Stepping foot on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, in March, a surging crowd of 16,000 people is visible.

They aren’t tourists — they’re lobbyists.

They’re also members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), an organization that advocates for a better American and Israeli relationship.

Among them is one of Blue Valley’s own — junior Sam Saper.

Saper said her need to preserve Israel draws from family ties and personal heritage.

“Obviously I am very pro-Israel because I am Jewish and all of my family lives there,” she said. “To me, the country itself is a representation of the Jewish people, and I feel that I need to keep it strong. It is my duty to protect it, just as much as anyone else’s — even though I’m a teenager.”

Saper said she got started in the organization her freshman year.

“I was asked to go on a high school summit in October of my freshman year,” she said. “The leader who asked me was like, ‘Hey, do you want to go to Washington, DC, learn about Israel and teach other people about it?’”

Saper said there are two main opportunities for teens involved in AIPAC.

“At policy conference, you arrive in Washington, DC, in a convention hall, and you listen to different lectures involving Israel on topics like inventors, arts, culture and things like that,” she said. “You go through that for a few days, and then you learn how to lobby. The next day, you go to Capitol Hill and lobby with other people from your state and try to convince lawmakers why the United States should have a good relationship with Israel.”

Besides the summit and policy conference, Saper said it is up to each teenager to share his or her beliefs.

“Teenagers are mostly active by spreading the word and holding programs, but it’s mostly something that you do on your own,” she said. “It’s your job to advocate for yourself and for Israel.”

Although the organization discusses controversial topics and is pro-Israel, Saper said members attempt to view situations from both sides.

“We discuss sanctions, situations with the Palestinians and other topics like that,” she said. “We try to see problems involving Israel from both sides and look at the situation from all possible angles. AIPAC is very involved with Israel, so we are biased. But in order to form our arguments, we try to make an educated decision.”

Saper said her favorite experience at policy conference involved a speech from the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It was amazing when I got to listen to Benjamin Netanyahu speak because he has never spoken to us at policy conference before,” she said. “It was so inspiring that I was speechless afterward. Everyone was standing up and clapping, and then we all sat back down in our seats and just thought about what he said because it was so amazing. We all needed a moment to commit his words to memory.”

Saper said she believes she is making a difference both nationally and in the community.

“I think being a teenager and being there advocating with the community makes advocating for Israel more of a community-wide concern,” she said. “Even just stepping foot on Capitol Hill for the first time my freshman year inspired me to go further in this organization. It was an eye-opening experience, and I realized advocating for Israel was something I really want to have be a part of the rest of my life.”