Debate for Peace returned to Yale University Jan. 19-22 for the 49th year of the Yale Model UN conference (YMUN 49). A delegation of 10 Arab and Jewish students participated in the conference, coming from Jerusalem, Herzliya, Petah Tiqva, Even Yehuda, Modi’in, Givat Haviva, and Baqa al-Gharabiya. Yale MUN is one of the top MUN conferences in the world for high school students, and the DfP students got to join exciting committees like the historical Joint Crisis on the Bosnian conflict, “The Queen is Dead” British simulation; a French revolution theme committee; indigenous people’s council, and more. They also engaged with the nearly 1500 students from all over the world who came to YMUN 49.
The students spent weeks preparing for the conference, including research, writing position papers, submitting Social Impact Projects, and more. The work was rewarded with a very competitive performance at the conference, which included Outstanding Delegate awards for Tal Ben Ze’ev (Hadassim high school, Even Yehuda), and Maayan Zilberman (Rishonim high school, Herzliya) and both a Best Delegate award and the Visual Arts competition award for Ari Plosker (Yachad school, Modi’in).
Along with the conference, the students held meetings with leading academics and diplomats focused on conflict resolution and international law. These meetings included a meeting with Professor Emma Sky, director of the international leadership center at the Jackson School of Global Affairs at Yale; a talk with Imam Ismaeel Malik; meetings with numerous diplomats at the United Nations, as well as visits to the British and Kosovo missions to the UN. The group also engaged broader communities, meeting with students at the Yale Council on Middle East studies and visiting the Chabad of Yale in New Haven, CT, and Temple Emanu-El, Sutton Place synagogue, and congregation Anshe Hessed in NYC, where they talked to local youth and other community members.
On behalf of all of the participants and their families, Debate for Peace expressed its deep appreciation to the Yale MUN Secretariat for their hard work and dedication in inviting the conference, and for enabling DfP to participate, as well as all those who met with the group during their stay.
Photo credits:Steven Aiello
