May 25, 2000
Advocating for Orthodoxy
Washington Summer Internship Set to Kick Off in June
Imagine being smuggled illegally from your country, having your father imprisoned for two years and being forced to leave your relatives behind as you learn a new culture and language. Imagine all of this before the age of six. This has been the life of Farhid Sedaghat-pour, an 18-year-old college student who will spend this summer as an intern for the Orthodox Union's
Institute for Public Affairs (IPA).
Every year college sophomores and juniors from around the country apply for the
IPA summer internships. For more than a decade, the aim of the program has been to groom the best and the brightest of the next generation of activists to represent Orthodox Jewish interests in the political arena. The only such program on Capitol Hill run by a Jewish organization, the program provides college students with a behind-the-scenes look at the political process by placing them in the offices of Republican and Democratic members of Congress, as well as private meetings with policy makers, Torah study sessions and social events.
Farhid is one of the 47 candidates who was chosen to participate in this year's IPA program. IPA Director Nathan Diament explained, "Every intern selected has a unique story that explains his or her involvement in Jewish politics and Farhid Sedaghat-pour is no exception. The combination of her academic acumen, engaging personality and personal odyssey make her a paradigm of the IPA internship."
Farhid was born in Tehran in 1980 during the American hostage crisis under an Iranian government infamous for its religious persecution. When the Sedaghat-pours decided that the situation was too dangerous, Farhid's father had the entire family smuggled to Israel while he stayed behind. When the government discovered what her father had done, he was imprisoned for two years.
The Sedaghat-pour family lived in Israel for eight years before moving to America. When they arrived, her father, a surgeon, was told he could not practice in the United States without medical re-certification. Unwilling to subject himself to the rigorous schooling once again, he chose to retire.
Farhid spent the first three years of high school at Forest Hills High School and her last year at the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls in Queens, NY. She is now a Junior at Stern College for Women in Manhattan, majoring in political science and psychology. Farhid explained, "Growing up in a country where Jews were restricted from observing Judaism freely was very difficult for my family. It is very important to me that I involve myself in the politics of this country, where Jews are free to practice and even advocate for their religious beliefs." The IPA is the non-partisan public policy arm of the
Orthodox Union, representing the concerns of Orthodox Jews in the halls of government.
This year's IPA summer internship program is filled to capacity. However, students interested in applying for summer 2001 internships can contact Josh Sussman at 202-857-2770.
The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of America and beyond, is the world leader in
youth work, advocacy for the
disabled, synagogue services,
adult education and political
action. Its kosher supervision label, the
OU, is the world's most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 250,000 products in 68 countries around the globe.
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