Jewish teenagers from more than 60 countries filled Nassau Coliseum on Sunday, waving flags, singing and cheering as they marked the close of the 18th annual CTeen International Summit in what organizers called the largest gathering of Jewish teens in the world.
The event, held Feb. 22 at the arena on Hempstead Turnpike, was the first time the summit’s closing ceremony took place in a major sports stadium. Organizers said the move to the Nassau Coliseum reflected both the growth of the organization and a desire to send a public message of Jewish pride and resilience at a time of rising antisemitism in schools and online.
“This is not just a New York City story. This is a Long Island story,” said Rabbi Yaakov Wilansky, leadership director of the international CTeen movement, which is affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. “We have leaders literally from all over the world — from Panama, Australia, everywhere — and we’re so lucky to host them here on Long Island.”
CTeen, founded 18 years ago as the teen division of the Chabad movement, now operates 900 chapters in more than 60 countries, launching a new chapter roughly every other week, organizers said. While about 4,500 teens traveled to New York City for the full weekend of workshops and programming, the closing ceremony drew an estimated 8,000 participants, including local teens and supporters.
Seven active CTeen chapters on Long Island helped host the gathering, placing local teens at the center of the international event.
“There is a snowstorm currently happening right now, but that didn’t stop us,” Wilansky said, noting that organizers moved the start time up by 30 minutes to accommodate travel concerns. “Look around the stadium — it’s full of teens and chaperones from all over the world.”
The four-day summit included an immersive weekend in Crown Heights and a Times Square takeover before culminating in the closing event, titled “Live the Life,” which organizers described as the largest international Jewish teen event to date. In total, 4,578 teens from 60 countries traveled to New York for the summit.
“It feels like a bunch of souls getting together,” said Ghenna Aharonow of Chisinau, Moldova, who took two long flights to attend. “As we learned at CTeen, a flame only gets bigger when other flames join it. The feeling of being together with thousands of Jewish teens, as one, was bigger than words.”
Eli Tsives, a UCLA student and Jewish campus activist who emceed the afternoon, framed the theme early in the program. “We’re not built for low-res living,” he told the crowd. “We were made to live fully, boldly, Jewishly.”
Throughout the weekend, participants attended leadership sessions and workshops focused on combating antisemitism in schools and on social media, mental health and resilience, preparing for Jewish life on college campuses, and strengthening personal identity and pride.
Sunday’s program featured speeches from teen leaders representing more than 60 countries, musical performances, and appearances by public figures and activists. Nissim Black energized the arena with a high-energy performance, while Israeli singer Noam Buskila brought a traditional sound to the stage.
A live, interactive game show inspired by the Rebbe’s Mivtzah Taharas Hamishpacha addressed teens’ questions about love and relationships through the lens of Torah, with Rebbetzin Goldie Plotkin, Raizel Namdar of That Jewish Family and Miriam Ezagui fielding questions from the audience.
The tone shifted when a video appeared of Leibel Lazaroff, who was shot during a Chanukah attack in Bondi Beach, Australia, playing “Ani Maamin” on guitar. Moments later, Lazaroff walked onto the stage to a standing ovation.
“When I woke up from my coma, my first thought was: Wow. I’m alive,” he told the crowd, describing how mitzvah campaigns and prayers undertaken in his merit sustained him through months of recovery. He led the arena in singing “Ani Maamin,” joined by teens from Sydney, arms locked as thousands of voices filled the coliseum.
Former Israeli hostage Ilana Gritzewsky presented the Az Kanamer Award to teen athletes Michael Shapira, Scarlet Gurevich and Justin Schoen, urging teens to embrace their Jewish identity.
Philanthropist Igor Tulchinsky delivered the keynote address, encouraging daily Torah study. “Looking around this room, I see leadership,” he said. “I see teens who are choosing Judaism, not because you have to, but because you want to.”
Organizers also announced plans to establish 100 new “safe spaces” for Jewish teens worldwide, including several on Long Island, in response to rising antisemitism.
After the ceremony concluded around 2 p.m., buses transported many participants to Queens to visit the Ohel, the resting place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, for prayer and reflection.
For many of the teens in attendance, the summit was as much about connection as it was about activism.
Emily Hassoun, 16, of Roslyn, said CTeen has become a central part of her life since attending a CTeen summer program. Standing among thousands of peers in the arena, she described the closing ceremony as “going out with a bang.”
“CTeen is Jews from all around the world, from the most random countries and all different levels of religion,” Hassoun said. “But the one thing they all have in common is that they’re Jewish. No matter how different of lives you lead, the fact that you’re Jewish unites everyone.”
Anna Celano, a teen from Levittown, said the weekend allowed her to represent her culture while building friendships with peers who share her identity.
“It’s a large community where everyone accepts one another,” Celano said. “We’re all able to bond together because of our Jewish identity. No matter where you’re from, we’re always here to support each other.”
Many of the participants come from communities where they may be one of only a handful — or the only — Jewish student in their grade, organizers said. Delegations traveled from countries including Ukraine and Israel, as well as cities across North and South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.
Wilansky said planning for the summit begins months in advance, with approximately 200 teen leaders worldwide participating in weekly meetings to help shape programming and logistics.
“Our program is to put the leaders on the front stage,” he said. “By the end of this, everyone is going to leave inspired, full of energy and passion, to take it back to their homes and countries.”
After the ceremony concluded around 2 p.m., buses transported many participants to Queens to visit the Ohel, the resting place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, for prayer and reflection.
For Long Island, Wilansky said, the sight of thousands of Jewish teens gathering openly and proudly in Nassau County carried particular meaning.
“At a time when there’s so much negativity out there,” he said, “this is about standing up and saying: We are here, we are proud, and we are not going anywhere.”
