Jewish joy in Philadelphia

Anyone who classifies Jewish youth as an apathetic lot has never been to a B’nai B’rith Youth Organization international convention.

Bedecked in colors and outfits that reflected their 52 home countries, Jewish teens shouted and waved hands, flags and banners in an expression of effusive delight (and perhaps, a bit of relief) to be among others like them.

They filled the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia last Thursday night with youthful energy, practically running through the Grand Hall into a massive ballroom. Once there, they filed in to find their seats among the thousands of participants and guests who attended the opening ceremony of a jam-packed five-day program, taking place from Feb. 12-15 over the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend.

A total of 3,400 Jewish teen leaders signed up for International Convention 2026 — or just “IC,” in the lingo of those in the know — representing 511 chapters from North America and around the world.

The theme of this year’s conference was “We the Future.”

As with all things teen, the festivities began with music — first with a teen band and then with members of a troupe from the hit Broadway show “Hamilton.” The performers belted out four popular tunes, with most in the crowd standing on their chairs, and singing or mouthing the lyrics verbatim, moving to the music in the first quarter of the 21st century like it was the “Hair” of their time.

It was a hard act to follow. But Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, gave it the old high school try.

First, he gave a shout-out to liberty and to Philadelphia.

“It’s so good to see you here,” he belted out from the stage. “I want to welcome you to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

He started by stating that 250 years ago, “just down the street,” patriots living in what is now the United States declared independence from a king in England. But, he said, “they left the work incomplete. They left the job to the next generation. They left the job to you.”

Because, he emphasized, “you are the future, and you are the power to shape it. And don’t wait. The future is right now. Do not look for others to do the work. This is not an opportunity. This is your responsibility.”

The crowd cheered, many of them understanding the reference to their religion and their work as youth ambassadors of Judaism and Israel.

“It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect [or desist from] it,” is found in Pirkei Avot and often used as a rallying cry to go out and get things done.

The governor, who attended day school in the Philadelphia-area suburbs and now-famously asked his wife to marry him while in Jerusalem, told the crowd that “I lean on my faith, and I am proud of my faith, just like all of you.”

That got even more applause.

“Go back to your communities and make a difference. … Go home and act in ways big and small,” he said, telling the teens to wear their Stars of David and to confront the bullies with an effort to change minds, stressing that they are not victims.

Upon the conclusion of his address, he was presented with BBYO’s Stand UP Gemilut Chasadim Award by two student emcees: Daniel Goldstein, a senior who attends the same day school Shapiro did, and his niece, Vered Shapiro.

Next on stage were Jonathan Greenblatt, national director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, and his wife, Marjan Keypour Greenblatt, an Iranian Jewish political refugee to the United States who is the founder and director of the nonprofit Alliance for Rights of All Minorities, or ARAM.

They were introduced by one of their three children, who currently holds a leadership position in BBYO.

Greenblatt also encouraged the teens to exhibit their Jewish identity publicly by wearing chai necklaces and BBYO T-shirts. “You guys,” he said, “are what courage looks like.”

But it was his wife who dominated their talk on stage, explaining that she was smuggled out of Tehran, where she was born and raised, at age 7, and settled in Los Angeles. A once-carefree early childhood changed dramatically with the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which she had to cover her hair, and suddenly, watch what she said and did.

Now, she is advocating for the plight of Iranian protesters who are attempting to break the yoke of their regime — “the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, antisemitism and extremism.”

She told the crowd that the Hamas-led terrorist attacks and atrocities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, were “straight out of the Islamic Republic playbook — and their pocketbook.”

Iran, she said, is “a brutal dictatorship that spreads hate and death across the Middle East.”

And many of its civilians across the country have been in the streets, on and off, since January, “risking everything to fight for their freedom. But they are paying the price,” she stated, as military-grade weapons are being used against them.

Reports have estimated a death toll of 35,000 or more, though no one can be sure.

She looked at the audience members and said of the protesters: “They are refusing to be intimidated by people sowing fear — just like you.”

Softening, she ended by saying that she dreams of reconnecting to the Jewish community she left behind in Iran, and that maybe one day, BBYO can welcome Jews from Iran at the IC.