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Ben-Gurion and Bethlehem: Professors Bridge Mid-East Divide
by Martin Patience
 Two university professors aim to change the way the conflict is taught, by exposing Palestinian students to Israeli history lessons and Israeli students to the Palestinian version of history. The project is the work of Dan Bar-On, a social psychology professor at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, a city in southern Israel, and Sami Adwan, an education professor at Bethlehem University in the West Bank. (BBC News)
UC Irvine: Israeli Minority Speaks
by Reut R. Cohen
  "I am a proud Israeli citizen," said Ishmael Khaldi. "I am [also] part of the Arab world. Khaldi, an Israeli Bedouin who served as a political analyst for the Israeli Defense Forces and worked with the American Embassy, speaks to thousands of college students around the world concerning the unique relationship of Israeli Bedouins to the state of Israel. "We identify ourselves as Israeli, like every other Israeli." Unfortunately, for the majority of American college students, Khaldi's perspective is a unique one and often ridiculed because it is not the traditional view of the media. (New University Paper)
George Washington: Former Israeli General Talks to Students
by Nathan Grossman
  Former Israeli Defense Forces General Moshe Ya'alon spoke of the challenges facing Israel's security in a speech before a packed crowd in the last week. Ya'alon, the former chief of staff of the IDF, was invited to campus by GW's chapter of the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces. Zach Cutler, a freshman and president of Friends of IDF, called Ya'alon "my hero" during his introduction of the general. "He is a man who has saved countless Jewish lives," Cutler said. (GW Hatchet)
North Texas: Shalom, Y'all
by Jesse Sidlauskas
 The Hillel group of NT hosted the 6th annual Israel Hillel Fair Wednesday aimed to educate students and faculty about Israeli culture. The four-hour celebration also honored Israeli Independence Day. The middle of next month, around May 14, the Israeli state will celebrate 58 years since its Declaration of Independence. (NT Daily)
Princeton: Experts Debate Hamas Victory
by Alice Easton
 The recent Hamas electoral victory may lead to increased legitimacy for the Palestinian Authority among its own people, but it has created problems for an international community that will not negotiate with a terrorist group, members of the panel "Handling Hamas" said last week. Zvi Smith '09 said Palestinians should take responsibility for their electoral decisions, and understand that if they elect a radical Islamic party - even democratically - many nations will be unwilling to work with them. (Daily Princetonian)
York: Hillel, Student Council Spar Over Speaker
by Sheri Shefa
  Hillel at York wants the York Federation of Students to backtrack on its implication that Hillel is a racist organization after the student council demanded that Hillel apologize for comments about radical Islam by a speaker the Jewish group invited on campus. Nonie Darwish, an Egyptian-born, pro-Israel Arab American and former Muslim, spoke on March 29 at York University in a talk titled, "Why I support the State of Israel." Adam Hummel, president of Hillel at York, said Darwish caught him and other organizers off guard when she strayed from her announced topic to criticize radical Islam. (Canadian Jewish News)
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Brandeis Criticized for Honoring Kushner
by Gabrielle Birkner
 Brandeis University is being criticized for its decision to award an honorary doctorate to playwright Tony Kushner, a critic of Israeli government policies. Mr. Kushner, who has called the founding of Israel a "mistake," and has accused the Jewish state of "behaving abominably towards the Palestinian people," is among seven people who are slated to receive honorary doctorates from the Waltham, Mass.-based university, which has Jewish roots but is nonsectarian. (New York Sun)
See also ZOA Criticizes Brandeis Award Pick by Jonathan Krisch (The Hoot)
Cornell: Student Assembly Debates Iran Stance, Resolution Creates Turmoil
 After nearly two hours of debate last week, the Student Assembly (SA) decided to table voting on Resolution 29: Resolution Condemning Iranian Nuclear Proliferation until their next meeting on Thursday, May 4. Resolution 29, which has provoked campus-wide petitions and discussions, is proposed by three students: Tim Lim '06, president of the SA, Jamie Weinstein '06, president of Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee and Sun columnist, and Sarah Boxer '07, vice president of publicity for the SA "If the SA passes the resolution, more local officials will be urged to act," said Weinstein. "Iran is the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world, and this effects Cornell." (TMCNet)
Idaho: Staying Jewish without a Synagogue
by Nate Poppino
 Junior Zev Kronenberg is a Jewish activist who has traveled to Israel and lobbied in both Washington, D.C., and Idaho for diplomatic help in the troubled Middle East. "I have a firm solidarity with Israel," he says. Working with AIPAC, Zev watches the UI campus for signs of anti-Zionist speakers or events, then arranges counter-events. "If I send an e-mail, they will pay for a pro-Israel speaker to come," he says. "It's not about slinging dirt, it's about telling the truth." (Argonaut)
Penn State: Exhibit Critical of Palestinians to Go On
 A student art exhibit critical of Palestinian terrorists will go on at Penn State University, after it initially was blocked. The cancellation of Joshua Stulman’s exhibit proved controversial, and after several days of debate, university president Graham Spanier told the Faculty Senate this week that the exhibit would take place. “Penn State does not and will not censor artwork,” Spanier said. “I wanted to make this perfectly clear to everyone." (JTA)
Students Meet Technion Backers
by Keren Douek
 As if taking full course loads in account engineering and physics and teaching on the side with periodic breaks for the Israeli military reserves weren't enough, students Amit Meiselles and Gili Bisker agreed to also tour the Midwest to speak about life at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The students, along with Dean Dror Seliktar, spoke about the importance of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and thanked the St. Louis Chapter of the American Technion Society for their continued support. (Jewish Light)
See also Technion Signs Agreement with Shanghai University (Jerusalem Post)
David A. Harris to Head Israel on Campus Coalition
 Jewish community leader David A. Harris has been named the executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, the umbrella organization of 30 national groups involved with pro-Israel education and advocacy across North America. Harris was selected for his outstanding experience advocating for both the American Jewish community and for Israel, for his strong background in coalition work and field organizing, and for his intimate knowledge of public and governmental affairs and media relations. (Hillel)
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