SSI Student Spotlight: Eden Litvin
A freshman at Pace University, Eden Litvin, is an International Management major.
Her revival of the Pace SSI chapter had a huge impact on her values.
“When I choose to re-open SSI at my school, it gave me motivation and inspired me to work hard at my school work but also to work hard and fight for what I believe.”
Almost eight years ago, Eden moved to the USA from Israel. Most of her childhood she spent speaking, reading, and writing in Hebrew. When she moved to America, her connection to Israel still remained strong,
“I spoke Hebrew with my parents and siblings at home and joined the Israeli Scouts. The Tzofim helped to integrate me into the Israeli Jewish community in Tenafly, NJ, and further strengthened my bond with Israel despite now living in the United States”
Eden explains that Israel will always remain a crucial part of her identity.
She returns to Israel to be with her family every summer. When in Israel, Eden attends a sleep away camp with the Israeli Scouts to explore her heritage and history in Israel as a Jew.
“Israel will always be my homeland and I know that regardless of where I am in the world, I will always have a home in the land of the Jewish people.”
Pace University leans more apathetically when it comes to Israel. However, with a tricky administration, getting approval for a club, let alone a pro-Israel club, is difficult. Eden believe when her chapter is approved, Pace’s SSI events will impact her campus by educating the apathetic students, who don’t know anything about Israel.
Once approved, Eden’s goals are to pass pro-Israel legislation through her campus.
Having always been a part of organizations and clubs before attending college, Eden fully anticipated being very active on her campus.
She re-opened Pace’s chapter of SSI because it was an inactive club on campus. When starting her first semester, Eden felt that Pace needed a pro-Israel club on camps, and so she took the initiative to bring back, what she describes as, “the only coherent voice in support for Israel on our campus.”
SSI was a perfect fit for someone like Eden.
“I needed to find something that would fit with my interests and something that can cause a real change on my campus.”
As a staunch Zionist, Eden’s greatest inspirations for her pro-Israel work are her parents and grandparents. Eden’s definition of what it means to be a, “Zionist is to believe that the Jewish people deserve to have their own state in the land of Israel.” Continuing this idea, Eden feels that she has been empowered to continue her work through SSI.
“SSI showed me that I shouldn’t hide the Israeli and the Jewish part of me and that I need to stand and support Israel for myself and all the others at Pace University that have felt my struggle.”
At the SSI Conference this past December at Columbia University in New York City, where Eden says is her most cherished SSI memory, Eden won the award of Outstanding Work for her commitment and dedication to pro-Israel advocacy at Pace. While Eden came to the conference alone without knowing anyone or what to expect, she says, “I came out of the conference with more friends and the feeling that I am apart of something.”
We are thrilled with Eden’s work, and are proud to have the Pace chapter back and ready for action!
