1000 Join Worldwide Virtual Spanish Pegisha

1000 young people from Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Israel, USA, Panama, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay and ten other countries, connected to a virtual world youth meeting, termed a pegisha.

For the past thirty years, El Lazo has made a trip to unite Jewish youth from Latin America, but this year it was not going to be possible. For this reason, faced with the challenge of the pandemic, instead of doing nothing, they decided to redouble the bet and make it global.

Taking full advantage of the virtual modality, they summoned speakers from all over the world, held conferences, debates, games, shows, solidarity actions, generated moments of connection and reflection, mentoring with entrepreneurs and “virtual connection”, where all young people from their houses were connected to each other.

The organizers worked day and night to produce a virtual event with a complete and rich programming for four days, all of which Accompanied by actions and programs designed and directed especially to the younger generation, in a special and informal environment.

The main part of the event was attended by the Minister of Diaspora, Ms. Omer Yankelevich, who empowered the young people in their important role in the Diaspora, making them feel like “leaders,” and empowering themselves and those around them in Jewish identity, pride, and their connection to Israel.

Also present at this part was the former Minister of Defense and Diaspora Mr. Naftali Bennett, who spoke about the aspiration and tremendous power of the youth.

One particularly moving part dealt with the Holocaust and the lessons that emerged from it, with the participation of Holocaust survivor Ms Monica Davidovich, who shared her life story and fascinated the participants.

Also in this part of the program, the participants heard a fascinating “live” testimony of a young Jewish woman from Israel, who is a daughter of a member of one of the main Hamas groups and escaped through an organization Yad L’achim. Today she helps other Jewish girls get out of their imprisonment.

Talks and discussions were also held on abortion and the issue of gender equality, with the participation of the president of the global organization Efrat, Dr. Eli Schussheim, and the philosopher Dr. Fischel Schlein.

We thank the organizers, Rabbi Shlomo Levy and her team for this wonderful work and also the 50+ Chabad houses that participated in this program.