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UCLA: Bernard-Henri Levy Warns on Anti-Semitism
by Kevin Matthews
 Although Israel "can and must be" subject to criticism, "especially by its friends," Bernard-Henri Levy denounced as the first pillar of the new anti-Semitism the "Satanization" and "vilification" of Israel "in order to vilify the Jews." The other two pillars of the current anti-Semitic phase, he said, are the claim that Jews have cultivated a status as victims in order to silence others, and the outright denial of the Holocaust. (UCLA International Institute)
Colorado: Tolerating Intolerance
by Erica Seldin
 The film "Tolerating Intolerance: Hate Speech on Campus" and the following panel discussion graphically exposed the reality of freedom of speech and pleaded for a solution to the resurgence of anti-Semitism. Shown to a small audience on Monday, April 10, the film highlighted the deliberately anti-Israel hate speech sweeping college campuses all over the nation. The actions illustrated in the film have made campus life increasingly more uncomfortable for Jewish students throughout the nation. (Campus Press)
Michigan State: Michigan, Israel Explore Economic Partnerships at MSU Hillel Forum
by Jeremy Moss
 Michigan State University Hillel, Spartans for Israel and the Michigan Jewish Conference recently co-sponsored the Michigan Israel Economic Partnership Forum and a series of events that focused on developing economic partnerships between Israel and Michigan. The events, which were held at the State Capitol and on the MSU campus, were made possible by a grant from the Avi Chai Foundation. (Hillel)
Oberlin College: Presentation Considers the Potential for Peace
by Andrew Brooks
 The perception is that when an Israeli kid grows up he's going to become a soldier. When a Palestinian kid grows up he'll become a suicide bomber. Either way, he'll do terrible things to you and your family, said junior Adi Dajani during his and junior Ilya Friedbergs presentation, "Possibilities for Peace." In the presentation, Dajani, a Jordanian Palestinian, and Friedberg, a Russian Israeli, spoke about their experiences in mediation camps working to deconstruct such deeply rooted perceptions. The event was sponsored by Oberlin Hillel. (Oberlin Review)
Stanford: Students Seek Israeli Abroad Program
by Shirin Sharif
 Next month, the UC Board of Regents will determine whether to restore study-abroad programs in countries, most notably Israel, which carry travel warnings from the U.S. State Department. The impact of the Boards decision may reverberate at Stanford, where students are pressing the administration to circumvent State Deptartment policy and offer an overseas seminar in Israel. (Stanford Daily)
Tel Aviv: Exchange Program Brings Israeli Doctors to SickKids
by Leila Speisman
 The Medical Exchange Program between Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine and Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) aims to encourage interaction between research and clinical departments at both institutions. The program is intended to benefit both Israel and Canada, said Moshe Eizenman, a professor of  biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto and a member of the executive of Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University (CFTAU) and chair of the CFTAU committee looking after the program. (Canadian Jewish News)
Wesleyan: Breaking Down the Barriers: Trip to Middle East Provides Examples of Peaceful Co-Existence
 Wesleyan Jewish Chaplain Rabbi David Leipziger Teva, wanted to prove to his students that Jews and Muslims can peacefully coexist with one another. But Leipziger Teva admits that for students to understand this complex co-existence, they must couple classroom knowledge with real life, personal experiences. So Leipziger Teva and former Wesleyan Muslim Chaplain Abdullah Antepli chose five Wesleyan Muslim students and six Jewish students, out of 23 who applied, and set out for an 11-day spring break excursion of Istanbul, Turkey and Jerusalem, Israel. (Wesleyan Connection)
Israeli Universities Win Major Donations Aimed at Halting Brain Drain
by Talya Halkin
Two recent grants to Israeli universities encourage scientists to conduct research in the country rather than abroad. "It is essential that Israeli research universities have the resources to attract, develop, and retain faculty of the very highest caliber in the fields where they already enjoy exceptional strengths," said Dr. Neil Rudenstine, adviser to the program and former president of Harvard University. "Israel must continue to be an international leader in a number of critical fields and this program is intended to help accomplish this goal." (Jerusalem Post)
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Carnegie Mellon: Students Vote in Mock Israeli Elections
by Michael M. Whiston
 Hasbara Fellowships, a pro-Israel activist program for college students, compiled mock election results from across the country. The results differed from the actual election results, with Likud claiming 44 out of 120 seats, followed by Kadima with 33 seats. At Carnegie Mellon, the sponsoring organization provided students with candidate information and the chance to vote in the Israeli mock election. They closed their polls last Monday night after a week and a half of tabling. (The Tartan)
Harvard: Anti-Semitic Fliers Appear in Eliot, Yard
by Daniel J. Hemel
 Anti-Semitic leaflets appeared in publicly-accessible locations outside at least one upperclass House and several Yard dorms last week. One of the fliers carries the name of National Vanguard, a Charlottesville, Va.-based organization that, in its own words, "stands up for the interests of White people." One flier charges that the invasion of Iraq was "a war for Israel," and it claims that U.S. policy toward Israel "is an expression of the Jewish-Zionist grip on America"s political and cultural life." (Harvard Crimson)
Monmouth University Receives Fulbright Scholarship to Host Israeli and Palestinian Scholars
 Monmouth University has received a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence grant to bring Israeli psychologist Dan Bar-On and Palestinian educator Sami Adwan to campus for the spring 2007 semester. As co-directors of the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East, they are engaged in peace building, both in academe and society. (Monmouth University)
Princeton: Peace in Mideast (of Campus)
by Sarah Brown
 The Sunday Souk Festival, which adorned the plaza with Arabian scarves and inflatable palm trees, represented the first-ever student-organized, apolitical event on campus to celebrate Middle Eastern cultures. Souk, which means "market" in both Arabic and Hebrew, was designed to showcase the similarities between the Arab/Muslim and Israeli/Jewish cultures that are often overlooked in political discussions. (Daily Princetonian)
Simon Fraser: Links Sought with Israeli Universities
by Julie Ovenell-Carter
 SFU human rights director Brenda Taylor recently toured four Israeli universities, the first step in building relationships that could one day culminate in the free flow of students back and forth between Israel and SFU, she says. Taylor was the only Canadian on a study tour organized in early March by Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa, and Tel Aviv University to encourage enrolment by international students. She was joined by representatives from 10 U.S. universities. (SFU News)
Tufts: It Wasn't about iPods: iFest Promotes Israel's Culture
by August Hales
 Tufts Friends of Israel kicked off its first-ever Israel Fest (iFest) last week. "We've been planning this event all year," said iFest co-chair Yael Muhlrad, a senior. "We want to show our solidarity with Israel and show the Tufts community what Israel has to offer to the world." "The goal of iFest [is] to show the Tufts campus this real side of Israel, one of a vibrant and flourishing culture, and go beyond the conflict," said Friends of Israel Political Chair Amy Spitalnick, a sophomore. (Tufts Daily)
Yeshiva University Students Travel to Washington to Advocate for Israel
 The Yeshiva University Public Action Committee (YUPAC), Israel Club (YUIC) and Political Science Society organized a lobbying trip to Washington D.C. from March 18 through 20. Eighteen Yeshiva University undergraduate students met with members of their Congressional Representatives' offices to lobby in support of the Iran Freedom and Support Act, Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act and Israel's foreign aid package. (Yeshiva University)
Two Steps Forward for Efforts to Correct Bias in Mideast Studies
by Ron Kampeas
The effort by an alliance of Jewish groups to hold government-funded Middle East studies departments accountable took two strides forward in recent weeks, one legislative and one moral. Congress came a step closer to a mechanism that would monitor how Middle East Studies departments spend federal money, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an advisory body, found that anti-Israeli activism could engender a hostile atmosphere for Jews on campus. (JTA/Combined Jewish Philanthropies)
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