Tell us about your nominee. Why should he or she be recognized as a Jewish Community Hero?

Gabrielle Flaum, is a 19 year old sophomore at John Hopkins University. But what makes Gabrielle a hero to many is her natural leadership ability and her belief that every individual must stand up for injustice. Her voice has ignited a passion in teens, in politicians and in the Jewish community. Major highlights of her volunteerism include her leadership at her temple, Temple Sharey Tefilo Israel, South Orange and the foundation of S.O.S. Save Our Soldiers, a teen advocacy group dedicated to the three Israeli soldiers kidnapped in the 2006 Lebanon War. She was the President of her temple's youth group and spent a great deal of her time developing new leaders to fill her shoes in the coming years.

Gabrielle founded S.O.S. Save Our Soldiers in January 2007. S.O. S. gave Gabrielle the opportunity to truly develop a grassroots Jewish teen group that reached 1,000 of Jewish youth in the U.S., Israel, and the U.K. S.O.S. partnered with many national and local Jewish organizations including, National UJC, the Jewish Agency, AIPAC, URJ, URJ RAC, URJ Eisner Camps, One Family Fund, Metrowest Federation and many others. They were the force behind many of the international letter writing campaigns, rallies and national youth initiatives focused on raising significant awareness of the plight of the soldiers. In addition, it gave Jewish teens a chance to become educated and to educate others how to stand up for injustice. The teens served as a powerful role model for other youth and adults demonstrating that a small group of people can make a difference in the world. They also showed that this generation of youth will not be known as the silent generation. They illustrated that with hard work and passion that they could motivate youth and adults, politicians and community leaders. Gabrielle spent her time traveling to communities, addressing groups of teens and adults about the need to fight for social justice. She was the keynote speaker at several programs delivering the message to 6th graders and their parents that they have a choice not to have over the top Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and donate their money to worthy causes as she did. She also was a keynote speaker at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event urging other teens to find their voice against intolerance. Gabrielle has become comfortable addressing the NJ Senate, NJ State Congressman and national leaders as she is leading a local group of teens at a car wash to raise money for the soldiers families.

Gabrielle continues to motivate both adults and youth on how one person can make a difference when she finds her  voice. It is apparent that volunteerism is a fundamental part of her life. Currently, Gabrielle is spending her summer at Eisner Camp, Great Barrington, MA. She is an Olim Fellow, a two year leadership training program that helps Jewish teens become strong, active leaders. She is continuing to develop her leadership skills, enhance her commitment to the Jewish community and serve as a great role model to the kids. Best of all, she is very happy doing this! S.O.S. continues to fight for the freedom of the remaining kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. In just a few days another international campaign will be launched remembering Gilad on his birthday.

What problem did your nominee identify in the community that needed to be solved? How has your nominee's efforts made a difference for others?

Save Our Soldiers is a teen advocacy group created by Gabrielle in an effort to bring world attention to the injustice of holding people captive against their will. S.O.S has brought a human face to the conflict in the Middle East, and has become a powerful vehicle that has helped American teens, Jews and non-Jews, begin to understand that violence and terror are not the answer. Senator Tom Kean became a large supporter and advocate for S.O.S. The following are his words from a letter he wrote on Gabrielle's behalf. "It is not often that one meets a teen that is so committed to social justice, equality and the concept of freedom for all. Thanks to her determination and her leadership, her group, S.O.S., helped inspire the passage of a resolution through the New Jersey Assembly and the New Jersey Senate. This resolution, which mirrors UN Resolution 1701 in calling for the unconditional release of 3 kidnapped soldiers, was the first of its kind to be passed by a legislature in the country, and it was in large measure to Gabrielle's unwavering commitment to this cause.  Gabrielle has testified in Trenton before legislative committees on behalf of the New Jersey resolution and has also  shared a stage with Elie Wiesel and other world leaders and read the New Jersey Resolution before thousands of people at a rally outside of the United Nations. Just this week she lead a crowd of more than 450 youth and adults on why her generation will not be a silent generation. In a loud, clear voice she stated that "Each of us here today has the power to do justly. I challenge you to lead by example. I challenge you to find your voice as I have." As the room broke into applause, it became evident that this young woman had made a huge impact on a new generation of active, involved youth. It should also be noted that Gabrielle's efforts have transcended Millburn and have inspired the launch of new SOS chapters, including ones in Northern NJ, Long Island, Massachusetts and Israel.

Gabrielle continues to develop and implement strategies for increasing student awareness of humanitarian issues as well as involvement in local community service projects.  Gabrielle's words explain why she created S.O.S. She says it best in her essay, "S.O.S. Is My Distress Call.": 

"My S.O.S. is not a distress call and certainly is not a scouring pad I founded a teen group, S.O.S., Save Our Soldiers, to advocate for and secure the release of three Israeli soldiers kidnapped in summer 2006. This international youth movement also is dedicated to secure the return of five other Israeli MIAs. In May 2007 I testified in the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate. I urged my representatives in the New Jersey Legislature to pass a resolution calling for the release of the soldiers mirroring U.N. Security Counsel Resolution 1701, which requires Hezbollah and Hamas to free them. As a result of our efforts, this resolution was passed in June 2007 and New Jersey became the first state in what I hope will become a national plea, to bring these soldiers home. On July 16, 2007 at the Free the Soldiers Rally in Dag Hammarkjold Plaza across from the United Nations I stood before 10,000 people shouting: Free Them Now. I was on the podium standing beside Elie Wiesel, Karnit Goldwassar (the wife of one of the soldiers), Senator Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and other world leaders. On behalf of S.O.S and all people supporting this cause, I read the petition addressed to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon demanding that the U.N. implement Security Counsel Resolution 1701 to free the soldiers. All I could see were the words of the petition and the smiling faces of my friends proud of what we were doing. I knew that together we could change the world. At this point I realized what S.O.S. was all about, building relationships, networks of advocacy and an unending commitment by my generation to make the world a better place. Thinking back to my Israel trip in the summer of 2006 when I first heard about the kidnapped soldiers while sitting in a Bedouin tent, I realized how far this movement and I had come. When I came home from my summer in Israel, I returned with a passion to accelerate peace in the Middle East and dove head first into an effort to bring these soldiers home. Recalling vivid images of Israel, the land which I explored and came to love, I could not forget the image of my Israeli counselor going off to fight in the war, the images of my Israeli friends crying when their town was hit by Katyusha rockets, and images of new graves in Mount Herzl cemetery, for those lost in the war. I am not a person who stands idly by injustice. 'To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God,' the late Union of the Reform Movement Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath observed: 'To do justly, comes first.' These three soldiers represent three sons, three brothers, three friends, but to me they also represent all people who are being held captive in the world. S.O.S. has been successful in uniting people of all ages to recognize and advocate for something that does not involve their personal well-being. It has allowed the next generations of leaders and activists in our country to understand the differences between groups of people, but recognize that fighting for peace and coexistence is worthwhile. Through all of S.O.S's work I have recognized that freedom and peace are not inevitable but they are certainly worth fighting for. If we all join together we can establish freedom and make peace! This is who I am. This defines me; S.O.S. is my personal distress call to the world: Free them NOW!"

Gabrielle has just begun her journey as a dedicated, committed Jewish leader.