Amazing, meaningful, educational, and adventurous are just four words that I use to describe my summer as an intern in Washington, D.C. 

What could be better than spending 12 weeks in the beautifully historic nation’s capital, in the midst of all the political action? For me at least, it was a dream come true.

It was a newsworthy summer – the London bombings, Bush’s Supreme Court nomination, NASA’s return to flight with Discovery, the Iraq war, and the devastation with hurricane Katrina. 

These events and others are important to us, as Americans, to stay informed about the world’s issues and events. Unfortunately however, many people here and around the world, knew very little about the events that were taking place in Israel during the summer of 2005. 

The withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank did not get much attention, and if it did, it was not always positive press about the country we know and love, Israel.

I was a media fellow for The Israel Project (TIP), a new, international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace.

It was begun by three mothers concerned that negative images about Israel in the media were endangering the future of children who want to live in a world free of the anti-Semitism faced by generations before them. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel.

One of 10 media fellows, I helped as our team played an instrumental role in changing/shaping the hearts and minds of millions and how they view Israel. 

Over the years, the press has become more pro-Palestinian and less pro-Israel. Many believe that to the public, Israel has moved from being the “David” to becoming the “Goliath” and that the Palestinians are the new “David.” 

That simply means, that according to the opinions of many Americans, Israel no longer has to fight for defense the way they have in the past.

Since 1967 and 1973, Israel is not the underdog to the Arab nations. The press now sees the Palestinians as the ones who are struggling. 

Personally, I do not think that Israel has become the “Goliath.”  There are many issues that the Israelis struggle with, and we all know they do not live in peace. 

So it was our job to work with the press and insure them – by providing them with accurate information and facts – that Israel was making painful sacrifices for peace.

As a part of the TIP team, I was a busy DC intern.  I spent hours researching anything and everything about Israel – the historic events that have taken place, freedoms Israeli citizens possess, important and influential people in Israeli politics, terrorist attacks against Israel, and the list goes on. 

With the research, I wrote backgrounders, about freedom of the press in Israel, making the fesert bloom (Gaza), and rocket attacks in Sderot. I also wrote endless Names in the News pieces and press releases. 

Each of my assignments is published on the Web site (www.theisraelproject.com) and was sent to journalists and other opinion leaders so they could be used as resources for their stories, speeches, and events. 

In addition to writing and researching, TIP hosted the 2^nd Annual Advocacy Training Seminar, held in Washington, D.C. Journalists, Israel supports, and opinion elite attended our conference on how to advocate for Israel. 

The conference featured Israeli Ambassador to the United States Daniel Ayalon, political strategists and pollsters Frank Luntz, Stan Greenberg, and Neil Newhouse, U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, (Calif.), Michael Gelman, TIP chair, Jennifer Laszlo-Mizhrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project, Nonie Darwish, a Palestinian-Arab, and others. 

In addition to attending our advocacy conference, I also had the opportunity to meet with a number of journalists in the Washington, D.C. area including Jim Miklaszewski of NBC whom we met with on a private tour of the Pentagon, Marvin Kalb formally of Meet the Press, Gil Tamari of Israel TV 10, and David Makovsky of Washington Institute for Near East Affairs and author of Engagement Through Disengagement. 

We discussed the events taking place in Israel and how the media was portraying Israel’s efforts. I also attended a lunch at the Israeli Embassy with Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, a policy conversation with Ambassador Walker of the Middle East Institute, AIPAC’s SABAN Institute Training Seminar, AIPAC’s summer leadership seminar for pro-Israel, college advocates, and a briefing at the State Department, just to name a few. 

I had a pretty cool, jam-packed, eye-opening and successful summer experience with The Israel Project on the infamous K Street in the heart of Washington, D.C.

On my first day at work Neil Newhouse, a political strategist who does extensive polling with Stan Greenberg for TIP, presented us with the latest polling numbers on people’s attitudes toward Israel. Support for Israel has grown since the August withdrawal. 

During a conversation with him before our meeting, I soon found out he had once worked for my dad’s political opponent and I thought to myself , “oh great, what kind of summer is this going to be?” 

But very quickly, I realized that no matter your political views or who you have supported in past elections, we were all there for the same reason, to do everything in our power to support Israel, to do everything in our power to ensure that every American knew the facts about Israel and why they were pulling out of land we had won in a defensive war. 

We were all involved because Israel is important to us, just as it should be for all of you too. I urge each of you to get involved; write letters to the editor and Op Eds and explain that Israel has made painful sacrifices for peace, and Israel cares about Palestinians and Arabs because they have rights just as Jews and Christians. 

Talk to your Jewish and non-Jewish friends about Israel. Visit Israel and invest in Israel.  Attend Israel events, or hey, even support The Israel Project.