Students Use Network to Highlight Drive for Peace

By Elianna Mintz and Aaron Jacobs, ICB Reporters

As dozens of campuses across North America prepare for a week of anti-Israel rhetoric and propaganda under the banner of Israel Apartheid Week, a growing wave of student supporters of Israel stands confidently with an alternative campaign. Welcome to Israel Peace Week.

The idea was conceived last year by five student participants in a pro-Israel training seminar during winter break. With the support of multiple organizations, Israel Peace Week rolled out on about 20 campuses last spring.

The premise was simple: As much as supporters of Israel try not to fall into “reactive” mode, the lies promoted by IAW demanded a response. The students sought an opportunity to tell their peers about Israel in ways that did not equate it with apartheid South Africa, Nazi war crimes and the worst human rights abuses on record. They emphasized a few simple facts: Israel wants peace; Israel has pursued peace; and Israel has much to be proud of in its democratic, open society.

The students put together programs and activities that highlighted Israel’s commitment to peace and the difficulties the country has encountered as it pursues efforts to achieve peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. The response was overwhelming and the success was tangible.

“Last year, it was a clever slogan that had some success at some campuses,” said Hasbara Fellowships national director Natalie Menaged. This year, however, IPW is back in a bigger, more organized and more ambitious format, and pro-Israel groups at nearly 50 schools across the country are sponsoring IPW.

Israel Peace Week has grown quickly into much more than a response to IAW; student leaders have created a primer that defines the project goals and is filled with tips, activities, programs and more to help campus activists share the message of Israel’s commitment to peace.

While Hasbara Fellowships and many other organizations support and guide students in the planning and implementation of IPW, Menaged noted that, “Ultimately, we will be successful if students take responsibility and figure out how to be effective and creative. It will be even more effective if they find ways to be helpful to students on other campuses.”

An ICB survey of campuses across the country finds evidence that this is happening, as hundreds of activists on dozens of campuses have embraced the broad message of Israel Peace Week and tailored it to their own campus reality.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, sophomore Julie Levitt said that a highlight will be a huge party on the quad in celebration of Israel's Independence Day, sponsored by Israel Illini. The party will feature falafel, Israeli music and a blue and white balloon arch. Additional events include an Israeli dance night, camel rides on the quad, and a “Tel Aviv Beach Party,” in which U of I Hillel’s parking lot will be filled with sand and there will be a volleyball court, DJ, and a BBQ.

The University of Michigan is planning a "Cake for Peace” event. “We give out free cake to students in one of our busiest buildings,” explained Chair of the American Movement for Israel for the University of Michigan Talia Nachbi. “And with the cake, we give them a quartersheet with facts about Israel and peace.”

At Cornell University, freshman Jordana Gilman said that IPW has been conceived as a proactive response to IAW that encourages students to associate Israel with positive trends and developments. Events include a Birthright alumni brunch, film screenings, letter-writing to IDF soldiers, a concert with Neshama Carlebach, fundraising for an Israeli charity and more.

Students at the University of Rochester came up with a unique variety of activities for Israel Peace Week. “Students are planning several activities, including an ‘Israel Peace Train,’” said U of R Hillel executive director Judy Abelman. “Each car of the train will demonstrate visually how Israel is a peace-seeking democratic nation. Students will be encouraged to ‘hop on the train’ by making a pledge to commit to peace and positive relationships among people of all backgrounds on campus.”

Pro-Israel students on campuses where IAW grabs the spotlight work hard to counter the negative portrayal of Israel, but even at schools that do not have an organized IAW, plans are afoot to promote Israeli culture and awareness of the country.

Yale sophomore Ryan Hollander said, “To the best of my knowledge, there has never been an organized Israel Apartheid Week at Yale so there have not been any special arrangements for Israel Peace Week. However, Yale Friends of Israel, which is Yale’s premiere undergraduate organization dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and security for all parties in the Middle East and support for Israel, organizes dozens of events per year with leading journalists, politicians, peace activists, etc. to promote peace in the Middle East. We have a number of culture-related events coming up.”

Hollander noted that the group has been showing movies that highlight Israeli culture throughout the past month. Upcoming events include visits by an Israeli instructor who has trained Special Forces and will teach Krav Maga – the Israeli martial art form – to students and a rabbi from Jaffa who will speak about living in a mixed Jewish/Arab city. Similar to U of I, they also plan to host a Tel Aviv-themed social mixer in April.

In addition to cultural events, students at the University of Illinois have planned specific events timed to coincide with IAW that exhibit Israel’s humanitarian nature. According to freshman Alana Rubin, these include setting up a tent on campus to model Israeli field hospitals so students can view Israel’s humanitarian aid.

Pro-Israel students at Columbia University, which was hit hard by IAW last year when SJP erected a large wall across College Walk, have been busy preparing for this year’s IAW.

According to LionPAC president and Columbia/JTS junior Mikey Shapiro, “Last year's response was not entirely collaborative between the Hillel Israel groups and, for the most part, was thrown together sloppily at the last minute. As a result, our response was less substantial than it should have been. We are anticipating an equally virulent apartheid week campaign this year. Therefore, the four Hillel Israel groups--LionPAC, Just Peace, Garin Lavi, and Tarbootnikim--are working together on a week of pro-active events on a variety of topics related to Israel and the Middle East.

“We are confident that our response this year will be more organized, unified, and effective, akin to what we did for the Mock Checkpoint,” Shapiro added. (For more information check out http://israelcampusbeat.org/home/news/11-01-21/It_s_Complicated_Let_s_Talk_It_Out.aspx).

“We will compile strong information guides with facts countering the apartheid analogy and do whatever is necessary to maintain a strong campus image of Israel,” he continued, noting that activists should learn about the issues being debated so they can discuss them with other students.

Supporters of Israel on campus already are planning extensive celebrations around Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. Watch for ICB coverage of those events in the coming weeks.

For more information about IPW, visit the website at www.israelpeaceweek.org or email contact@israelpeaceweek.org.

Have a comment? Want to share? Send it to comments@israelcampusbeat.org and you may be featured in our weekly Comments Roundup!