A Call to Our Leaders
March 24, 2013
By Jonathan Helderen
Jonathan was one of 150 BGU students who attended President Obama’s address. He is a 25-year-old mechanical engineering student and served as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces.
The New York Times — I came with no expectations. I thought we were going to hear the same old song, only this time from an excellent rhetorician. I wasn’t entirely wrong, but I was definitely in for a big surprise. Instead of speaking as usual about the Israeli and Palestinian governments and what the leaders on both sides should or should not do, President Obama talked to me. He talked to my friends beside me. He talked to the young, motivated Middle Eastern students who wish to finish school, find a good job and start a family. It doesn’t matter where these students are from, Ramallah or Tel Aviv. At the end of the day, we all want the same basic thing — to live our lives in peace and to prosper.
President Obama told us that the next chapter of our story as a nation is in our hands. “You — the young people of Israel — must now claim the future,” he pleaded. He is right. Now, with a new Israeli government and with a strong American administration, more supportive than ever, we have to make the change. I call on my leaders: use this window of opportunity that is filled with renewed hope in the light of this inspiring speech. Listen to your people, to the young generation. Help us write a better future.
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