Last month we held our third annual Maccabee Academy in Las Vegas. We gathered 250 of our top activists and allies from our 40 campuses for two days of teaching, learning and brainstorming. It was our best conference yet.

It took us time to get here. We’ve faced our share of trial and error. But the wind is now at our backs. Our partners — both student leaders and campus professionals — are excited by the progress they’re making. We have a proven strategy that’s making a difference on the toughest of campuses. Now we just need to stay focused and implement.

Like everything we do, our Maccabee Academy was laser-focused on the practical. There are enough conferences where students hear pro-Israel cheerleading and vague calls to unspecified action. Our conference elevated the specifics — what strategies are working and how to implement these strategies with excellence. We also made sure to devote time to what isn’t working and what we need to be doing better. Criticism is central to our progress.

To the credit of our participants, they were not put off by the lack of flash or high rhetoric. They came to teach and to learn. They left equipped with the strategies and best practices that will enable them to do better work back on campus. I wish you could have met them and seen them in action — you would have been encouraged. I hope the photos below capture some of the energy and purpose our 250 partners brought to Vegas. Through their work, we know we’ll have more good reports to share.

David Brog
Executive Director