Welcoming Benji to the Team!

My name is Benji Lovitt, I’m CYJ’s new (and first-ever) Director of Communications, and it’s time to play everybody’s favorite game, “Nine Truths and a Lie”. Can you detect the one falsehood?

My first summer at CYJ was in 1984.
I once chauffeured Shimon Peres around Atlanta for two days.
On Young Judaea Year Course, I almost put a note in the Kotel (Western Wall) for the Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl, thought better of it, and watched them win it 2 weeks later.
Immediately after Year Course, I attended an Aerosmith concert with my mother because she wouldn’t let me go alone, despite having let me spend the previous 9 months in the Middle East.
I was the merakez of the current camp board president in the 1990s.
To this day, many (most?) of my closest friends are people I met through Young Judaea experiences in the US and Israel.
I spent the last 17 years as a professional standup comic, educator, speaker, and author, thanks to the leadership experience I gained from Young Judaea.
I just moved to Austin after living in Israel for 20 years.
I am incredibly excited to help CYJ grow as we all take our next steps together on our Jewish journey.
When Frank offered to hire me for this position, I responded, “Nah, I’ll do it for free.”

If you’re still with me, then we’re off to a great start. Keep reading and shana tova to all.