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Arizona: Group Calls for UA President to Sever Motorola Contract
by Jennifer Koehmstedt
 UA administrators are resisting a recommendation by UA students to
terminate the university’s contract with the Motorola Corporation.
Students say the company is complicit in human rights violations
because of contracts they have with the Israeli government, which is
militarily occupying Palestinian lands. In 1999, the University of Arizona Police Department entered into a
$203,000 contract with the Motorola Corporation for radio and
communication equipment. “I certainly haven’t made up my mind,” said UA President Robert Shelton. “I’m gathering
information … In terms of divesting, I also need to get some advice
from council, and that’s always dangerous, about what you can do as a
state entity or not. The Israeli lobby has been very powerful in this
country for many years.” (Wildcat)
Brooklyn: Boycott Is Sought Against Israel Ballet
by Daniel J. Wakin
  Advocates for Palestinian rights have called for a boycott of the Israel Ballet, which is performing Sunday at Brooklyn College.
The advocates said that there would be protests at the college’s
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts to denounce what they call
Israel’s “apartheid and colonial policies,” part of a broader call by
some critics of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians for a boycott of
Israel in cultural and academic circles. Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company faced similar protests during an
American tour last year. (New York Times)
See also Protestors Interrupt Ballet Company in Vermont (Ynet News)
UC Irvine: He Knows Ways to Fight the Unthinkable
by Greg Hardesty
 When the shooter burst through the door of the UCI classroom, the students were ready. They jumped over and around tables. They rushed the gunman. In less than five seconds, the would-be killer was on the floor, powerless to carry out his planned – and staged – massacre. Alon Stivi, the guest instructor, is a recognized expert on counterterrorism, violence prevention, security, and hand-to-hand combat. Before coming to the States more than 20 years ago, Stivi spent 4 ½
years in Israel's Special Forces unit. He's launching a special training program to make students and office
workers safer even from the most extreme forms of violence. Cowering under tables, the students are sitting ducks. Make that, dead ducks. He shows them how to use a table to disrupt a shooter's line of
sight, and he teaches other ways to distract a would-be killer – even
for a few seconds. "Sometimes," Stivi says, "a few seconds is all you need." (Orange County Register)
Florida Prez Defends Nazi-themed Student Gov Fliers on Free Speech Grounds
by Kyle Munzenrieder
 A recent flier started showing up on the University of Florida
campus that read "Student Alliance party is the Nazi Party," featuring
a swastika. The fliers are attributed to a fake group called
"UF for Israel." Student Alliance is one of the student body parties
vying for control of student government. "It's a reprehensible act of
hate, and it has no place on our campus," Ben Cavataro, the party's
presidential candidate, tells the Independent Alligator. But University of Florida president Bernie Machen just sent out an
email to students defending the swastika-marked fliers on grounds of
free speech. (Miami New Times)
Manchester: Deputy Israeli Ambassador Cancels Talk
by Jonathan Kalmus
  Deputy Israeli ambassador Talya Lador-Fresher cancelled a talk
at Manchester University amid rising security
“threats” from protesters. Ms Lador-Fresher was due to speak to the politics society of
Manchester University Students Union. But after 300 protesters were
expected to turn out, organized by another student society Action
Palestine, the embassy cancelled her visit. Politics Society president Jonathan Ridge, who was to chair today's
event, says the cancellation is disappointing for freedom of speech,
especially since controversial speakers like Dr Azzam Tamimi had been
allowed to speak unhampered at the Palestine Conference held at
Manchester University. (Jewish Chronicle - UK)
Oregon: Tension Fills Campus over Extremists
by Steven DuBois
 A
campus with a reputation for young, leftist radicals has been roiled
in protest in recent weeks as the aging collection of extremists.
Pacifica Forum has gained attention for hosting speakers who question
the
Holocaust. Paul Bessemer, director of Hillel, has
monitored Pacifica for years. He said Pacifica members have long had
sympathy for the Palestinian cause, but the current batch has taken it
in a darker direction. "It's got a much nastier tone than it used to,"
Bessemer said.
"Those people that were really pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel - on the
principal that Israel doesn't have a right to exist - have left over
the anti-Semitism." Charles Martinez, the university's vice president
for institutional
equity and diversity, said administrators have been meeting to decide
whether to change school policy on the use of space by outside groups. (AP/Oregon Live)
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Brandeis: NY Times' Bronner says Media Coverage of Middle East Conflict Differs
by Miranda Neubauer
 New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner said said at a lecture in the International Lounge that media coverage is chiefly affected by the fact that Israel has "a
very, very open, robust debate going on all the time." Within the
Palestinian territories, "there isn't that same robust debate; there is
very little investigative journalism, … and there are no columnists
complaining about the situation the way there are in Israel," Bronner
said. "Don't complain about us not writing positive things about
Israel; complain about our not writing enough negative things about
their enemies." "In a world that tends to be black and white, I traffic in gray," he said. (The Justice)
Brown: American-Israeli Student's Funeral Draws Global Audience
by Raphael Ahren
  The funeral in Los Angeles of an
American-Israeli student from Brown was streamed in real-time on the Internet and
watched by friends all over the world, including some 300 in Jerusalem and a group of Brown
students at the Hillel Center in Rhode Island. The
untimely death of Avi Schaefer, a California-born immigrant to Israel
who was a freshman at Brown and former IDF soldier - spurred numerous memorial web sites as
well as a foundation dedicated to continue some of the work he
accomplished in his brief life. Last week, near the Brown campus, a 23-year-old drunken SUV driver plowed into the students, killing Schaefer. Within days of his death, friends created "Seek Peace
and Pursue It," a foundation aiming to "focus on Avi's goals of
fostering dialogue" between Jews and Arabs. (Ha'aretz)
See also Avi Schaefer '13 Struck and Killed (Brown Daily Herald)
See also To Those Interested in Creating Peace in the Middle East by Avi Schaefer (Brown Daily Herald)
Chico State: Israeli Speaks about Middle East Conflicts
by Tegan Silva
  Effie Eitam, a former Israeli politician and Israeli Defense Forces
brigadier general, spoke to students Feb. 9 regarding
the problems with Israel, Palestine and Iran. The conflicts between Israel and Palestine are in need of being solved, he said.
“People are suffering from both sides,” Eitam said. “It’s in no way at the top priority of the world.” Israel is often misunderstood and people often refuse to hear their
side, said junior Courtney Silver, a biology major and intern at the
Hillel/Jewish Student Union.
“We’re trying to get out there and advocate for Israel,” she said. (The Orion)
Georgia: Jewish Film Festival Shines Light on Israel
by Ryan Brooks
 The Athens Georgia Jewish Film Festival was born last year with sold-out showings and a huge turnout. This year’s festival hosts domestic films as well as international
pieces, and is sponsored by both the German and Israeli consulates in
Atlanta. Although most of the films are set in Israel, Abraham Tesser, the founder of the festival, believes the
films chosen to be shown also have implications in the international
arena. “‘The Lemon Tree’ deals with the Israeli-Palestinian
relationship, in a way in which people can understand both sides,”
Tesser said. “It’s not a feel-good movie, but one where I think people
will learn from it.” The film “For My Father” deals with the same
issues involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict but views it from a
very unique and controversial perspective: someone who comes to Israel
as a suicide bomber. “It shows people the human relations at work on both sides,” he said. (Red and Black)
Ohio State: Israeli Gymnast Finds Home
by Nekolle Turner
 Shachar Tal has been a gymnast since he was old enough to attempt stunts in his
house and attend the limited number of ope n gyms in Israel.“Ohio State has been the best decision and the best-suited program for me,” he said. Adjustments were required. Still,Tal said he handled it well. Tal has had three years to adjust to the team-oriented spirit of OSU gymnastics. Moving to America, where individual accolades are not as important as team performance, it became a priority for Tal to adjust. (Lantern)
Jewish Students in Canada to Counter Israeli Apartheid Week
  Jewish university students across Canada are coordinating campaigns to counter Israeli Apartheid Week. Working with local federations, the Canadian Council for Israel and
Jewish Advocacy and Hillel, students will get a one-week head start on
the sixth annual Israeli Apartheid Week, which is slated for March 1-7,
with a campaign called "Size Doesn't Matter." The Jewish campaign will stress that for a small country, Israel has
achieved global renown in science, medicine, technology, business and
humanitarian aid. It begins the last week of February. Several pro-Israel speakers are slated to appear at Ryerson and York universities and the University of Toronto. (JTA)
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