Ariel University Student Spotlight: Lee-el Shoshtari

October 2013

Lee-el Shoshtari is on a mission: to make Ariel and its University shine on the international stage. One way she hopes to accomplish that is through a body not known to be kind to Israel, especially to a Jewish presence in Samaria: the United Nations.

But by advancing the Model United Nations program at Ariel University (AU), she believes she can train a new cadre of ambassadors who will show the world that Samaria’s modern capital is on the forefront of world progress.

“We know the UN is more critical of Israel than any other nation, but if you don’t know their language, then you can’t convince them otherwise and explain the realities of who we are and what we stand for,” Lee-el said.

Lee-el is an active member of Ariel University’s Model United Nations (MUN) branch. MUN is an international academic program run by students who organize conferences that simulate the activities and operations of the United Nations. Each student represents a country that makes its case to other delegates. Through their participation, students develop their knowledge of the world, hone their debating skills, and learn to exercise diplomacy.

Model UN began to make inroads at Israeli academic institutions only in the past few years. ARMUN (the shorthand for AU’s branch) was founded two years ago.

Lee-el is entering her third year at Ariel University, majoring in business and economics. She lives in the student “caravan” village, which serves as temporary University dorms while the permanent dormitories are being constructed.

“You have your neighbor right outside your door. You’re close. You’re social. You sit on the bench and play your guitar, and friends come over. Or you sit on the grass with a blanket, and people join.”

It was this casual and spontaneous social interaction that led her to discover that Model UN exists at Ariel University.

“I got to know Model UN last year by coincidence. I went to a friend’s sushi night in the caravan where I met a student who was showing us pictures of her experience in the Model UN.”

Once she started attending meetings, she knew she found her extra-curricular activity of choice, attracted by the worldliness, dedication, and intellectual curiosity of the MUN participants.

Lee-el’s own background involves a merging of different cultures. Lee-el grew up in Moshav Haniel, a small agricultural town near Netanya, to the only religious family there. Her father’s family made aliyah from Iran about 60 years ago. Her mother, a New Yorker who made aliyah about 25 years ago, works for an organization called Signal, Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership, which develops diplomatic, economic, strategic and academic partnerships with China.

Lee-el was always involved in youth groups promoting love for the land of Israel.

“Just getting to live in Judea and Samaria is an opportunity I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” she says of her decision to study in Ariel.

As her special contribution to AU, she’s planning an international conference for ARMUN to bring students from all over the world to get to the heart of the issues about Israel, in the heart of the country.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do before, but now I’m getting a sense. I always wanted to work with Jews in the Diaspora, but didn’t know exactly where. I’m interested in going on shlichut (Zionist emissary work) and in changing world opinion about us.”