Eli Block

The first shot is of Josh waking up to his mom’s voice. She yells “Josh wake up!” in a motherly way. The camera is zoomed in on Josh’s face as he wakes up and his eyes open the camera zooms out. It appears as if nothing is wrong in that moment but it is clear to the audience that his life is not as it once was. As the camera zooms out you can see Josh is covered in blankets, the room is dull, grey covers the walls. You can see that it is still dark outside. The movie is very playful and full of colors so the dark colors create an immediate difference. The slow camera movement builds suspense.

The second shot is of Josh walking to the bathroom. You can see him walking at the second floor of the house while his mom is cooking below. The suspense continues to build. There is non-diegetic music playing, it is very ominous sounding which helps build suspense. Along with the music you hear the creaking of the floor signifying a lot of weight is being put on it and the comforting sounds of Josh’s mom cooking.  The sounds are incredibly important in this shot as it gives a homey feeling while showing not everything is okay. The camera does not move and shows both floors of the house.

The third shot shows Josh looking at himself in the mirror. The shot is an over the shoulder shot and shows Josh looking at himself. He begins to freak out. The camera then pans to Josh’s room where his mom is folding clothes. To her everything seems fine while the audience knows what happened to Josh. The camera then pans again to Josh trying to figure out what happened to himself. He clears his eyes and shakes his head. There is diegetic sound of all the actions happening.

The fourth shot is the most suspenseful. You see Josh cautiously leave the bathroom however he is clearly unaware of his mom in his room. The camera is at eye level and follows Josh as he slowly moves closer and closer to his room. The floorboards creak with each step. Then Josh’s mom shouts “Josh are you okay?” Josh’s face quickly changes, he looks mortified. He responds “yes mom” as he runs back to the bathroom. He closes the door and begins hyperventilating behind the closed door. The camera continues to stay at eye level while following Josh’s face.

The fifth and final shot is of Josh frantically collecting his things. The camera movement follows Josh’s and as he begins to trip and fall while getting his things together the camera shakes with him. The non-diegetic sound gets louder and faster. The suspense builds and it seems like something big is going to happen. At this point the room is bright. There is a big difference from the first slow moving dull shot and the fast moving bright shot that is happening now. As Josh attempts to put on his clothes he realizes he fits none of what he owns. Yet again we here Josh’s mom ask to make sure he is okay and this time there is more fear in his voice when he responds.

Summary:

Over the course of my senior year I worked diligently to host an Ultimate Frisbee tournament as my capstone. I began my process with interviewing experienced tournament directors and finding out all of the necessary information needed to put together a good event. Once I was able to create my list of steps that I would need to take, I moved forward with scheduling. Planning the event required, finding field space, finding a certified medical professional, ordering porta potties for the event, reaching out to ultimate teams and budgeting. Along the way I learned many things about how to act in a professional environment. In early April my tournament took place. Ten teams from the greater Philadelphia area attended the tournament and ultimately it was a great success. The tournament taught me a lot and raised over one thousand dollars for the Science Leadership Academy Ultimate team.

Eli Block

Annotated Bibliography  

Bradley Palmer (Abington High School)

Palmer Bradley. Email,  January 2018

Bradley Palmer is the assistant principal of Abington Senior High School. Mr.Lehmann put me in contact with him because he potentially had field space that we could use to host the tournament. I learned how to properly write formal emails and what it takes to keep in contact with someone on a more professional level. Unfortunately there was no available field space for the right time and date for the tournament but I learned a lot while in communication with him. The planning required to secure event space requires more insight than I initially thought and in the future I will know how much background information I should have before contacting someone.

Disc Store

"Home." Disc Store. Accessed January 26, 2018. https://www.discstore.com/custom-apparel.

Discstore is one of the most popular Ultimate apparel brands in the country. They sponsor events and provide merchandise. I was told about their sponsorship policies from Jereme Mason. They will sponsor an event for free and after the event you send them 70-80% of the money made from merchandise. This is a great way to get some cool memorabilia from the tournament and I will learn how to design clothing and discs. I intend to call them to discuss the percent of the money made that we send back. Disc Store has sponsored thousands of tournaments and events and is a very reliable source.

Graham, Seth.. Personal Interview 7 October 2017

Seth Graham is the coach of the Methacton High School Ultimate team, he also is one of the organizes of PHUEL (Philadelphia High School Ultimate Education League). He was my first contact for the research part of my capstone. I learned about what goes into creating and organizing an Ultimate tournament and what options would  be best for our tournament. He provided me with the names of people who would be helpful in continuing to learn about how to put on an Ultimate tournament and led me in a direction where I could make progress with my capstone. As the capstone progresses I will keep in contact with him because he is a reliable resource and very helpful.

Ultiworld

"Home." Philadelphia High School Ultimate Education League. Accessed January 26, 2018. http://phuel.ultimatecentral.com/.

Phuel ultimate is the Philadelphia High School Ultimate Educational League, it provides information for teams in the area and other things youth ultimate in Philadelphia. Before every season there is a meeting that I will be attending and it will provide dates and locations for tournaments. The website has is like a hub of information that has provided me with things about Philadelphia ultimate that I had not known before. It provides names of people that can be helpful in making my tournament be a success. Moving forward I will continue to check the website to gain an insight into what's going on in the Philadelphia youth ultimate scene.

Mason, Jereme. Personal Interview. 23 January 2018

Jereme Mason is the found of Ulti Planning, a company that creates and organizes Ultimate Frisbee tournaments.  They are partnered with a variety of Ultimate services who offer Ultimate related gear. Jereme is also the youth director for the Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance and a full time employ of Pada.. He was a very helpful contact that provided me with information about securing field space, and other logistical aspects of a Frisbee tournament. He explained the constraints that each field space has and what space would be the best match for our tournament. He provided me with the contact information of people who I could talk to about the necessities of a tournament.

Minneci Christina (Lower Merion High School)

Christina is the coach of Lower Merion High School ultimate team, she has had a lot of success as coach and has organized tournaments before.  She has been a prominent member of the Philadelphia Ultimate community, and sits on the board of PHUEL. I contacted her about the reality of having our tournament be USAU certified. She provided me with the pros and cons of a USAU certification. After several emails chains it was decided that the tournament would not be USAU certified.. She was a helpful source of information in the early stages of the research part of the project.  

Pollock, Simon. "Tuesday Tips: 7 Tournament Director Basics, Presented By Spin Ultimate." Ultiworld. July 19, 2016. Accessed January 26, 2018. https://ultiworld.com/2016/07/19/tuesday-tips-7-tournament-director-basics-presented-spin-ultimate/.

This article explains in depth what goes into a general ultimate tournament. It is a reliable source because ultiworld is a know rebuttable ultimate online magazine. The tournament covered aspects of the tournament I had not yet think about like what happens if there is too much rain or some part of it fails. When creating brackets and the physical layout of the field scheduling I now know what to do and how to organize it. Moving forward the tournament will be more organized and have a more professional feel to it. I feel like I have now found everything that has gone into a tournament and now need to organize it.

"Pennsbury's Fall Brawl." Pennsbury Ultimate Frisbee. Accessed January 26, 2018. http://www.phsultimate.com/fb.php.

Every year Pennsbury hosts a tournament in the fall and spring for youth ultimate. It has been one of the longest running tournaments in the country. The SLA team has attended for several years. The website provides score updates, scheduling and other useful things that are necessary for the tournament. Having a website like this seems like a great idea and very useful to teams looking to come to the tournament but are unsure about its legitimacy.  The website is incredibly helpful and organized and I am now considering creating a website for the tournament. The websites reliability is good. Because SLA has gone to the tournament the websites authenticity has been checked.

Prushan Joel

Joel is an active member of the Philadelphia Ultimate community. He works with Pada and helps connect coaches with teams in need. I am interviewing him because he has reliable information regarding tournament organizing and running. Joel coaches a Philadelphia club team and has a lot of knowledge about ultimate. He has a lot of helpful contacts and potentially can help with securing sponsors for the tournament and other small things I might need. I contacted Joel in late 2017 and have talked to him a couple times about the event. His reach in the community is very helpful in organizing this tournament.

USAU tournament sanctioning

"USA Ultimate." Tournament Sanctioning. Accessed January 26, 2018.

https://www.usaultimate.org/tournaments/.

Initially the tournament was supposed to be USAU certified, so we could put the tournament date on their event calendar and entice teams into coming to our tournament. The goal was to make this as official as possible and attract the highest caliber teams. However after researching what it takes to get an event certified it was decided that the tournament would not be certified. There were to many constraints such as age, price and tournament rostering. I learned what it takes to have an Ultimate be official and how I could make it that way. Also how to deviate from your initial plan when something is not working out or when you know it will not go smoothly.

History prompts the question of, when can you justify torture?  Throughout history, people have found ways to make torture more brutal and more complicated. Destroying minds and bodies torture leaves a path of destruction. However, does torture get answers from people that would not have given up secrets otherwise?

A prime example of the ethics of torture is the trolley problem. The trolley problem is a dilemma where there is a trolley moving on a track and will hit and kill five people who are tied up on the track. You have the ability to pull a lever which switches the tracks and the trolley would hit and kill one person. You could do nothing and five people will die or, pull the lever and one person will die. One can argue that you do nothing and you have no blood on your hands. The other argument would be that you have an obligation to pull the lever and save the five lives while killing the one person. Torture can be connected to this situation. The military can torture one person who has information about a possible terrorist attack and prevent it. Or, they could question the person without applying force and get little to no information and many people die in result of that. The answer to this seems straightforward, torture the one person to save the lives of many. However, in war, things are not so simple. There are rules and laws set in place to protect the enemy. In war there is a rule that people are told to follow, “Jus in bello” it “means justice in war, and has traditionally been concerned with the treatment of the enemy.” During war rules and laws get broken and lines get crossed, people make decisions on behalf of others and many people suffer.

Another issue with torture is the person that you are torturing. If the person who is the victim of torture is someone who has committed heinous crimes the morality of torture becomes easier to deal with. However, many times during war when dealing with torture it is innocent civilians who are tortured and who suffer. Red Cross is a protective organization for victims of war, on the red cross website they write “a neutral protective sign for those helping the victims of conflict was adopted; a red cross on a white background, the exact reverse of the Swiss flag.” When a story comes out about a civilian being tortured all arguments for torture goes out the window. There is an uproar of anger and the military is the antagonist.

Torture also happens in the field between a soldier and a civilian. Chris Hedges a pulitzer prize winner and anti-war activist writes “I think for those who are in combat, it very swiftly can become an addiction. War is its own subculture. It can create a landscape of the grotesque that is, perhaps, unlike anything else created by human beings. There is that rush of war.” Soldiers get carried away and forget what they are supposed to do. Civilians become the victims of a gruesome war that they take no part in.

As the world becomes more humanitarian, acts of torture are outlawed. Waterboarding is one of the most known outlawed forms of torture.  It is a devastating act that destroys a human being. So to answer when can you justify torture one has to look at the specific action at hand and decide whether or not torture in that circumstance is justified. To those who wish to outlaw all forms of torture, look at the events where torture prevented terrorist attacks. To those who wish to legalize all forms of torture; look at the lasting effect torture leaves on millions of people all around the world.

Roscini, Marco . "World Wide Warfare-Jus Ad Bellum and the Use of Cyber Force." Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law 14 (2010): 86-132.

"War and international humanitarian law." ICRC. October 29, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2017. https://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/overview-war-and-law.htm.

"January 31, 2003 ~ Interview: Chris Hedges." PBS. May 10, 2013. Accessed March 16, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2003/01/31/january-31-2003-interview-chris-hedges/13987/.

Emba, Christine. "Opinion | Just War Theory: A primer." The Washington Post. November 30, 2015. Accessed March 16, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2015/11/30/just-war-theory-a-primer/?utm_term=.52908b130ad2.

Lacewing, Michael. "Just War Theory." 1-4. Accessed March 23, 2017.

A socioeconomic status can be defined in two ways. The first is a socioeconomic status being defined by where they live, and what material possessions they have. That is a socially defined definition. The second way of defining socioeconomic status is one's income and where that person falls on the poverty scale. The two ways of understanding someone's socioeconomic status tend to be complicated, one way to understand the distinction between the two is by looking at an example.  If there is someone living in center city whose income is below the state poverty line and someone living in a poorer neighborhood but their income is above the state poverty line, the person living in the poorer neighborhood will be viewed by society as impoverished rather than the person living in Center City. These two definitions of socioeconomic status are important in understanding where people come from and what they value.

Community creates one's identity which in turn dictates how much money someone will make in the future. Someone from an upper class community might automatically believe that they will make a lot of money in the future due to the resources that are offered to them as well as, they have little to no interaction with poverty so it is incredibly foreign to them.  However someone from an impoverished community might believe that they cannot make more money in the future, they do not have the same resources offered as the wealthy kids do and because of where they come from they are not able to get out of the vicious cycle of society.  Between the two extremes lies the middle class, the identity of the middle class is incredibly fragile. To generalize, a lot of the middle class are insecure about their jobs, how much money they make etc. This leads a lot of the population of the middle class to at some point fall below the poverty line. There are many factors that leads to this self-perception and insecurity. A New York Times article about economic classes explains “Middle-class anxiety has been driven by several factors: increasing instability in incomes, a sense among many Americans that they are failing to keep up with the gains of previous generations, and an increasing gap between themselves and the very rich.” To sum up the causes “Middle-class anxiety” is the result of people viewing themselves as less than or failures. Failing to be as successful as previous generations and less than the middle class and the worry that they will never get there. This way of thinking does not lead to promotions and higher paychecks, rather it creates stress and anxiety that many people feed on and make money off of.

The self-perception of one’s self is only a piece of the financial puzzle. Another piece is one's identity. Sarah Grace King, an undergraduate student at Duke university, took a survey about entitlement at her university. King wrote, “Despite the apparent diversity among my respondents, a finding consistent throughout all interviews was the sentiment of entitlement— the idea that Duke students have essentially been gifted with a sort of salvation as a result of having the opportunity to attend such a prestigious institution. “ Most if not all of Duke students believed they would be successful later in life. Most of the students later in fact did become incredibly successful in their careers. Their success was a result of the prestigious school they went too, and the identity that goes along with the education. Identity is developed over time. Through one’s community growing up as well as when they are older. The upper class and upper-middle class share a similar identity. More resources are offered to the upper class as well as the upper-middle class, it is incredibly unfair and unjust and they use those resources to get a step up on everyone else. Financially the upper middle class is pulling away from everyone else. “But class is not just about money. Education is an important ingredient, too. A higher level of education tends to be associated with greater occupational prestige and autonomy, as well as job quality and security.” This only leads to greater divides amongst the classes and as a result lowers people’s perception of themselves making them believe they are less than everyone else.

Where someone comes from forms their identity and who they will be later in life. Their identity in turn will dictate their socioeconomic status. All successful people believe they are able to do what they put their mind to and this type of growth mindset comes from one’s identity and self-perception.

“The pen is mightier than the sword”. This famous quote has been passed around through historians, authors and teachers. In the book, “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, Jack and Ralph have many argumentative confrontations in which diplomacy never works. Jack whom is a bloodthirsty individual cannot be connected too when it comes to diplomacy. Jack is strictly a war like person. Throughout the course of history, society can see that bloodthirsty individuals cannot be diplomatic, and people like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin could not be diplomatic and craved power through fear, and violence. A bloodthirsty person is someone who might resort to violence and killing rather than, a peaceful solution. Throughout time, history has seen its fare share of bloodthirsty people. Death is the result of power in a bloodthirsty person's hand.

Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party and began to take of Europe which led to World War II from 1934 to 1945. He came into power through a democracy and although he was voted into power his true intentions seemed to be hidden. As his time in power went on, war started due to his craving for power and the refusal to gain power in a diplomatic way. He put Germany’s problems on the Jews and used them as scapegoat so he could mask who he really was. As tensions grew, more and more people reached out to Adolf Hitler in a diplomatic way in order for him to stop his reign of terror. All of these attempts were futile because of Hitler’s bloodthirsty mindset. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a german pastor who vocally objected to Adolf Hitler’s movement and what he preached. He openly spoke out against Hitler and instead of being confronted by Hitler or Hitler’s followers, he was killed in 1945. Someone who resorts to killing and violence is someone who cannot see a diplomatic solution or a peaceful one.

In chapter 9 of “Lord of the Flies”, the boys have captured and feasted on a pig and are celebrating their accomplishments. Jack sits on his throne like a king while the boys wait on him hand and foot. Ralph attempts talking to him about the fact that they do not have a shelter and a storm is coming butthis does not seem to worry Jack. Instead, Jack and his followers started a war dance, in which they get very riled up. Simon then comes out of the forrest and Jack and his group begin to kill him in their crazy frenzy.  In the beginning of the book, Ralph attempted to calm down Jack and bring him back to his senses. He did this by calmly talking to him about shelters and the upcoming storm. This attempt at diplomacy was to no avail as Jack did not listen. Jack who has had a thirst for blood since arriving on the island, continues to show his savagery and lack of thought put into himself and his people. Then as he has instilled fear, and a false sense of power into his people much like how Hitler did to his people. They killed Simon, a defenseless person who had good news. Piggy and Ralph were not near and could not have stopped the onslaught, but Jack could have. But being the bloodthirsty individual that he is, he decided not too.

Joseph Stalin was the head of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1952. In that time, he killed twenty million people. Essentially, Stalin create a dictatorship in the Soviet Union. He did this by eliminating his competition, controlling the media and pushing propaganda onto his people. As his power grew continue to increase, people were slaughtered. This person clearly was not capable of being diplomatic and having a good sense or morality was impossible to connect to in a diplomatic way. Only a savage could kill twenty million of his own people and continue to rule. Due to this,  Joseph Stalin could be defined as a bloodthirsty individual.

From what society can deduce through multiple examples of close minded, bloodthirsty and overall bad people is that those kinds of people are not capable of change nor capable of being diplomatic in any way. Both in “Lord of the Flies” and in the real world examples, people died because of these kinds of people, and not just a few but millions. Imagine how many more people would be alive today if Stalin and Hitler were capable of having reason and being diplomatic and not full of hatred. Imagine who would have come off of the island if Jack was reasonable and did not lead himself and his followers to violent solutions. The world would be better off with diplomacy and many examples show us this. Even, the Vietnam war. Society can clearly see that after attempting violence and war, millions of people died and still violence is not a solution. When dealing with bloodthirsty individuals violence is the answer, and diplomacy will not resonate with them.

Kid sits on a chair

Ugh! Not again! Every day these smelly, big, ugly teenagers sit on me. Why? I have seen it all, children have farted, peed, and thrown up on me. I just wish I was unused, thrown away, like so many others before me. (Child drags chair across the room.) Please God make it stop! I cannot take more of this, I am disrespected in every way. I bet these kids would not like it if I dragged them across the floor. I swear if one of these kids steps on me, with their shoe I am gonna break myself. I look now at my legs - the way they have been dirtied, and scratched, I wish I was new again, back to the where people were fighting over having me to sit on. Now people try and avoid me, but they cannot. I am here, I will always be here in this damned place. Sitting in this one room for kids to use and abuse me. (School bell rings.) Finally! These kids are leaving, I think it’s lunch and no kids come into the classroom at lunch. I have this whole hour to be by myself. (Door opens and a heavy kid walks in.) Please don’t pick me please don’t. (Child sits on chair and breaks it.) Why me? I’m old and weak! I cannot hold this child for much longer. My legs are breaking, oh please get up! Please, please, please, please, please! Now this beast of a human is sweating, he knows he broke me. (Child picks up chair and starts carrying it outside) At least I am going to my final resting place. Now no more kids are going to be sitting on me, making me smell bad. (Kid sits chair down outside and starts to cry.) He’s crying? I am the one who’s in pain though. Well, he did break me, I guess, he is embarrassed. He didn’t break me that bad (a couple second pause)  I guess. I wish this kid could hear me, maybe I can try to fix myself, he can still sit on me. Damn, I feel bad now. Hey Kid if you can hear me stop crying! It is okay you will grow up and change. Just believe you can be healthy and you will be. Don’t let these kids get you down, most of  them smell bad anyway. Things will get better (pause) I have seen it happen. You are young with no worries please kid (sigh), please believe me!

“Hey Eli, get a kippah on, let’s go!”

“Sorry Mom, one second let me find one.”

“Eli! You do this every week! Hurry up!”

It was shabbos morning or the sabbath as some other people call it. Man I am not excited to go today. I’m just not feeling it. Maybe if I say I have work to do my Mom won’t make me go.

“Hey Mom! I have a ton of work to do I don’t know if I should go.”

“Eli Block! You are going to Synagogue.”

Reluctantly I walked down stairs and headed for Synagogue. The walk is short and pleasant with the cool breeze and smell of ashes in a fire place running through the city. We arrived at the small Synagogue that sits atop a Boar's Head Deli in the middle of center city. The smell of waiting cholent (a Jewish food often made for the meal after Synagogue) rushed through the opening door. I walked about the steep narrow stairs to the top of the Synagogue. I hanged my coat up on the rack threw my kippah on my head and strode into the main room where the Rabbi was giving his Dvar Torah. As he began to speak about this weeks Torah portion I fell asleep.. Resting my arm on my leg and my head on my arm I fell into a restful quick sleep.

I was woken by the violent poking of my brother telling me to wake up before we started to pray again. Sleepily I rubbed my eyes and stood up. I opened my Siddur (Jewish prayer book) and turned to where we were. The familiar cadence of the Amidah hummed through my head. I started to sing along with the community. The lines and lines of prayers to God would go on for another hours or so. Then kiddush started. It is a small meal after synagogue’s prayers and this is where a lot of my true language comes out.

“Hey Eli, can you babysit for Yuval tonight?”

“Yeah sure, um what times do you need me for?”

“Can you be there until 11 or 12?”

“Yeah sure I'll have my mom email you after Shabbos for your address and everything.”

“Okay sounds good thank you so much.”

A polite 15 year old boy who grew up in a middle class neighborhood. In my past experience, I was not unique. I went to a school filled with people who spoke just like me. The history of my language is no secret. My family has been in the United States for a while and the way I speak is a result of that. My family are European Jews from Poland. Both my father and mother grew up in primarily white neighborhoods and they both speak what someone would call “Proper English.”

To analyze the history of my language to a further extent I can look at the several parts to the question “what is the history of my language?” The history of my personal language where I, myself learned to speak or where my ancestors learned to speak. To start I can look at where I personally learned to speak.

I was placed into an environment where almost everyone speaks proper English. Being sent to a private Jewish day school meant no one used slang, no one cursed. So using slang and curse words came to me later as I grew up. Continuing through middle school proper English was still the norm. As social media became more popular among my friends and me, using slang became more common. Then I came to high school where slang and curse words were used in abundance and so that became a norm for me. I know as I continue through life I will stop using slang and most curse words and use more of a proper English like I did when I was younger.

My ancestors spoke Yiddish and as they moved to the United States they adapted. Back in the early 1900’s using proper English and respectful language was not only the norm but using something to the contrary was cause for punishment. My grandfather is a great example of this use of language. y grandfather’s speech is mature and refined. He too grew up in Philadelphia and although he grew up here he does not have a Philadelphia accent.

To look back my language is a direct result of my environment. Therefore the history of my language is not deep. Since my environment is changing my language does to. It is not a constant, it might change based on my age, the area in which I live, and so many other factors.

However there is another language that is not changing. My second language, Hebrew, has not changed as my environment did. It is unique to one specific environment. Hebrew comes out in prayer. When I go to Synagogue, I pray and chant in hebrew. The language does not change it stays as it is written and it will stay written in one specific way forever.

The history of my hebrew language is a result of my Jewish environment. It does not run deep like English to me. My speech is a result of the history and experiences through my fifteen years of life on earth. However the part of the English language I share with hundreds of thousands of people is in no way unique but the history of it runs very deep through. Through immigration and the norms of years and years in the United States a speech was formed that is now you used by many including myself.

My past work has led up to my Agent of Change, and making a change in the world. In my first blog post (passion and information) I explained and wrote about how anti-semitism was an issue in the world. I explained how scary and dangerous anti-semitism was, especially in places like Europe and the Middle East. Blog post one led to my second blog post. In my blog post two (original research) I met with and interviewed Holocaust survivor Rabbi Charlie Kraus. He talked about his experiences living through the Holocaust and his views about judaism now. My interview with him sparked my interests yet again. He said he was disappointed and sad at how the world is acting to Jews now.

In my recent research I have found new ways to help the issue of anti-semitism in the world. I have given a presentation to my advisory, and I plan to show it more until I have made a difference. Some places you can make a difference at are the Jewish Relief Agency and the Anti-Defamation League. These sites give you an opportunity to help Jews in the Philadelphia community or help make a difference in the world. I think that these two agencies are great for helping out in the issue of anti-semitism. I have volunteered with the Jewish Relief Agency on several occasions. I was making a difference in the Philadelphia Jewish community. I have not volunteered with the Anti-Defamation League, however it gives many options on how to help anti-semitism, especially in the Middle East.  

For my Agent of Change I made and presented a slide show. I showed it to my advisory. My presentation was also shown to the 8th grade class at Greenfield Middle School. I want to show my presentation to more and more people. I will make a bigger difference in the world and I will help solve the issue of anti-semitism.   

I learned a lot throughout this project. I have had change, more people know more about anti-semitism and more about jews after watching my slide show. This project has helped me in many ways. I can now coordinate with others and their schedules (to a certain degree.) This project has helped me grow as a learned and as a member of the Jewish community. I felt good about this project. When everything was finished, I felt proud of the work I had done and after working with others schedules, I feel good about my outcomes. However there some things I could change about the project. If I did this project again I would finish my presentation sooner and talk to more people about presenting to them and others. I would also have done more for the passion and information blog post. I would also take more time to work on my blog posts. I still have to make more of a change in the world. One fact that really struck me was that Temple was the 8th most anti-semitic campus in the country. I would like to change that and educate more people about jews and anti-semitism.

My research went well, one thing that went well was my interest in the topic throughout my entire project.  For my research I used some very reliable websites and I found quite a lot of information on anti-semitism. Some glows that I found in my research was that, I was so interested in my topic and I researched my topic a lot and found a lot of information on it. Some grows was I wish I had been more punctual with my work and had submitted my project. My research was very interesting to me and it helped that it was something that I could connect to.

My original research went very well. I met with, and interviewed a Holocaust survivor. He had a very sad story, he lost a lot of his family in the Holocaust and he says he is lucky to be alive. Some glows I had were my interview, and finishing my blog post on time (with an extension.) I wish I had worked more efficiently in scheduling my interview and had done the emailing myself so I could have gotten research in on time without an extension. My original research overall went very well.

Previously I wrote about anti-semitism and anti-semitism in the world. Throughout the world Jews are being mistreated and persecuted for practicing their religion. Throughout the world there's  a lot of anti-semitism raging on. From Europe to the middle east people do not like Jews and our religion. Another issue about anti-semitism that I wrote about previously is that there is a lack of knowledge about Jews and anti-semitism in the world.  Due to this lack of knowledge the issue is not getting solved.

For my original research  I met with and interviewed a holocaust survivor, Rabbi Charlie Kraus. He is a Holocaust survivor who was sent so several camps at the age of 14. In

Rabbi Kraus with his two daughters 1975

1944 his father was taken away by German soldiers, he along with the rest of his family were sent to Auschwitz. He was there for a week and a half, in that time his mother, brother and grandparents were all sent away and killed. After Auschwitz he was sent to Dachau (another concentration camp.) After Dachau he was sent to Mühldorf where he stayed for the first time by himself. After Mühldorf he was sent to Kaufering. Typhus and starvation were rampant at the time and people were dying every day. In the interview Rabbi Kraus said the last concentration camp was the worst. He forgets the name of it but he said the things people would do for nourishment were unspeakable. He was in the last camp for a couple of months until he was put onto a train with thousands of other jews. While on the train American soldiers in plains above began to shoot down onto the German soldiers. The person sitting next to Rabbi Kraus was shot and killed instantly. While in this commotion Rabbi Kraus noticed the Nazis were nowhere to be found and he jumped off of the train. He ran into the woods and stayed there for several days. He then was found and taken to a hospital. The war had ended and the Nazi regime had been destroyed. He went back to his home town where he was reunited with his father. After Europe he went to the United States and became a rabbi. He was taught by a famous rabbi and teacher Abraham Joshua Heschel.  

Anti-semitism effects people. Rabbi Kraus was lucky and strong, he manages to keep a happy life and stays optimistic after everything he has been through. Others are not so lucky, many lost faith and could not continue living after all that they had seen and been through. My understanding of anti-semitism is now more personalized, I have heard an account of someone's experience in the Holocaust and feel closer to my faith. I am still left wondering, why Jews? Before the Holocaust Jews in Hungary were prominent members in society. They were lawyers and doctors and businessmen. Why were Jews picked out as the evil ones, as the evil religion. Not just during the Holocaust but throughout history. With the exile from Babylonia, the Crusades, Pogroms, the Inquisition and even in this country there were quotas to limit Jews in universities and in professions.  Jews have been persecuted wherever they went.

For my agent of change I would like to make a presentation and present to some of the classes at Greenfield Middle School. I want to inform people about this issue and get the word out in the world that Jews are being mistreated and persecuted. I hope students will get out of my presentation a new look on Judaism. Not as a religion that seems to be nonexistent or a religion to pity but a religion that has endured so much and still continues to thrive and be existent in the world. I want to show people that people who are anti-semitic often masc their beliefs behind being anti-Israel. I want to inform the world and make a difference.

Anti Semitism is something that I have always been fascinated by. Throughout history jews have been faced with prejudice, exile and genocide. As a jewish boy who went to school in a private jewish school for 9 years I felt almost no ais very important because many innocent people are being mistreated and abused due to their religion. Many people are not aware of the struggle that a lot of jews go through. My first time going to school where their were almost no jews has been very different. A lot of people at SLA and other public schools do not know any jews and most people are not taught and educated about the struggle that jews have been through to keep their heritage and religion alive. If people knew more about what jews have been through and that kind of way we are treated in other countries in Europe and Asia their might be less anti semitism in Philadelphia and in the world. A lot of anti semitic countries are located in the Middle East and Israel has been attacked several times in the past and now.  Israel has taken part in 15 battles and wars and is still fighting once again to keep it’s freedom.  Countries like Greece are in high support of those who fight against Israel. For the first time since the holocaust NeoNazis have entered into government in Greece. The world is becoming more and more against the idea of jews having their own country.

A survey was taken asking people around the world whether or not they believed certain statements and stereotypes about jews. The results were astounding and scary. One statement was “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars.” 38% of people who were surveyed said that this was probably true.  

At this point in the project I am wondering what steps and actions are being taken the world and in the community. I want to learn more about anti semitism and how a lot of it started. For the rest of the project I want to make a difference in the community by showing how anti semitism affects millions of people. I also wonder why and how certain anti semitic thoughts are started and pushed to millions of people throughout the world.

SLA es una Escuela Normal También

Nosotros nombres Eli Block, Isaiah Cuffey y Scott La. Somos estudiantes de Science Leadership Academy. SLA es en Filidelfia, está cerca de comcast center y liberty place. SLA es muy divertido, serio y tranquilo. En SLA la profesores enseña a muy bien. Hay  quinientos estudiantes y muy profesores. Hay cuatro pisos en SLA. Nosotros tenemos mucho actividad también. SLA tenemos escuela muy bonita y grande. Ofrecemos mucho deportes y actividades. Nosotros leemos, estudiamos, bailamos, y escribimos.Participóo en porque muy actividades. Isaiah participó en fútbol y ajedrez. Eli participó en disco volador y muy clubes.  

SLA tiene cinco o seis clases cada día. Nosotros tenemos historia,bioquímicaa, español, matemáticas, y inglés cada día. Nosotros tenemos diferentes clases después la segundo trimestre. Mi primero clase favorita es bioquímica. La bioquímica tienes dos profesoras: La Señorita Dunda y La Señorita Sessa. En bioquímica, nosotros experimentamos con animales y tomamos apuntes acerca de ingeniería y las ciencias futuras.  Mi segundo clase favorita es arte. La profesora de arte es La Señorita Hull. Ella es algo estresante pero muy divertida. En la clase, nosotros utilizamos.  (Mention the people in your groups favorite classes as well).

Los profesores de SLA son sociables, fantásticos, y muy inteligentes. Nuestros profesores favoritos son la Srta. Giknis, la Srta. Dunda,...para Scott, ¡TODOS! La Srta. Giknis es divertida y enseña muy bien. Su clase es súper tranquila. Y la Srta. Dunda es bien interesante. Su clase no es nada estresante.  ¡Los estudiantes de SLA son tremendamente simpáticos! Trabajamos súper bien juntos.

Nos encanta SLA. Nos encanta estudiantes, profesores, y deportes en SLA. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA es estudiantes y profesores. SLA es muy divertida, súper tranquila, y tremendamente bien. Tenemos comunidad muy bien. En disco volador nosotros corremos.  En la clase de arte nosotros dibujamos. En la clase de ingles nosotros escribimos mucho. SLA escuela muy bien.

Eli Block

Aquí es mis amigos/amigas…

Es de mis…

Yo soy Eli Block. Tengo catorce años. Soy de Filidelfia, mi cumpleanos es el catorce de febrero. Me gusta platicar con amigos y estar de vago. con mi mejor amigo me encanta practicar deportes. Me de descendencia europa.

El es Conor Meier, es el mi mejor amigo. Nos encanta frisbee. Somos amigos por cuatro meses.

Ellas son Kara, Aniya, Alexa Destiny . El cumpleaños Kara once de agosto. Aniya es muy bonita . Alexa tiene una gran voz. Destiny es muy cómico y de moda. Decir hola!

Nosotros es Ijustice y Jlynn y yo. Ijustice el es muy alto, J’lynn es muy talentosa.

Es todo muchas gracias por viendo.

My home network is very fast. It works very well but sometimes comcast goes down. I have many things connected to my home network such as 7 computers 2 ipads and 4 iphones. I did not learn much about home networks. I learned that I have a coax cable. If your home network stops working I turn off my motem router then I turn it back on.

My home network is very fast. It works very well but sometimes comcast goes down. I have many things connected to my home network such as 7 computers 2 ipads and 4 iphones. I did not learn much about home networks. I learned that I have a coax cable. If your home network stops working I turn off my motem router then I turn it back on.

My home network is very fast. It works very well but sometimes comcast goes down. I have many things connected to my home network such as 7 computers 2 ipads and 4 iphones. I did not learn much about home networks. I learned that I have a coax cable. If your home network stops working I turn off my motem router then I turn it back on.

World war 2 was assuaged as the war came to an end.

In Jerusalem many jews are pietous.

During one of my brother’s rants I become vapid.

In many stories there is a malevolent character.

The Mbuti are indigenous to Africa

My dog sojourns  when I tell him to.

My grandfather expounds his political points.

When I am mad I become erratic.

Sometimes I can be very contentious.

When my mom tells me to take out the trash I begrudgingly agree.

Fishing string is often times discernible.

I love to be auspicious.

I quell quickly after getting mad.

Bees are benign and many people are scared of them.

When someone cries many people tacit each other.

Food is  benevolence.

When my friend insulted the teacher I was caught gaping.

Promptness- The promptness of the trolley is very reasuring.

Morbid- Not many people ask morbid questions.

Pulpit- A preacher stands on a pulpit.