MTA Model Congress receives award
MTA Model Congress receives award
MTA Model Congress receives award

By Chaim Dov Roffman

MTA, the Yeshiva University High School for Boys, was proud to participate in the 27th annual Yeshiva League Model Congress Competition on Thursday, March 3, hosted by HAFTR High School. Over 300 students attended from yeshiva high schools throughout New York and New Jersey to participate in the day’s events. We were fortunate enough to have AIPAC’s northeast regional political director, Dr. Sharon Goldman, speak to the students about the need for politicians who can fight on behalf of Israel and who can also use debate as a tool for compromise.

Model Congress is a simulation of a congressional conference where students are placed in various congressional committees, allowing them to experience American government firsthand. Students prepared and debated bills pertaining to important issues facing our nation today, working in the following committees: Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Environment and Public Works, Ethics, Foreign Relations, Homeland Security, Intelligence, Judiciary, Science and Technology, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and Means. There was even a Crisis Committee that dealt with newly emerging crises. HAFTR students took on the role of chair-people of these committees, while the students of a dozen or so other schools involved themselves in heated debates over the important issues, thus enabling them to gain knowledge of our political process. At the end of the competition, awards were given to the top three students in each of the fifteen committees. Six out of MTA’s thirteen delegates won honorable-mention awards. Congratulations to CJ Glicksman, Tsahi Halyo, Noam Josse, Yehuda Goldberg, Meir Uretsky, and Zeve Kornwasser on their awards. The event served as a great opportunity for the MTA participants to gain exposure to real-life political scenes.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here