In September 2000, at the beginning of my tenure as Mazkir Tnua, I wrote a letter of introduction that I circulated throughout the Habonim Dror community. In it I mentioned nothing of the Intifadah; Camp David II had recently concluded without resolution and I still harbored a naïve and simplistic hope for peace. When I started as Mazkir the Intifadah hadn't begun--the single most defining factor of my term had yet to emerge.

I look back on my introductory letter, a letter filled with only a hint of caution in the midst of optimism, without anger or a feeling of lost time. The last two years in Habonim Dror, and indeed the whole Peace Camp, have been characterized by feelings of uncertainty and even malaise. Our immediate hope of a two-state solution is dashed, our ability to run Israel programs diminished, and our ideological direction uncertain.

But it is in this uncertainty that I find hope. Our uncertainty is bred from a truly youthful democratic debate, the same debate that has been conspicuously absent in the Jewish press and the institutional Jewish world. What has always made me most proud of the movement is our ability to educate people who, in the end, reject all that we stand for. Don't get me wrong, I am happy that these people are a distinct minority, but it is this minority that serves as a reminder that, first and foremost, we are creating intelligent, well-informed, critical thinkers who are capable of engaging the Jewish community, and the world, in immensely serious issues.

As Mazkir I have had occasion to interact with a plurality of groups. If I were to make a generalization I would say that most are dedicated to finding The Answer. The beautiful simplicity of Habonim Dror is that we are dedicated to finding The Question. The educational power of Habonim Dror is derived from our ability to make our own mistakes even when our peers and parents know better.

The notion of building an or lagoyim has fallen out of fashion with many of us. It is tainted with a smug chauvinism that is especially inappropriate when our goal of peace has never been further. I would rather believe that this concept is simply dugma ishit (leadership by example) extended on a national level, the same trait that we so desire in our members. Our machanot (summer camps) and our tochniot (programs) have had a profound impact on our communities and on the countless individuals who have been shaped by them. As such, we ought to embrace the idea of creating an or lagoyim through extending our circle of reach. If we can affect society perhaps we can create a ripple in the pond that is Israel and the world.

While we, the members of Habonim Dror, were struggling with our message the institutional Jewish world was quick to fill our community with hegemonic, and sometimes skeptical, rhetoric. Today the Jewish world is showing signs of fatigue and thus the time for action is upon us. Our action will be motivated through strength of diversity, conviction, and critical thinking that has always been characteristic of Habonim Dror.

With the end of my term I see hope for the future. We understand that our message isn't as important when times are easy as it is when they are hard. We recognize the need for our vision and have begun to actualize our ideology. In the end, our deliberations will yield much needed accomplishment. I am happy to leave the movement in a state of reawakening.

Aleh Ve'Hagshem

Jamie Levin