of the Jewish Dialogue Group’s 7-hour introductory facilitation training workshops with the support of a Hillel Career Development Grant. As the main Hillel Professional who works with the various Israel-oriented groups on campus, and with Israel oriented programs being hot topics on campus, I thought this would be an important skill to have.
The Jewish Dialogue Group facilitator training was wonderful. I learned the skills I needed to be a facilitator for dialogues that meet for one or two sessions (There is more advanced training and shadowing available for people who want to do semester-long dialogues, etc. I plan to take advantage of that in the future.) I also gained skills that I can use one-on-one or in small groups that often informally occur at Hillel and on campus.
As a professional, I have used the skills I gained in a variety of settings, including facilitating at two different formal dialogues about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The students who participated were leaders in groups with very different perspectives. I have also used it informally in helping students talk about their feeling about Israel and the conflict.
The training included theory, break-out groups, practice, a model dialogue, and participating in a real dialogue to see what it is like as a participant. The training included a manual that has proven invaluable to me this year. I have shared it with other professionals and students with whom I have collaborated. They have benefited from the skills I have shared.
I think the Jewish Dialogue Group should conduct a training for Hillel
professionals. This is so important on our campuses, and Hillel’s goal of
bringing diverse Jewish voices together
for constructive conversation would be greatly helped by these dialogues
occurring on campus and having Hillel professionals prepared to facilitate them
in ways that feel fair to students. So many students expressed that they had no
clue there were others who had similar views as them and previously felt Hillel
could not be a community that would welcome them due to this.
It is really important for Jews to talk about the things that are difficult,
like Israel. While many times these conversations end up leaving people feeling
angry, outside the fold, shamed,
confused, etc., dialogue is a way to explore, use curiosity, build bridges. The
students found the dialogues to be incredibly powerful.
After working on creating dialogue at Penn Hillel all year students on their own initiative added the positions of Israel dialogue co-chairs to the student board for the coming year!
