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Aug. 17, 2012
Moved to work on the issues
Former Vancouverite Mimi Micner is a J Street campus organizer.
NICOLE NOZICK
American Jews have long looked to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to lobby their government on issues relating to Israel. Those wanting an alternative voice in Washington have said that they have waited a long time for a “pro-Israel, pro-peace” PAC that spoke to their values. Founded in 2008, J Street was established to try and answer that call, becoming a leading lobby organization that believes “that Israel’s Jewish and democratic character depend on a two-state solution, resulting in a Palestinian state living alongside Israel in peace and security.”
J Street U is the campus arm of J Street, working with thousands of students across American campuses. Former Vancouverite Michal (Mimi) Micner has served as J Street’s New England campus organizer, working within the student-driven J Street U since the summer of 2011. In an interview with the Independent, Micner described her work with J Street U as “a natural expression of [her] upbringing in Vancouver.”
As a J Street U staff member, Micner’s works closely with students on and off campus. “We are changing campus discourse so that being pro-Israel no longer need mean being anti-Palestinian, and being pro-Palestinian need not mean being anti-Israel,” she explained. “We view reaching a two-state solution to be a win-win scenario, as the only viable means to both end the conflict and ensure the peace, security and the justifiable national aspirations of both peoples. By changing campus discourse, we are building a student constituency for a two-state resolution and for American leadership to achieve it.”
The 24-year-old now calls Somerville, Mass., just northwest of Boston, home. However, Micner spent her pre-college life here, attending Vancouver Talmud Torah and, later, when her family moved, Richmond Jewish Day School. She has fond memories of growing up in the Lower Mainland and her family’s strong ties to the local Jewish community. “Going to Beth Israel, Beth Tikvah and Schara Tzedeck almost every weekend of my childhood, and being part of a family who is very involved in Jewish life in Vancouver, anchored me deeply in my Jewish identity and Jewish community more broadly,” Micner said. “Feeling so woven into the fabric of this community is precisely why I’m moved to work on one of the most important issues facing our people today.”
During her undergraduate studies at Vermont’s liberal arts-focused Middlebury College, Micner spent a summer in Israel, a trip that made a lasting impression. “I took away a complicated political picture from that experience. I felt that Israel was a great place, and in need of repair,” she explained. “It became clear to me that it was a place that’s vital for us, and its democratic character was under threat.”
On her return to the United States, Micner was drawn to the work that J Street was beginning to do. “It was really exciting to find an organization that had a nuanced political analysis and that allowed me to take action and do the kind of repair work that will make Israel truly great,” she said.
An internship with J Street in 2009 and further professional experience paved the way to Micner’s current role in the organization. “I love working for J Street U. It’s an incredible opportunity to have a job where I can act on my values and for the sake of my community,” she noted.
Micner credits her Jewish and Zionist upbringing as strong contributing factors that put her on her current professional path. “I come from a family that is deeply rooted in the state of Israel,” she said. “I have family who live in Israel and who have lived there for many years. Growing up in the Diaspora, I learned about our roots in Israel and what they mean. From my mother’s side of the family, I grew up hearing stories of my grandparents in the Hashomer Hatzair movement in Chile.... From these stories, I learned to always be ethically aspirational about Israel.... I was taught a sense of ownership of Israel’s development and well-being.
“From the other side of my family, I heard darker stories. Stories of my grandmother surviving the Holocaust by outrunning the Nazis. As I do my work, I constantly ask myself to imagine what our lives, both my family’s and our community’s, would be like if we had Israel to run to [at that time]. These stories have made fighting for our homeland’s survival as a Jewish and democratic state, in peace with its neighbors, incredibly urgent to me.”
Detailing some of the differences between the two major American Jewish lobby groups, Micner said, “J Street and AIPAC are two pro-Israel organizations with two distinct missions. AIPAC advocates for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and, for the most part, they back the current Israeli government and its policies unconditionally. J Street advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because we believe that is absolutely essential to Israel’s survival as a Jewish democratic state, and that American policy should actively promote that goal.”
Micner acknowledged that J Street has had to deal with some wariness from Jewish public opinion as well as some opposition for being critical of Israeli government policy. “We’ve encountered opposition as an organization, yes. It’s not surprising. This is a critical issue in politics and in our community, and it evokes a lot of passion,” she said. “J Street was founded on the premise that our community is stronger with a vigorous debate about Israel, when we can talk openly and honestly about Israel and her challenges, so we welcome disagreement, knowing that it comes out of a place of shared concern for Israel’s future.
“Ultimately, we believe that the facts are indisputable: demographic trends show that the Jewish and non-Jewish populations between the Jordan and the Mediterranean will reach parity in the not-so-distant future and, if we do not reach a two-state resolution to this conflict, a minority of Jews will end up governing over a majority of non-Jews in that land. Israel loses its democratic character in this scenario, which is not in the interest of our community or our values,” she added.
Micner’s parents, a lawyer and a former teacher who reside in Vancouver, are very supportive of their daughter. “I’m grateful to have parents who are incredibly proud and supportive of me,” she said. “I think I also surprise them sometimes: I don’t think they ever expected me to become a professional activist.” Micner also has a sister, Tamara, who is a playwright and theatre producer based in the United Kingdom.
Micner is adding a whole other aspiration to her plate these days: she has recently begun learning Hebrew in preparation for rabbinical school. “I hope to return to Vancouver one day, yes. I plan on attending rabbinical school in a few years, and hope that my work can bring me back home.”
Nicole Nozick is a Vancouver freelance writer and director of the Cherie Smith JCCGV Jewish Book Festival.
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