Blake Senet and Leigh Jacobson
Editor-in-Chief and Spotlight Editor
On Tuesday February 22, the upperclassmen were privileged to be an audience to Israeli Goodwill Ambassador to the U.N. and former Maccabi Tel Aviv superstar, Mr. Tal Brody.
Brody is an internationally acclaimed Israeli hero, having successfully led Maccabi Tel Aviv to victory in the European Cup finals multiple times. He is currently working in Israel with various community service organizations, in addition to his work as Goodwill Ambassador.
Brody spoke to students about his work as Ambassador, and also mentioned his connection to the school, having visited the Stephen S. Wise Elementary School campus many years ago. An interesting aspect of Brody’s speech was the recounting of his experiences in talking with college students and various organizations. He stated that he was able to engnge in productive discussion because people respond to him as a Goodwill Ambassador on a human level, and not as a politician with an agenda.
“I believe this is exactly what we are trying to do with our 11th grade Israel Ambassador Workshops for Tiferet fellows, as well as other work here at Milken for all of our students,” said Ms. Alisha Pedowitz, Director of Israel Programs. “We want to help them figure out how they can relay Israel on a very personal level to other people. Tal Brody is a major example of how powerful that type of ‘ambassadorship’ can be.”
Additionally, he spoke about what it was like to be a professional basketball player and compete side by side with icons like Magic Johnson.
“As a huge basketball fan, it was really interesting to hear him speak,” Danny Zaga ’12 said.
After the meeting, students on the boy’s and girl’s varsity basketball teams were permitted to train with Mr. Brody for around half an hour.
“It was amazing playing with a legend and an experience I will never forget,” Lucas Fisher ’11 said.