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Special Edition: The Situation in Israel and Gaza
Dear Readers,
The Israel Campus Beat has been on hiatus in recent months. However, we believe that the current situation in Israel and Gaza warrants publishing this special edition. We hope you find these articles informative, and we look forward to resuming ICB distribution in the future.
Sincerely,
The Israel Campus Beat Staff
GW, Sapir: Israeli Professors Discuss College in War Time
by Noura Ismail and Sarah Karlin
  At Sapir College, exams are consistently interrupted by sirens warning students that a Kassam rocket has been launched. Once the sirens go off, the students have approximately 15 seconds to exit the test area and seek shelter. This scenario can happen more than five times during the course of a three-hour exam. The sirens and potential for danger are simply part of daily life at this Israeli university, located less than a mile from the Gaza Strip. Two Sapir professors spoke to a group of about 15 GW students and community members. The professors addressed their mission to continue to educate students while living in the midst of a heated political conflict. As the largest public university in Israel, Sapir has an extremely multicultural student body. More than one-fifth of its about 5,000 students were born outside Israel and about 400 of those students are not Jewish. (Hatchet)
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Brandeis: Khaled Abu Toameh Urges Israeli Integration
by Lital Shair
  Arab-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, a reporter for the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, spoke last Tuesday about his experience covering the Arab-Israeli conflict, corruption within the Palestinian leadership and about the need for free media within the Palestinian territories. There is a lack of effective leadership among the Palestinians, Toameh said, and because of this, any decision that is made as a result of the negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would not be able to be enforced. "Any agreement you reach with Abbas will be rejected by Hamas and the majority of the Palestinian people," Toameh said. (Justice)
Texas: Students Celebrate Israel's 60th Birthday
by Amy Bingham
 The contemporary beats of Israel's top hip-hop band Hadag Nahash boomed throughout the South Mall. The 10th annual Israel Block Party, put on by Texas Hillel, was a six-hour celebration of Israeli culture and the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence. "We are trying to educate general public about Israel and the many aspects of the country," said Sam Ellison, Texans For Israel's public affairs chair. White tents enclosed the South Mall, providing partygoers of all ages with information regarding different aspects of life in Israel, from popular sports and music to the environment and the army. "It is a great way to get the community involved," said psychology and pre-med sophomore Hannah Sommer. (Daily Texan)
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