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Arizona: Divestment Gains Momentum
by Luke Money
 More than 50 members of the UA and Tucson medical community have signed a letter calling for the UA to end its contracts with the Motorola and Caterpillar corporations because of their alleged roles in health and human rights violations in Palestine and Israel. “Divestment is not the way you go about bringing change or peace to the Middle East,” responded Michelle Blumenberg, executive director of the UA Hillel Foundation. “On a whole variety of fronts that doesn’t make any sense. If what you care about are human rights abuses and peace between people then there are ways you can do that, but what do you get by ostracizing Israel?” Blumenberg also questioned how much the UA community supports the letter, calculating that out of a campus community of 50,000 faculty, students and staff, the 54 signatures on the letter made up only 0.1 percent of the UA community. (Arizona Wildcat)
UC President, Regents Decry Divest-from-Israel Efforts
  After receiving what he said were close to 10,000 e-mails regarding
the recent divest-from-Israel resolutions on two of his campuses, U.C.
President Mark Yudof issued a joint statement with two university
leaders emphasizing that the U.C. Board of Regents would not recommend
divestiture from companies with business ties to Israel. We must take great care that no one organization or country is held
to a different standard than any other,” the May 10 statement said. “In
the current resolutions voted on by the U.C. student organizations, the
State of Israel and companies doing business with Israel have been the
sole focus. The isolation of Israel among all countries of the world greatly
disturbs us and is of grave concern to members of the Jewish community.” (J Weekly)
UC - Irvine: Speaker Denounces Zionism
by Ian Hamilton
 Islamic activist Amir Abdel Malik Ali spoke at noon Thursday at UC Irvine as part of "Israeli Apartheid Week" presented by the Muslim Student Union. Malik Ali answered questions about whether he supports Hamas and Hizbullah with definitive yeses. During Malik Ali's speech, counter-demonstrators carrying and
wearing Israeli and American flags marched around the speaking area.
"This guy (Malik Ali) doesn't recognize Israel's right
to exist. Hamas is not a partner in peace," said Colyn
Desatnik, an Irvine resident. Desatnik said he came because there are Jewish students on campus who
feel intimidated. Moran Cohen, president of Anteaters for Israel, said
she doesn't live in fear. "When you see it the first time, it's
shocking," Cohen said of the demonstrations. "I can see how it's
intimidating." (OC Register)
Florida: Dance Students to Study Abroad with Israeli Peers
by Alexander Klausner
 Eleven UF dance students, led by program director Neta
Pulvermacher, will spend three weeks studying dance alongside 30
Israeli peers. The group will become the first UF study abroad
program in the area of dance, as well as the first UF-sponsored
study abroad program in Israel. “Israel’s modern-dance scene is considered right now to be the
hottest place globally,” Pulvermacher said. “[It’s] the most
innovative country right now as far as modern dance goes. The students will travel to the Kibbutz Ga’aton in Northern
Israel, which is also the home of the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance
Company and the Mateh Asher School for the Performing Arts. (Alligator)
New Mexico: Activist Groups: No Funds for Israel
by Andrew Beale
 A group of students at UNM is following the
University of California Berkeley’s trend by starting a “Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions” campaign against Israel. UC Berkeley and UC San Diego students recently brought motions to their student senates, but both were ultimately shot down. Donald Gluck, president of the Israel Alliance at UNM, said he thinks protests that are aimed against Israel, such as movements for BDS, are inherently racist. “What
bothers us is it doesn’t seem like Israel behaves worse than other
countries,” he said. “If Israel behaves just as well as Somalia, or
better than them, how come they come down on Israel? Because Jews are
there.” Israel Alliance spokeswoman Lynn Provencio said a BDS campaign could end up hurting the people it’s trying to help. “This
isn’t a movement aimed at helping the Arabs. It’s aimed at hurting
Israel.” (Daily Lobo)
Tennessee: Steven Pearl's Goodwill Mission
  After helping lead the United States open men’s basketball team to the gold medal last summer at the 18th World Maccabiah Games in Israel, Tennessee forward Steven Pearl is continuing his association with Maccabi USA next month. The rising senior has been selected to travel to Odessa, Ukraine, June 3-7 as part of a goodwill contingent that will administer a sports and wellness clinic to Jewish youth at Tikva Children’s Home. Pearl has previously witnessed the grim reminders of The Holocaust firsthand, as the Tennessee basketball team visited Terezin Concentration Camp in the Czech Republic during an exhibition trip to Europe in the summer of 2007. (College Basketball News)
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Brandeis: Amb. Michael Oren Controversy Continues
by Miranda Neubauer
  Student groups both opposing and supporting the selection of Israeli
Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren as the main commencement
speaker met separately with President Jehuda Reinharz.
See also Rage At Brandeis Over Invite To Israel’s Oren by Jonathan Mark (The Jewish Week)
See also 5,000 Support Michael Oren's Addressing Brandeis (Jerusalem Post)
UC - San Diego: Student Senate Tables Israel Divestment Resolution after Heated Debate
by Roz Rothstein
 “How dare you silence us? Free, free Palestine! From the river to the
sea, Palestine will be free!” shouted the UC San Diego [UCSD]
divestment crowd as they stormed out of the student senate on
Wednesday, May 5, after their divestment bill was rejected yet again. When pro-Israel students presented their views, the divestment group
often snickered. One pro-Israel student said that “Our side was
targeted, and we were defamed by the pro-divestment side. They were
aggressive. It was tough to be in that room tonight." The pro-Israel students wore UCSD shirts and held signs that read, “Divestment Divides our Campus.” After the senate heard all the statements, it voted to leave the
divestment resolution in committee and to table it indefinitely. (San Diego News Network)
Denver: ADL Decries Disruption of Israeli Officer's Talk
 Responding to
reports that a group of anti-Israel protesters tried to silence an
Israeli speaker at the University of Denver, shouting insults and
disrupting the presentation, Bruce DeBoskey, regional director of
the Anti-Defamation League said, “We are dismayed and disturbed by the
undemocratic, bullying and confrontational tactics used by protesters
to try to disrupt and silence yesterday’s presentation on military
ethics by Israeli Col. (Ret.) Bentzi Gruber at the University of
Denver." At one point, a screaming protester tried to
rush the podium and needed to be restrained. When protesters would not
stop their disruptive behavior, university security and Denver police
escorted them off the premises. (ADL)
Manchester (UK): ‘Extremism Is Galloping through Your Universities’ – Israeli Deputy Ambassador
by Josh Carroll and Adam Farnell
  Protestors mobbed the Israeli Deputy Ambassador last week as she left the venue where she had been giving a speech to University of Manchester students. Members of Action Palestine swamped the vehicle of Mrs Talya Lador-Fresher, temporarily preventing her leaving the premises. Lador-Fresher said: “It’s very important for me, and for us at the embassy, to have the Israeli voice coming across to young people in this country and to the new intelligentsia. Unfortunately the last time I was scheduled to come here I had to cancel because of the amount of, not just demonstrations, but violence that could have erupted.” Protests flared up as Lador-Fresher gave her speech and answered audience questions. Several activists in the audience stood and covered their faces with bandanas, which bore the emblem of the Israeli flag. (Student Direct – UK)
Penn State: Hillel Celebrates Israeli Independence
by Sarah Peters
  An Israeli flag welcomed about 45 people to
Penn State Hillel's Israel Independence Day party. Penn State Hillel Israel Chairwoman Sally Hammer said the ability to
fly the Israeli flag is a luxury only select countries have. Penn State Hillel Executive Director Aaron Kaufman said Israel's
independence is worthy of celebration because of the 6,000 Jewish
students at Penn State, and because Israel is the only democracy in the
Middle East.
But Kaufman said the celebration was more cultural than political.
He said Israel's contributions were worthy of celebration, citing
technological advances and humanitarian efforts. (Collegian)
Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Jewish-Muslim-Students-Clash
 Jewish and Muslim students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee clashed during an Israel Independence Day event on campus. A Jewish student was injured and a Muslim student was arrested by campus police during the April 29 incident on a plaza located outside of the student union. Members of the Muslim Student Association confronted Jewish students during the Yom Ha’atzmaut event marking the 62nd anniversary of Israel's founding. Jewish students have requested a meeting with university officials to discuss their safety at future events. (JTA)
See also Israelpalooza 2010 at UWM Marred by Violence by Winter Guite (UWM Post)
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