By Carl Schrag, Editor-in-Chief, Israel Campus Beat 
At the end of the day, it all comes down to simple numbers. Jewish students fill most of the pro-Israel leadership posts on campus, but they must not ignore the importance of non-Jewish allies as they work to improve Israel’s standing and create a positive environment for Israel on campuses across the country.
Even though many pro-Israel students immerse themselves in the Jewish community, the fact remains that 98% of Americans are not Jews, and – on all but a handful of campuses – Jews are but a small minority of the student population. In order to ensure solid support for Israel, pro-Israel Jews must embrace non-Jewish supporters and help make them feel welcome among the network of Israel supporters.
The challenge is great, but it need not be as daunting as it may seem at first glance. Despite what some Israel detractors want the campus community to believe, American support for Israel goes way beyond Jewish influence.
In the current issue of
Foreign Policy, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, makes the case for a strong US-Israel alliance. He presents it as an alliance built not on Jewish support but on shared values and common priorities and views on world affairs. The founding fathers, he writes, were inspired by the Jewish relationship to their ancestral land long before Jews played a key role in American life. And today, Israel and the US are in sync on most important issues.
Likewise,
public opinion polls consistently demonstrate American popular support for Israel and for a strong US-Israel alliance. While this support is not always evident on the campus scene, it should provide the network of Israel supporters with enough motivation to reach out to non-Jewish groups and individuals, and to make room for them at the campus pro-Israel table.
With increasing frequency, this is happening. In recent weeks,
Israel Campus Beat reporters have written about a variety of efforts by and for Israel supporters who are not Jewish.
Some of these reports explore work underway at schools with significant Jewish populations, such as the story of an African American honor society, the Vanguard Leadership Group, and their
outreach to black and Jewish students at Columbia University. Others, such as our story about the campus efforts of
Christians United for Israel, address non-Jewish efforts to promote understanding of Israel, often at schools with minimal Jewish presence.
Still others are promoted specifically as efforts to help Jews and non-Jews recognize and appreciate the common bonds and values that link Jewish and non-Jewish students. A recent
series of programs at the University of Miami helped Jews see that Jewish concerns overlap with many broader issues, at the same time that non-Jewish students learned about Israel and how supporting it was in line with their own core values and concerns.
African-Americans, Hispanics, Indians, Evangelical Christians, LGBT and other groups on the campus scene all have key roles to play in building support for Israel among campus stakeholders. As the core of most campus pro-Israel communities, Jewish students must reach out to build ties to groups and individuals that can help advance the goal of fostering deep, broad support for Israel throughout the campus community.
There are more than enough reasons for the general community to embrace Israel. It’s our job to help them find ways to act on their beliefs as we work together to strengthen support for Israel among all segments of the campus community.
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