They include: (front row, l to r) Jacob Silverstein of Beth El Temple, West Hartford, Deanna Heine of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel, (BEKI), New Haven, Esther Schlossberg of Beth El, Claire Siege of Congregation B’nai Israel, Northampton, Mass., and Hanfesh Youth Coordinator Ari Brickman; (back row, l to r) Adam Cohen and Isaac Gilles of Beth El, Elie Azoff-Slifstein and Jon Hayward of BEKI, and Michael Stambler of Beth El. Photo credit: Jackson Krule

A strong contingent of Connecticut teens were among the more than 700 teenagers from United Synagogue Youth (USY) who gathered in Baltimore, Md. last month for the 65th International Convention of United Synagogue Youth (USY), the youth group of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). The theme of this year’s five day convention was “Think More. Do More. B’more.” — focusing on teen advocacy, including sessions on combating antisemitism, political activism in US/Israel relations, LGBTQ issues and gender equality, race and poverty, mental health awareness and more. Pictured here are the teens in attendance from New England’s Hagesher region. They include: (front row, l to r) Jacob Silverstein of Beth El Temple, West Hartford, Deanna Heine of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel, (BEKI), New Haven,