Meet one of Hillel’s amazing staff members, Liron Daniel!
Age: 26
Campus Involvement: Jewish Agency Israel Fellow at Hillel
Hometown: Jerusalem, Israel
Favorite ice cream: It depends. If it’s Ben & Jerry’s, then strawberry cheesecake. If not, then coconut.
Fun Fact: I have two separate sets of keys; one for my life in Israel and one for my life in Allentown.
Favorite spot on campus: Right outside of Seegers with all of the benches. When there is warm weather I like to sit there with just a cup of coffee and talk to students. This is the perfect spot for me. It’s a place where you can see everyone and everything going on, but still have a personal conversation. Of course, I like my office as well.
What’s currently on your Spotify playlist? I don’t have Spotify. I know it’s shocking. I am currently trying to listen to Imagine Dragons before my boyfriend takes me to their concert. I want to know at least a few songs beforehand.
Current Netflix binge: “The Good Wife.” I’m on season three. When I told her I was watching it, one of my best friends said –spoiler alert – “how unfortunate is it that Will died?” And that shocked me. I’m still shocked and trying to recover.
Best memory at ‘Berg: The celebration we had for Israeli Independence Day in May of 2017. We had this event on a main space on campus. It made me really grateful, happy and proud to see all of these people, about 150 people, gather together to celebrate Israel. I got to hear them tell people who have no idea about this day, about Israel and about Independence Day. That was amazing.
What does being an Israel Fellow entail? My job description includes Israel engagement, Israel education, and Israel experience. My goal is to be a source for the students so that they will talk to me and then want to explore more, know more, and learn more about Israel. I’m here to be a kind of bridge between Israel and Israelis, and American Jews and to strengthen the connection between these two groups.
What kind of impact do you want to make on the Muhlenberg Community? A success, for me, would be that students are more passionate about Israel and more passionate about learning and exploring Israel. I want to make them ask questions. Specifically, I want them to be able to ask the right questions and then explore the answers they get from their perspective. I want the students to find their own point of view about the issues involving Israel. I want to know that I had an impact on people’s lives and that I made them dream and do more.
How do you feel like you are a good female role model on campus? The best way to be a role model is to be me. In the past year, I tried not to limit myself. I’ve had so many first times here. I had no idea how to approach things at first, so, instead of allowing fear to restrict me, I just did it. If I didn’t do it, no one else would. Then, I realized, “Hey, I can do this.” Being a good role model has been through acting without fear and not allowing myself to be restricted by anything, even a lack of language skills. After the first time, you’ll be better and it always gets easier. Last year, I had to speak in front of 200 people at the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley. I’ve never done that before. I realized because of that, just because I hadn’t done something before didn’t mean I wasn’t capable. I also think it is important to empower other women and, for people in general to do the same.
Most embarrassing Muhlenberg moment: I don’t have one of these yet! I’ve learned I can’t speak Hebrew and assume no one can understand, but thankfully nothing has happened with that yet.
If you could be President for the day, what is the first thing you would do? I would make more rules to keep an eye on global warming and regulate the environment. I just think I would make sure we keep our world healthy for the next generations after us. Also, we share the world with other creatures besides humans and we need to remember this every time we think the world is just ours.
What inspired you to come to Muhlenberg? When we first got the Israel Fellow job, I had options to choose from. I had a few choices in Canada or Muhlenberg. My first Skype talk was with the Muhlenberg Hillel staff. I felt like this was the right place. Their camera wasn’t working, but I still felt like I was connected to them. After reading about Muhlenberg and the fact that it’s a small liberal arts school, it just felt right to me. I decided to come back again a second year because of the students and their passion, initiative and eagerness to learn and know more about Israel.
Any inspirational words for other empowered women? My mom had a birthday four days ago. I spent two months in Israel this summer and I knew I would not be there for her birthday so I left her a birthday card in my bedroom drawer. I told her to open the drawer and on the card I wrote a quote from a song I know she loves by Gali Atari, an Israeli singer. In Hebrew it said, “”תעשי רק מה שאת אוהבת, רק מה שאת חושבת שיהיה לך טוב״” It means, “Do only what you love, only what you think will be good for you.”