Featured this week

Fighting the New Divestment Effort on Campus
by Wayne Firestone

The efforts of anti-Israel activists to pass divestment resolutions at the UC-San Diego and UC-Berkeley are troubling developments, but not for the reasons their proponents are proclaiming. These resolutions -– thwarted by pro-Israel students on campus in both cases -– hold little practical impact and likely would be overturned on technical grounds if they should ever win passage. Nevertheless, the pro-Israel community must take these measures seriously for their potential to demonize Israel and foster anti-Israel sentiment on campus.
The 2001 divestment movement was not about economic sanctions but was a cunning attempt by marginal groups on campus to drum up publicity by comparing today’s Israel with yesterday’s apartheid South Africa. Yesterday’s divestment movement was destined to fail because it was not truly an organic, authentic movement of local students, faculty or trustees. Divestment conferences of the past featured off-campus speakers and participants from anarchist, far left and anti-Israel groups who flew in for the occasion.
Today’s divestment movement is different. The divestment movement is no longer seeking to hijack the campus; it wants to hijack the student government.  Three specific strategies should help guide our response to the new divestment movement: 1. Student empowerment.  2. Coalition building, 3. Israel’s brand - to represent the true Israel as a country that shares America’s Western values and contributes to the world.  The writer is the president and CEO of Hillel.  (JTA)

Cal State-Long Beach: Israel, Often Victim to Propaganda, Fights for Self-Preservation
by Gerry Wachovsky

The Muslim Student Association (MSA) here, as well as its sister groups on many Southern California campuses, happens to be extremely militant. There’s a distinct difference between legitimate political discourse regarding the Middle East situation and plain old hatred, anti-Semitism and propaganda. Inherently, I don’t have anything against a group standing up for its own interest — after all, that’s what America is about. Demonstrations by the MSA here on campus often devolve into nothing more than rhetoric spewing and stem from knee-jerk reactions by a bunch of kids who are just confused and are likely repeating what peers have said. When Israel, a country that has known little peace in its lifetime, is surrounded by groups calling for its destruction and has citizens who are constantly killed and terrorized by extremists, it is amazing that it still even exists. Groups like the MSA would be content to see it destroyed. (Daily 49er)

UC - Irvine: Student Fees Fund UCI Anti-Semitism Week
by Joe Wolf

The Muslim Student Union (MSU) typically receives approximately $6,500 from student fees to host their annual Anti-Semitism Week on the UC Irvine campus. Especially shocking is that the university administration does not allow pro-Israel groups to reserve meaningful space on campus to confront MSU.  If the past repeats itself, Muslim students will openly threaten Jewish students in front of indifferent police officers. As in years past, your $6,500 will likely fund posters that spread the false quotations, allow Norman Finkelstein to lecture, and promote a fabricated view of Israel’s actions. Despite desperate pleas, the UCI administration has refused to allow pro-Israel groups to reserve adequate space on campus during these events to dispute exaggerated claims. UC Irvine, one of the highest ranked research universities in the world, is one of the most viral brewing grounds for hatred in our country. (New University)

Columbia: Zionism, Not Racism
by Jonathan Huberman and Eric Lawrence

At a Columbia student event Prof. Joseph Massad delivered a speech in which he reinterpreted Israel’s repeated offers to the Palestinians to swap land for peace as disguised attempts by Israel to “colonize” Palestine.  He claimed that a two state solution would only temporarily avert violence, and he called the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad a traitor to his people for even considering cooperation.  Zionism does not translate into racism or colonization, as the highly controversial Massad claims. Rather, Zionism and Israel translate into the only legitimate democracy in the Middle East. By denying the Jewish people a homeland and by disparaging Israeli and Palestinian attempts to cooperation, Massad and his supporters reverse progress towards an enduring, peaceful solution. (Spectator)

Minnesota: Sanction Iran Now
by Samantha Bass

I would like to say how grateful I am that the U.S. Senate and House have both passed legislation that will impose sanctions on Iran. This bill will significantly limit Iran’s ability to import refined petroleum resources. U.S. sanctions against Iran are especially timely given Iran’s escalation of military activity.  Iran’s missile practices in the Gulf are proof. Iran has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction and denies that the Holocaust ever happened. In addition, Iran continues to fund terrorism by giving an estimated $100 million to $200 million per year to Hizbullah.  If Iran is capable of causing so much destruction in the Middle East without nuclear weaponry, imagine what will happen a few years from now when it develops nuclear weapons. (Minnesota Daily)

Princeton: Misrpresenting Israel
by Rivka Cohen

The Princeton Committee on Palestine labels Israel an apartheid state. Their apartheid label perpetuates an image of Israel as a racist, hateful nation, while within Israel’s borders a community of more than 1 million Palestinians possess citizenship and are guaranteed full rights under the law, including the right to vote. How do I feel about the barrier? I hate it. But there are other things I hate as well. I hate kids getting blown up on the bus on their way to school. I hate it when a 10-month-old baby, such as Shalhevet Pass, is shot in the head by a Palestinian sniper in the name of freedom. Staging a protest on the West Bank barrier with no mention whatsoever of the reasons Israel built it is intellectually dishonest. (Daily Princetonian)

Stanford: Israel Is Not South Africa
by Alan Fisher and Barbara Sommer

California campuses have again become battlefields in efforts to delegitimize Israel under the guise of human rights. Divestment, which has nothing to do with student government, is simply a wedge to force this agenda into the campus dialog. Its proponents foist all blame for the conflict on one side, using accusations spiced by distortions and historical lapses.  No country fully lives up to its ideals; Israel, like America, is a work in progress. As a small democracy beset from day one by neighbors calling for its destruction, Israel has always had to put an emphasis on security. But as soon as the leader of one of those neighbors, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, offered peace in 1977, he got the Sinai, something he failed to achieve with his war in 1973. If the Palestinians had a Gandhi instead of an Arafat, they would have had their state years ago.  (Stanford Daily)

Vassar: Obama Must Do More in Support of Israel
by Josh Rosen

The fundamental ties that link Israel to the United States are ones of tradition, history and shared culture. Israel, founded 62 years ago this past week, would never have existed without the express support of then-President Harry S. Truman, and as the years have gone by, Israel has stood by the United States—voting with the U.S. more consistently in the United Nations than any other nation, supporting our national security establishment, and 67 percent of Americans have a favorable image of Israel as a result, according to a poll conducted by Gallup.  Though Obama has made his commitment to Israel known in private, it would still be appropriate for Obama to visit Israel and speak to the Israeli people in public. Not only will this grant Obama foreign policy credibility among more conservative crowds, but he will also obtain the cooperation of Israelis so as to advance his agenda for peace in the region. (The Miscellany)

Brandeis: The Truth about Brandeis
by Ilan Troen

I have been surprised by recent reports alleging that the Brandeis University campus, where I teach Israel studies, is in an uproar over the upcoming commencement address to be delivered by Ambassador Michael Oren. Imagine someone telling you it’s pouring rain outside and you stick your head out the window and see there are just a couple of clouds in the sky. That is how out-of-synch with reality these reports are. The reports that the Brandeis community was hostile to Oren as commencement speaker distorted, exaggerated and sensationalized the attitudes of students at Brandeis and beyond. (Jerusalem Post)

UC-Berkeley Student President Answers Questions
by Danielle Berrin

Will Smelko, the 22-year-old president of the Associated Students of the UC-Berkeley, became a hero among pro-Israel advocates last month when he risked campus outrage by vetoing a divest-from-Israel bill passed by the student senate. The bill accused Israel of war crimes and called for the UC Regents and student government to divest.  He said he had seven days to educate himself on Middle East politics before making his decision. Smelko talks about why he vetoed the bill, the role of the Jewish community in his decision, and why he believes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict really doesn’t belong on a college campus. "I ultimately decided it was a one-sided attack on Israel and that it didn’t make sense to start with Israel as a primary country to divest from when so many other countries in the world commit violations of human rights. That was an indication that there was another motive behind the bill," Smelko said.  (Jewish Journal)

UC-San Diego Faculty Letter on Anti-Israel Resolution
by Eleven UCSD Professors

We, faculty, alumni and community members at large express our deepest concern about a resolution for divestment from Israel.  This resolution is nearly identical to the resolution from Berkeley that was highly criticized by most prominent academics and public figures and led to very grave tensions among students in UC Berkeley. The UC Berkeley resolution was vetoed by their Senate president, and the current events are yet another attempt to pass a politically biased, unjust, unilateral and inciting resolution in the UC. The proposed resolution leads to indoctrination that violates academic traditions of scholarly integrity and degrades the academic enterprise. It poisons debate about the Middle East, inflames hatred of Israel, spreads anti-Semitism, incites anti-Israeli militancy, and serves to excuse Anti-Israel slanders that only exacerbate conflict and undermine prospects for peace.  (San Diego News Network)

Ithaca: Israeli Celebration Misunderstood
by Molly Wernick

Ithaca College has spent substantial amounts of money on programs, lectures and classes demonizing Israel. Attacks on Israel have appeared in every campus medium.  The entirely student-run program for Israel Independence Day celebrated the existence and independence of Israel’s statehood and culture, including its Christian, Muslim, Druze, Bedouin and Bahai citizens — not just those who identify with the Jewish faith. Accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing distorts the cultural diversity of contemporary Israeli society. When 350 students and community members celebrated 62 years of statehood following 2,000 years of exile, it was a cultural event — the term “propaganda” is inaccurate and offensive. (The Ithacan)

New Mexico: Event Shows Peace Studies Nonpartisan on Israeli Issues
by Lynn Provencio, Letter to the Editor

I went to hear the talk by Gil Hoffman, political analyst for the Jerusalem Post, when he spoke at UNM last week. I was surprised when I found out the talk was co-sponsored by the Peace Studies Program, along with the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation. It was a great talk and Q&A session. The Peace Studies Program is normally a political and partisan program and anti-Israel from what I’ve seen, and so I haven’t taken their program very seriously. I didn’t expect to see a UNM department, especially the Peace Studies Program, give a fair hearing to the Israeli side of the Arab/Israeli dispute.  However, by bringing  Hoffman to speak and providing an open forum for an Israeli representative to give Israel’s side of the story, Peace Studies showed that it can educate and not just indoctrinate. They gave us a rare example of academic freedom and intellectual honesty. (Daily Lobo)

Stanford: We Choose to Invest
by Yishai Kabaker

To my dismay, there seems to be the beginnings of an Israeli/Palestinian divestment campaign here at Stanford.  The divestment campaign against Israel is a crass bludgeon, which reduces an incredibly complex situation to euphemisms and demonizations. Therefore, the Stanford Israel Alliance chooses to invest, and we hope you will join us. We agree that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deep, complex, and painful. We support the Palestinian people in their desire for an independent state alongside the State of Israel. To that end, we wish to help the Palestinian people build up their infrastructure and economy, which will be the basis for a future state. In the coming weeks, Stanford Israel Alliance will be raising awareness and support for two NGOs that are working to improve Palestinian and Israeli society. (Stanford Daily)

Tufts: UC Berkeley and the Israel Divestment Bill
by Ariella Charney

The biggest problem with the UC Berkeley divestment bill is that its supporters believe that their efforts are comparable to the efforts made in 1980 to end apartheid in South Africa.  This has no basis in fact and is an inflammatory lie that is damaging to both Israelis and Palestinians. Those demanding divestment from Israel and comparing Israel to South Africa are at best naïve and at worst seek to demonize Israel to make it appear that seeking Israel’s dismantlement has moral ground.  The students calling for divestment from Israel at UC Berkeley, and those comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa, as so many do during the annual “Israeli Apartheid Week” held in March on various campuses, need to realize that their condemnation of Israel feeds the fire of the conflict.  (Tufts Daily)

Facing Hatred on Campus: You Can't Fight Fire with Flowers
by Roz Rothstein and Roberta Seid

An increasing number of students report that efforts to demonize Israel have intensified on college campuses. The Muslim Student Union (MSU) and Muslim Student Association (MSA), allied with groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), focus single-mindedly on one goal: demonizing Israel. The methods used by the MSU, MSA and SJP have only one goal - instilling hatred and intolerance against Israel and anyone who dares to defend it and the sincerity of its search for peaceful coexistence.  The anti-Israel groups must be labeled and exposed for what they are:  extremists who oppose peaceful coexistence, instill hate and divisiveness, not understanding; who are bent on destruction, not on constructive solutions or compromise; who stand for racism, not human rights. They are not pro-peace or pro-Palestinian, but spoilers of peace who want to perpetuate the conflict. The writers are affiliated with StandWithUs. (Jewish Journal)