Winners of UIA “My Israel Video” Competition

UIA has announced the winners of its 2020 My Israel video competition.

High school students from Emanuel School, Moriah College and Masada College in Sydney and Bialik College in Melbourne competed to win the top prize of $5000 towards Israel travel.

The final scores were based on a combination of votes by an expert judging panel of Eddie Tamir and Jonathan Shteinman and Facebook Likes.

The first place was awarded to Elissa Narcisi a Year 12student at Masada College, Sydney, with her video showcasing Israel’s key landmarks and moments in history – with a personal twist.

Second place went to Kenya Martin in Year 8 at Emanuel School, Sydney, with her video capturing a whirlwind trip around Israel and its tourism to her own lyrics.

Ben Lonstein in Year 10 at Moriah College, Sydney’s video ‘Don’t Let Social Media Define Israel – Make Your Own Definition’ which shows what Israel is really like, wins third place.

In fourth place is Eden Gelfand in Year 10 at Bialik College, Melbourne, with her video educating us about Israel’s military history and the Israel Defense Forces.

Overall winner Elissa Narcisi said: “I am so grateful for the community’s support in helping me achieve this immense honour. I was very excited to be a part of the UIA My Israel video competition as it allowed me to express my connection to Israel and its People, and ultimately share it with everyone!

In my video, I wanted to explore the history of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and how throughout history our People have stayed together as a resilient community. I hope that through my video everyone learns the rich historical significance of Israel and its People. I want to thank UIA and Masada College for giving me this opportunity. I plan to use the prize money towards an Israel program in my gap year.”

Elissa added: “I would also like to express my gratitude to the late Mrs Wendy Barel who, in her capacity as the Principal of Masada College, motivated me to go to Israel when I was in Year 10. If it wasn’t for her support and encouragement, I would not have developed such a love for Israel and been able to convey this in my video.”

This year, the initiative was extended to include primary school-aged students and families from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to participate due to the ‘lockdown’ experienced during the pandemic, and staggered and unpredictable nature of the return to classrooms across the country.

Small teams were encouraged to create original short videos about Israel, with the purpose of engaging the community through Israel education and UIA, as well as generating more awareness about Israel and creating a sense of unity within the Australian Jewish community.

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