HAFTR Excels At YLMUN 2025
By Natalie Bellehsen and Leah Kammerman
By Natalie Bellehsen and Leah Kammerman
The third annual Yeshiva League Model United Nations (YLMUN) conference took place at the Young Israel of Woodmere on Thursday, May 22. This event brought together passionate high school student delegates from nine yeshiva high schools from New York and New Jersey for a day of competitive debate, public speaking, and creativity. Organized by HAFTR High School’s Speech and Debate Coach, Mr. Alex Libkind, and secretary-generals Elana Max and Abby Rutta, two dedicated seniors from HANC and North Shore Hebrew Academy, the event kicked off with powerful opening speeches that set the tone for a day full of excitement and academic excellence.
YLMUN is a competitive debate conference where students represent countries from across the globe. At YLMUN, there is not only a focus on skills and international policy, but there is also an emphasis on students engaging in fun activities and amusing “crisis” situations. These events are interactive and often humorous, and they challenge students to think on their feet and collaborate creatively and effectively. YLMUN develops students’ skills in public speaking, negotiation, teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking.
This year, the HAFTR team performed outstandingly while representing the country of Australia. Among the standout participants this year were three honorable mentions: Rylee Gluck, Micki Appel, and Ari Mitgang, all recognized for their strong performances and contributions in their committees, with topics varying from women’s rights to international wars. Moreover, HAFTR student Hailie Avigdor won the Best Delegate award in the committee for Science and Technology. Her diplomatic skill and articulate leadership stood out and earned her this award. HAFTR and the Yeshiva of Flatbush emerged as co-winners of the Best Overall School award, an outstanding award for the dedication and preparation of both schools’ teams. Ramaz took second place and MTA third place.
A unique aspect of YLMUN, compared to other nationwide model UN conferences, is that some high school students have the opportunity to be the chairs of the committees at the conference. The chairs administer their respective committees, judge the delegates based on their proficiency, and provide the delegates with constructive feedback to improve their skills in model UN. At this YLMUN conference, HAFTR juniors Natalie Bellehsen, Leah Kammerman, and Miles Shusterman had the opportunity to be chairs for the Middle Eastern Summit. This allowed the three to see model UN from a different perspective, this time not as delegates. They had the chance to learn how to administer a committee session and even learned some skills from the delegates. They also introduced the Great Humus Crisis.
Thank you to Rylee Gluck, Hailie Avigdor, Ari Mitgang, Ethan Muller, and Micki Appel, who were the delegates from HAFTR, for their hard work and dedication to YLMUN. Additionally, we want to thank Mr. Libkind for making this event happen. The turnout at YLMUN III was spectacular, and great anticipation surrounds next year’s YLMUN IV! n
