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Binghamton: Seven Times Zones Away - But Here at Home, the Conflict Rages
by Alana Casanova-Burgess
 Israeli-American students, some destined for Israel's mandatory army service, now see their enlistment through new eyes. At least two recent BU graduates, Elan Sasson '05 and Shani Ackerman '06, are now in the Israeli army. Sasson, who enrolled in 2005, said he had no idea such a major conflict would break out when he decided to go to Israel. "It just kind of came out of nowhere," said the 22-year-old American citizen. (Pipe Dream)
See also BU in the Mideast: for Some, a Different Home Front (Pipe Dream)
Colgate: Media Outlets Highlight Growing Student Diversity at Colgate
 Free falafels served up during a Welcome Back Week event on Colgate’s campus became a jumping-off point for local media outlets focusing on the growing diversity of the university’s students. Last week’s lunchtime event, organized by the Colgate Jewish Union and the Muslim Student Association, also put a peaceful face on the strained relations in the Middle East. "It's a food that's common to both of our cultures, and food is always a uniting factor," Ceci Sibony ‘08, president of the Jewish Union, said. Sibony spent several weeks this summer interning for an anti-terrorism think tank near Tel Aviv, a coastal city in Israel. (Colgate University News)
Haifa and Suffolk: Law Students Exchange Ideas
by Matt Lebovic
 Haifa University law student Kiril Shefer enjoys debunking stereotypes. A Russian Jew who immigrated to Israel in 1991, Shefer lives and works with Israeli-Arab students on a daily basis. This interaction has permanently affected Shefer’s perspective and future goals, he said during a forum last week. “It takes a melting pot like Haifa University to break the pattern of hatred generated through constant hostility,” Shefer said. (Jewish Advocate)
Global Rankings for Universities: Hebrew U Ranked 82
by Moran Zelikovich
 In a recently published list of the top 100 universities in the world, the American magazine Newsweek ranked Hebrew University in Jerusalem 82nd among global universities. In a different ranking list, published by Shanghai Jiaotong University in China, the Hebrew University was ranked in sixtieth place, among the 500 leading universities in the world. This was a significant jump from 2005, when the university was ranked 78th. (Ynet News)
Skidmore College: Greenberg Scholar to Shed Light on Middle East Issues
 “Narratives of Revolt” is the theme of this fall's Greenberg Middle East Scholar-in-Residence on campus. In a series of events that could be drawn from current headlines, visiting scholar Haggai Ram will be a featured participant in a number of lectures designed to shed light on current developments in the Middle East. Ram, a senior lecturer in the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, will focus on Israeli-Iranian relations as well as the Islamic revolution in discussions scheduled in September. (Skidmore College)
On Campus: Students Support for Israel Strong
by EJ Tansky
 As Hizballah missiles hailed down on Israel, the phone started ringing at University of Michigan’s Chabad House in Ann Arbor. “Kids I hadn’t heard from for a few months decided to call me the day after the war broke out,” said Rabbi Alter Goldstein. Students called, concerned about Israel’s future, eager for ideas of how they - away from Israel, away from campus, at home - could help. Israel’s enemies “are trying to diminish our morale,” Rabbi Goldstein counseled. “We have to be strong, to increase in positive deeds, and have a positive attitude." (Lubavitch)
Anti-Semitism 'on the Rise' in UK
 Universities must also step up their game when it comes to anti-Jewish sentiment, the all-party inquiry on anti-Semitism says, particularly where tensions exist between Muslim and Jewish groups on campus. It notes that some universities have been targeted as training grounds by Islamist extremists. Most of these groups on the fringe of the Muslim community express anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment that has been encouraged by anti-Semitic rhetoric coming from the Middle East, it argues. (Politics.UK)
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Brandeis: Panel Sees No Simple Solution in the Middle East
by Patrick Anderson
 Struggling to find cause for optimism after the summer's war in Lebanon, a panel of experts on the Arab and Israeli conflict discussed last week the future of the cease-fire and prospects for peace in a public forum at Brandeis University's Crown Center for Middle East Studies. Shai Feldman, the director of the Crown Center; Abdel Monem Said Aly, a senior research fellow; and Charles Radin, reporter for the Boston Globe, each gave sobering analyses of the war's impact and cautioned the audience not to expect a simple "victory-defeat" narrative. (Daily News Tribune)
Georgetown: A Candle for Peace
by Sam Sweeney
 More than fifty students gathered in Red Square last week for a candlelight vigil commemorating the lives lost in the Lebanese war this summer. Hammad Hammad (SFS ‘08), president of the Students for Justice in Palestine, and Mark Lerner (SFS ‘09), president of the Georgetown-Israel Alliance, said they were united in their hope for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. “Peace has to start somewhere and this is a great place to start,” Lerner said.(Georgetown Voice)
Furor at Harvard: Khatami Visit Part of Anti-Israel Tilt?
by Brett Arends
 A furious row has broken out at Harvard over the decision to invite Mohammad Khatami, the pro-Hizballah former president of Iran, to speak on Sunday. And it has revived growing questions about whether the university itself is falling under the sway of anti-Israel sentiment. “I’ve been getting e-mails and calls from alumni and students from all parts of the world,” university Rabbi Hirschy Zrachi said. “People are shocked and offended. This man has no place speaking at a place like Harvard.” He added: “It is unfortunate that some people don’t have the moral compass to condemn evil.” (Boston Herald)
Maryland: Confronting Conflict
by Andrew Vanacore
 Liora Herman had her heart set on studying abroad in Israel since she had been five years old, and as a high school junior, she was just days away from realizing that ambition. Then another round of violence in the Middle East occurred and her parents decided to keep her home. That was the spring of 2003. Nowhere does history seem to repeat itself more relentlessly than on Israel’s borders, but as a junior Jewish studies major, Herman refused to let the latest conflict get in her way. “If you stop me now you’re not going to be able to stop me in college,” Herman recalls telling her parents almost four years ago. Herman left for Tel Aviv University July 30. (Diamondback)
Yale: Students Caught up in Hezbollah Conflict
by Allison Battey
 Like many of his fellow Yalies, Moshe Sarfaty ’08 planned to spend the summer working in finance. For the first part of his summer at home in Tel Aviv, he filled his days working for a local hedge fund. But in mid-July, Sarfaty’s plans suddenly had to change. Hizballah captured two Israeli soldiers and began shooting missiles into northern Israel from Lebanon; Israel quickly gathered its forces and responded with missiles of its own. Within a week, Sarfaty, an Israeli citizen who served in his country’s army before coming to Yale, found himself on a train to the Lebanese border. The Israeli army had called up its reserves, and for Sarfaty, the rest of the summer would be spent not in finance, but at war. (Yale Daily News)
See also Notes from the Ground: Abroad in a War Zone (Yale Herald)
Israel on Campus Leaders Meet in D.C.
 Thirty leaders of the Israel on Campus Coalition met with White House officials and Israel’s ambassador to Washington to plan for the academic year. The group, which convened last week, anticipates a tough year ahead for pro-Israel students on college campuses in the aftermath of Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The leaders launched a petition drive to thank congressional leaders for their support of Israel during the war. (JTA News)
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