ZOA AROUND THE COUNTRY 1 Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat (left) with ZOA Director David Kadosh 2 Palo Alto premiere of the “Hate Spaces” documentary 3 ZOA West Coast Executive Director David Kadosh speaks to students at the Turning Point USA conference of San Francisco Jewish landmarks conference 45 EMPOWERING JEWISH YOUTH In addition to ZOA’s community engagement efforts, the West Coast chapter devoted significant attention to the empowerment and education of Jewish youth and the combatting of systemic anti-Semitism. ZOA organized three screenings of the new documentary “Hate Spaces” with the film’s writer, director, and producer, Avi Goldwasser. This important film exposes the pervasive anti- Semitism that Jewish students face on American college campuses. The premiere was held at the Palo Alto JCC, followed by screenings at the Rossmoor community in Walnut Creek and the UC Berkeley Chabad house. ZOA’s West Coast executive director, David Kadosh, was invited to serve on a panel to present ZOA’s Israel advocacy approach to visiting Israeli teenagers at the San Francisco Jewish Federation. The panel was comprised of representatives from AIPAC, StandWithUs, J Street, and ZOA. Kadosh explained ZOA’s unique position in the American Israel advocacy world and distinguished ZOA from each of the other organizations on the panel. ZOA had a significant presence at the Turning Point USA Young Women’s Leadership Summit in Dallas, Texas. Turning Point USA is an organization that has popularized the conservative movement through chapters on over 1,000 American college campuses and high schools. ZOA operated an informational table throughout the conference and collected hundreds of new student contacts, in addition to running two breakout sessions. David Kadosh led a session on “The Progressive Abandonment of Israel,” which highlighted the mainstream acceptance of anti-Israel policy and rhetoric among American progressives. He warned that this trend is gaining momentum, thanks to leading figures in the Democratic Party such as Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and Keith Ellison. Mr. Kadosh also worked with ZOA Midwest Campus Coordinator Pandit Mami to lead the largest Krav Maga session in ZOA Campus history, with over 120 participants. They taught practical applications of this effective Israeli self-defense style and spoke about the history of Krav Maga as a response to anti-Semitism and modern Zionism’s reclamation of the Jewish fighting spirit. The program also discussed the threat from stabbings and vehicular assaults, which have been occurring in Israel since 2015 and replicated in Islamist terrorist attacks in Europe and the U.S. ZOA was well received at the conference, with many student leaders eager to work with their respective regional campus coordinators upon their return to school. In addition, Mr. Kadosh led workshops on the importance of Jewish self-defense, with introductory Krav Maga demonstrations at UC Berkeley, Chico State University, San Joaquin Delta College, and California State University, Northridge. He ran a ZOA table during the so- ZOA was well received at the conference, with many student leaders eager to work with their respective regional campus coordinators upon their return to school. 1 2 3
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