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Do you have an achievement you'd like to share with the AMHSI community? Write to AMHSI Alumni Relations alumni@amiie.org)
Alum of the Month
Jacob Flaster (Summer 02) is a twenty year old lone soldier living at Merkaz Hamagshimim. He and his older brother Joshua Flaster (Summer 00) lived together in a room until recently, proof of close sibling ties not surprising for a family with seven children in an eleven year span. Jake fell in love with Israel from his first trip the summer before his junior year in high school with AMHSI, and knew he wanted to come back to make aliyah, saying he “felt like that was the real thing.” Jake graduated early, after his junior year, so that he could then move to Israel at the age of 16 and a half to really focus on improving his Hebrew so he could fulfill his dream of drafting into an elite army unit. After mechina, Jake was drafted into the army at the age of 18 ½ into a respected gdud in givati. Jake has lived at The Merkaz since August 2007. He has been awarded Divisional Commander Citation, Brigade Commander Citation, and on Yom Ha'atsmaut- May 8, 2008, on Mt Herzl he was awarded by Shimon Peres the "President's Award for Outstanding Soldiers". Joshua Flaster is also currently serving in the IDF. Their oldest brother Harry Flaster (Summer 99) is currently in Zambia running 11 AIDS clinics and is also a Stanford Medical School student. Harry and Joshua also graduated from Yale University.
Other Alumni Achievers:
Born Mathew Miller, AMHSI alumnus and music sensation, Matisyahu, (9/95) found a unique way to bring religion to the music scene. By combining Hip Hop and Reggae music with spiritual lyrics that often include Hebrew and Yiddish,infusing the whole mix with Cantorial melodies, Matisyahu gives new meaning to cultural fusion. He is quickly gaining popularity as a break out artist who is as popular with Orthodox Jews as he is with Reggae and Hip Hop fans. A grammy winner, he has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Carson Daly Show, the Tonight Show, Late Night with Connan O'Brien, the MTV Woodie Awards, and more, finding a broad audience with every step he takes.
What makes him so unusual, though, is not only his music combination, but his Orthodox, Chassidic personae as well. Taking to the stage in traditional Chassidic attire, complete with payos (side curls), black coat and hat, Tzitzit and beard, Matisyahu appears a most unusual music star. Once he begins to sing, however, there is no doubting his musical talent and stage presence. Recently performing to a packed house in Fort Lauderdale Florida's Club Revolution, Matisyahu's broad appeal was apparent. He brought out a most eclectic audience as evidenced by a mosh-pit filled with Rastafarians on one side and Yeshiva students on the other. One wonders what the Rasta crowd thought when a Horah broke out in the middle!
A self described hippie at age 16, the now 27 year old Matisyahu credits the Alexander Muss High School in Israel with setting his feet on a more religious path. Quote: "I wasn't into Judaism," Miller recently explained to the Israeli Newspaper Ha'aretz. "I was into music, Reggae, Bob Marley, girls. My parents wanted me to travel. They signed me up for this three-month program . . . and that's how I got to the Alexander Muss High School in Hod Hasharon."
Matisyahu explained, "it wasn't something religious. It was more about connecting to your Jewish roots, getting to know Israel a little." He described his most spiritual moment as being on Mount Scopus overlooking Jerusalem. "The people who take you there know very well why they are doing it," he explained. "It has a big effect on a person to go up to this place, to overlook Jerusalem from above." He continued: "You stand up there, overlooking this incredible city, and you sing Jerusalem of Gold and something big moves inside your heart. It was the first time I felt my soul, that I really felt it. I felt G-d."
Since his religious epiphany in Israel, Matisyahu took some classes at N.Y.U. while exploring his Judaism. He also started performing in small clubs with other musicians, but quickly left that world to study in a Lubavich Yeshiva in Crown Heights. After two years, his fellow students and Rabbis agreed with his decision to return to the music world with his message of faith in an unusual package. His first two albums, "Shake Off the Dust - Arise" and "Live at Stubbs", were commercial successes, and lead to his extensive US and world tours.
We are proud to have had some part in the direction this inspirational young man has taken with his life. You too can be inspired! Check out Matisyahu's website. Matisyahu
 Wayne L. Firestone (June '82), 43, International President of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, has held leadership positions in Jewish communal affairs since his undergraduate years at the University of Miami where he was a Hillel activist. Wayne was named executive vice president for the United States in September 2005, a position that enabled him to direct the organization's U.S. operations. He simultaneously served as the staff director of Hillel's Strategic Planning Committee which has developed a five-year plan for the organization. Wayne joined Hillel in a professional capacity in September 2002 when he was appointed executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, a partnership of Hillel and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation that brings together 35 pro-Israel groups working on college campuses.
Wayne has had a lifelong commitment to the safety and security of the State of Israel. In 2001-2002, he served as director of the Israel Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League. From 1998-2001 he helped to strengthen Israel's high-tech industry as founder and chief executive officer of Silicon Wadinet, Ltd., a firm that helped foster the capitalization and growth of technology companies. He worked in academia from 1995-1998 as an administrator and adjunct lecturer at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology.
A graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, Wayne was lead case management associate in complex multinational litigation and negotiations with the prestigious firm Patton, Boggs, LLP, in Washington, D.C. 1990-1994. In that capacity he developed international trade strategies for clients on import-export projects under the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement.
As an undergraduate at the University of Miami, Wayne studied Judaic Studies and Politics and Public Affairs. He graduated cum laude in 1984 and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He spent two semesters at Tel Aviv University. He was a member of the 1985-1986 B'nai B'rith Hillel National Student Secretariat. In November 2006, Wayne was named by The Jewish Daily Forward as one of the "Forward 50," influencers who are making a difference in the way American Jews view the world and themselves.
Wayne is married to AMHSI alum Stephanie Krone Firestone (Sep '83), a foundation professional. They live in Rockville, Maryland and are the proud parents of three daughters.
When AMHSI boasts, with almost maternal pride, about the accomplishments of its 18,000-strong alumni, we often think about the doctors, lawyers, business people, and community leaders that have made a positive impact on their home communities. No less important and with equal pride, AMHSI can now applaud the talents and contributions of alumni Christopher Culos (96), Benjamin Gershman (97), and Marc Roberge (96), as they tour the country with friends Richard On and Jerry DePizzo as the rock band, O.A.R.
It started more than fifteen years ago when Roberge and Culos grew up together in Rockville, Maryland. They joined their friends, Gershman and On, to perform with local bands.
Then in 1996, Roberge and Culos attended AMHSI together.
They credit that experience, particularly their tiyul to Massada, with inspiring most of the music for their debut CD 'The Wanderer', released in 1997. They went on to Ohio State University together where they formed the frat band O.A.R (Of a Revolution) in 1998. Thanks to Internet sales and promotion, their music quickly spread to other college campuses across the country. It was the release of their song 'That Was a Crazy Game of Poker' however, that ultimately elevated them from student band to concert headliner. For more information about O.A.R. see www.ofarevolution.com
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