Muhlenberg College Hillel welcomes second year-long Israel Fellow to campus
Muhlenberg College Hillel welcomes Liron Daniel, its second full-time, year-long Jewish Agency for Israel and Hillel International Israel Fellow to campus.
Friday, September 2, 2016 03:48 PM
Daniel will work through Muhlenberg College Hillel to shape, expand and enrich its Israel engagement, Israel education and Israel experience programming. She will travel to Israel as a staff member on two Birthright-Israel trips. Daniel will serve as a core member of the Hillel team, working closely with faculty, staff and students as well as the local Jewish community.
“We are thrilled to welcome Liron Daniel to Muhlenberg College Hillel,” said Hillel director and Jewish chaplain Rabbi Melissa B. Simon, “She will bring her knowledge and skills to bring focus to our Israel programs and build more student relationships across campus.”
Originally from Jerusalem, Daniel served in the Israeli Military Police Corps for two years. She has also worked as a journalism and communication monitor at The Office of the Prime Minister, monitoring and analyzing Israeli media trends and preparing reports for the Prime Minister and the National Information Array’s staff.
“I want to connect Jews of different backgrounds to Israel and its people. I believe personal connections are the most powerful and important tool we have for achieving this goal. This is the best way to make a true and deep connection between different people and communities,” Daniel said.
Her past experiences mean that Daniel brings with her a strong knowledge of Israeli history, geography and current events. She is earning a B.A. in international relations, communication and journalism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Outside of work, Daniel enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, reading novels and watching movies.
In the fall of 2014, in the aftermath of the War in Gaza, Muhlenberg College Hillel welcomed a short-term Israel Fellow, Yael Gertel, to campus to provide extra support, unique and innovative strategy for Israel engagement and education. Through the work of this experienced veteran Israel Fellow, Hillel was able to benefit from a taste of another medium through which students are able to connect with, understand and support Israel on campus.
Due to the overwhelming success of Gertel’s work and in thanks to the generosity of an alumni donor, Muhlenberg College Hillel welcomed Or Adi as its first full-time, year-long Israel Fellow for the beginning of the 2015-16 school year.
Since 2003, Hillel International has partnered with The Jewish Agency for Israel, placing Israel Fellows on campuses throughout North America to engage Jewish college students. Jewish Agency Israel Fellows are charismatic young professionals who haveserved in the Israel Defense Forces. In their roles on campus, they share personal experiences of modern Israel through the lens of its socially-progressive values and its accomplishments in technology, life sciences and the arts. Working hand-in-hand with Hillel professionals on campus, the Fellows support students and help them to grapple with complex issues that are often emotional and may seem contradictory. Israel Fellows often become the face of Israel for the North American students they work with, offering them a unique and authentic relationship with Israel and Israelis.
Muhlenberg College Hillel serves the most active Jewish campus population in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. Nearly 30% of the 2200 member student body at Muhlenberg College identifies as Jewish. Over two-thirds of the Jewish students on campus are active in Hillel, making it the largest student organization of any kind on campus. Muhlenberg College was recently recognized as having the seventh largest Jewish population per capita of any college in the nation. Hillel’s Mission: Enriching the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pa., approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
