by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

December 25, 2008

A Rockaway woman is headed for Mumbai, India, undeterred by the recent terrorist attacks there and determined to learn about human rights and her own Jewish identity in an international setting.

Dafnah Meron, 24, is one of only 10 participants accepted as a “World Partner” fellow by the American Jewish World Service, a national organization that responds, Peace Corps-style, to challenges in the developing world.

Meron will live in Mumbai for 10 months, working in an office, living in a nearby apartment, and assisting AJWS projects that have included women’s advocacy, HIV prevention and treatment, and human rights activism.

She is defiant in the face of last month’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, where among the 170 dead were the Chabad couple in charge of the Nariman Jewish cultural center.

“I’m not a risk taker, but I believe you have to go on with your life. You can’t let horrible things stop us from continuing on,” said Meron, a few weeks before her scheduled late December departure.

Meron has traveled frequently to Israel to visit her sister, who now lives there. “I’m used to traveling somewhere people don’t think is safe,” she said.

Still, Meron said, she may use a little extra caution. “Of course it’s scary. I’ll be on the lookout more than if it had not happened,” she added. She also said she trusts that security in India “will be stepped up.”

Meron said she still plans to explore the local Jewish community, which, she said, “sparked my interest. I never met Indian Jews, and I’ve heard there is a Jewish community in Mumbai. I’m interested in seeing the differences and similarities” between Indian and American Judaism.

No participants have backed out of the program despite the attacks. Two, including Meron, will live and work in Mumbai; others will be spread across the country. In the fall of 2009, AJWS expects to send 10 more volunteers to the country.

“We continue to remain vigilant regarding security,” said AJWS spokesman Joshua Berkman. “We assess the situation on a daily basis and respond as is appropriate to the specific situation. We’re always in close contact with our safety and security consultants, the State Department, on-the-ground staff, and partners.”

‘Global citizenship’

During and immediately following the Mumbai attacks, AJWS issued a travel ban to all volunteers in the country. The ban included travel on trains; overnight visits away from the volunteer sites; and visits to tourist attractions, religious buildings, and other places where large crowds gather. The ban was lifted on Dec. 15.

AJWS chose its first cohort of World Partners in 2004. Its popularity has grown steadily, and participation has become competitive. This year’s 10 fellows were chosen from a pool of 80. When the program started, there were just five volunteers.

The program offers young people the chance “to learn about human rights in an international context, make valuable contributions to a grassroots organization, and explore Jewish values that substantiate and motivate this work,” according to Berkman. “The goal is to foster a deep understanding of challenges faced by impoverished communities in the developing world and to present global citizenship in a Jewish frame.”

Meron graduated from Morris Hills High School in 2003 and from the University of Delaware in May 2007. During college, two stints studying abroad — at the University of Capetown in South Africa and at The Hebrew University in Israel — whet her palate for living outside the United States.

“I liked getting a feel for other cultures as someone living there rather than as a tourist,” she said.

In the year and a half since she graduated, she has gravitated toward not-for-profit work, both at Growth and Development Services in Washington Heights in New York, where she is helping with end-of-year fund-raising, and at Camp Trailblazers in Sussex County. She also spent some time with her sister in Israel. And she indulged her adventurous streak, having hiked a swath of the Appalachian Trail this fall.

She was impressed AJWS’ level of organization and support, as well as the process through which participants are matched with organizations. She also liked the 10-month length of service.

“I looked into the Peace Corps, but 27 months seemed like too much to commit to.”

In the meantime, Meron’s been getting her immunizations and plenty of advice from friends and from former World Partners fellows. She’s also received many questions about why she might want to go to India.

The best tip she’s gotten from a former fellow is “not to expect too much. Go to India with an open mind and expect to be surprised. Try not to have a picture in your head so you don’t have the wrong idea.”

In addition to Meron, four other New Jersey residents have served as World Partner fellows since 2004.

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