160 Students Travel to D.C. with YUPAC to Thank Members of Congress
160 Yeshiva University students traveled to Washington D.C. on April 10 to express gratitude to pro-Israel members of Congress with the Yeshiva University Political Action Club (YUPAC).
The trip followed the annual YUPAC lobbying mission which took place in November 2023 in response to Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. During the visit, students met with members of Congress and their staff to discuss the importance of ongoing American assistance and military aid for Israel, the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. and the importance of confronting Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.
“The trip was an opportunity for us to express our Hakarat Hatov to our elected officials who have unequivocally stood by us,” said Allie Organ (SCW ‘24), a former YUPAC president who helped plan the mission. “While previous YUPAC trips have focused on meeting with Congress members to ask for their support for Israel, we believe it’s just as important to show those who have been standing with us how much we appreciate their efforts. This trip allowed us to make a Kiddush Hashem and show what we’re all about.”
Three buses departed in the early morning from the Beren and Wilf campuses. Upon arriving at the Capitol, students were addressed by Sen. John Fetterman who expressed his support for Israel and was presented by the students with a Yeshiva University hoodie.
Students were split up into 16 groups and each group had two or three lobbying appointments with various members of Congress and their staff throughout the day, including Rep. Adriano Espaillat, whose district includes YU's Wilf Campus.
During the lobbying sessions, students visited over 100 senators and representatives' offices to deliver official YUPAC thank-you letters as a gesture of appreciation for their support of Israel.
“It was so empowering to see the power of saying thank you,” said Bat-Tzion Atik (SCW ‘26), a YUPAC board member and a lobbying group leader. “Every representative and senator that we met with had so much appreciation for the fact we came to say thank you for what they’re doing to help the Jewish People and Israel during this time.”
Between meetings, many groups of students received tours of the Capitol building. Rep. Brian Mast delivered a speech to the students and later in the day, Reps. Michael Lawler, Jim Jordan and Ronny Jackson also addressed the YU student group, telling students about their actions in support of Israel.
The buses then departed for AIPAC's Washington D.C. office for dinner with American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) Leadership Development Director Karli Krasnipol. The day concluded with the return to YU at 10 p.m.
