Hi OU Advocacy readership, we are Zev Palatnik and Tani Levitt, the 2016-2017 OU Advocacy Legislative Fellows. As Legislative Fellows we will be learning the work of Jewish community political advocacy by being part of the team at the OU Advocacy Center. We will be documenting that process here in the Legislative Fellows Blog. This blog is a chance to follow our activities in our time as Legislative Fellows, and we hope to give you a glimpse into the inner workings of the things OUA does.

First thing first, you need to meet us.

Zev grew up in Toronto and Denver. After he graduated high school in the Yeshiva in Denver he went to Israel and joined the Israeli Army. Upon completing his service Zev returned to Rockville, Maryland where his family currently lives, Zev moved to politics, first as an intern at SKDKnickerbocker, a political consulting firm, then as a congressional intern in the office of Congressman Don Beyer. Zev brings his knowledge of the inner workings of congress and around the Hill to the OU.

Tani grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland this past August. There he developed a passion for Jewish leadership as Gabbai for the UMD Orthodox community and Vice President of Kol Sasson, a Jewish A Capella group. He majored in Government and Politics and interned at various policy institutions in DC during his college summers, and now is combining these two passions at the OU.

In the two months since we got to the OU we have been able to get involved in many of the OU’s activities. We have done some writing and research, including writing press releases, drafting memos on school choice and disaster relief and researching data on non-public school students and lay leadership who fight for the right to school choice. We have also begun contributing to the OUA Twitter and Facebook pages, and updating the OUA website you are reading right now.

We are looking forward to a successful year at the OU Advocacy Center and we hope that you will follow along with us on the Legislative Fellows Blog as the year goes on.