There’s hope for the future, Israeli ambassador tells graduates
Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, had a sobering message for Monmouth University’s mid-year graduates: Life after college isn’t going to be easy.
“Your dreams, for sure, should never be abandoned. But they may have to be, for a while, delayed,” Oren told the 650 graduates on Jan. 13 in Monmouth’s Multipurpose Activity Center.
Oren started with a grim picture of the American economy, saying college graduates will inevitably enter the workforce slowly and only after a lot of effort.
But there’s hope, Oren said, because people like his parents, members of “the Greatest Generation,” were able to weather the Great Depression and defeat Germany and Japan in World War II.
“If my parents, your grandparents, could overcome such obstacles and persevere at all odds, just think about what you could do,” Oren said.
Oren strove to connect the United States to Israel. No surprise there: He moved there from New Jersey (“Exit 145” to be precise) in 1979. He later served in the Israeli Defense Forces and won a gold medal in the Maccabiah Games.
“I’m going to tell you exactly what I would tell young Israeli graduates: You are the ones who are going to have to tough it out,” Oren said.
From here, Oren said he sees today’s college graduates going out into the world and turning their dreams into greater missions of tikkun olam (repairing the world).
“You will be the new ‘the Greatest Generation,’” Oren said to applause.
Oren also received an honorary doctorate of laws.
Monmouth University President Paul Gaffney picked Oren for the commencement speech for his Jersey origin, his professional accomplishments, his youth and his charisma. It’s a combination of attributes that has made Oren well-received by both Jewish students and the local Jewish community, both of which are rather large groups.
“This is an international, global leader, and people should hear from him,” Gaffney told New Voices in a phone interview.
Oren has been less popular in the past on college campuses. In 2010, students protested Oren’s presence at University of California-Irvine, Brandeis University and American University, according to campus newspapers. There was no such protest at Monmouth.
Zach C. Cohen is a sophomore at American University from Wyckoff, NJ. He is the student life editor of The Eagle at AU and a member of Dime a Dozen, AU’s premiere co-ed a cappella group. Previously, Zach has contributed writing and reporting to TIME Magazine, the Jewish Daily Forward, AWOL, AmWord and the Suburban News. He is a New Voices associate editor and national correspondent. Follow Zach on Twitter at @Zachary_Cohen.
