Former Observer Editor-in-Chief and 2012 alumna Amna Farooqi was elected in August to serve as President of the national J Street U organization this year.
What is so unique about Farooqi’s involvement and presidency, however, is that she is a the first Pakistani Muslim president of a primarily Jewish organization and is fighting for the rights of a people often at odds with her own.
Founded in 2004, J Street U is the student branch of the larger J Street organization, a nonprofit which aims to lobby American leaders to help end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a two-state solution. In Washington DC, a street named J is missing, thus the organization strives to represent the voice of Israelis, which it feels is also missing. J Street U shares the same goals as J Street, but also works on college campuses to increase advocacy for and education about its proposed solution to the conflict.
“I heard about J street from someone else, and it was like an organization that I volunteered with in Rockville,” Farooqi said. “When I looked it up, it sounded like a moderately normal group that had Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, and followed the two-state solution, so I started to get involved.”
The conflict J Street aims to solve is one that has been going on between the Palestinians and Israelis since Israel’s formation following World War II in 1948. Both groups feel they have jurisdiction over pieces of disputed land within Israel’s borders, causing much tension. Promoting a two-state solution to this problem means recognizing both groups as separate countries, allowing Israel’s borders to be recognized internationally and ending Israeli occupation in land that will belong to Palestine.
“J Street U is a place for anyone who supports the two-state position and supports peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, so for me it was natural that this was the place I wanted to be,” Farooqi said. “There has been a lot of support from a lot of people, and there has also been criticism and confusion, but for me it’s all about the work that needs to be done over the conflict, so that’s what I keep focusing on.”
Though Farooqi may be an unorthodox choice for the presidency, she has a legitimate interest in solving the conflict, regardless of her heritage or religious affiliation. Farooqi is currently a senior at the University of Maryland and is majoring in Government and Politics and minoring in Israeli studies.
“[The Israeli-Palestinian conflict] is a huge foreign policy issue for our country, and it’s a national issue in the country, and it’s something that’s always going to be around until we get better at trying to solve it,” Farooqi said.
As president, Farooqi has plenty of responsibilities in overseeing the actions of the approximately 75 different chapters of the J Street U movement on college campuses and the J Street U board, of which she is also president.
“Day to day I manage the national board which consists of Vice Presidents of different regions for the country [including] the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest [and] Northwest,” Farooqi said. “I help them manage all of the chapters in their regions, and a lot of it is them coming up with the national strategy for the year for the movement with the other leaders.”
Though Farooqi’s position is not an easy task to perform, according to her former CHS teachers, she is equipped to tackle the challenge.
“Even as a freshman [Farooqi] was an obvious leader as opposed to a follower,” social studies teacher Adam Field said. “She has the ability to persuade others as she was well-spoken and a good writer. I am not surprised by what she has accomplished and [I’m] very proud.”
The pride in Amna’s accomplishments is not limited to those who interacted with her at CHS. Farooqi’s family, who did not hold all the same beliefs Farooqi promotes with J Street before her election, is also accepting and proud of what she has done.
“I am amazed and excited that she got elected for that position,” said senior Omar Farooqi, Amna’s brother. “I’m also hopeful that she’ll be able to contribute and have a positive impact on the conflict. She is hard-working, capable and best fit for this job.”
Omar said he did not know much of the conflict’s history, but after Amna’s election, he learned more about it. When Amna visits home, conversations often focus on activities related to J Street U and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“I understand her point of view and perspective, and I agree with it,” Omar said. “It helped me understand more on how we need to work together to make others’ lives better.”
Amna cites CHS and specific teachers as teaching her a lot and the Observer as inspiring her to become interested in the conflict through a 2012 opinion piece she wrote on the issue. She hopes other CHS students might be interested in following her footsteps.
“[J Street U] is a great opportunity to think about the political issues you care about and how you can get involved, and this is also something that everyone has a stake in, whether or not you really care about it,” Farooqi said. “You should follow something that you are passionate about.”