Ilan Ben-Avi, National Debate Champion. Courtesy: Austin Jewish Academy

By Melissa Rosen

Austin Jewish Academy (AJA) graduate and member of the Anderson Speech and Debate team, Ilan Ben-Avi, recently traveled to the University of Florida to compete against the top teams in the country at the Florida Blue Key Invitational. This is one of the oldest and most prestigious speech and debate competitions in America. Ilan and his partner were not only tournament champions but won the competition without losing a single judge’s ballot over the entire weekend. Over the course of the competition week, they secured victories over the number one nationally ranked team in the country and the defending champions from NSU in Florida and the defending state champions from Strake Jesuit in Houston.

The Speech and Debate team was started at AJA as an element of the humanities program and integrated with the science program. The students practiced persuasive speeches, making their points using traditional responses and even had a mock trial where Ilan took the lead on the defense. “Ilan is amazing and super intense with a fantastic vocabulary and understood how to structure an appropriate argument,” said Risa Ferdman, former humanities teacher for the AJA.

“Austin Jewish Academy was the reason I got into debate as they were willing to create opportunities in line with my interests. Mrs. Ferdman started Speech and Debate as an elective because a few of us were interested in pursuing it,” Ben-Avi said. “Austin Jewish Academy helped us create a foundational knowledge of public speaking utilizing current events, and this contributed to my success in this area.”

When asked about his future Ilan responded, “The nature of debate allows the participants to explore different subjects like business, foreign policy, fiscal policy and of course the law profession. So, there are so many possibilities,” Ben-Avi added. “My ideal school would be the University of Texas. I would love to go there and I hopefully will hear very soon.”