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BU Divided over First Israel Apartheid Week
by Saba Hamedy
 Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestine student group,
kicked off Boston University’s first annual Israeli Apartheid Week on
Monday. As part of IAW, MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky will address the conflict in a lecture. Benjamin Kalmanowicz, a member of
BU’s Arab-Israeli Peace Alliance, said he believes the term apartheid
is illegitimate. “The word choice of this has to be very carefully examined,” he
said. “It is an attempt to compare and show people who have no idea
about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that Israel is the evil part,
but I think everybody can agree that both countries have a part in this
conflict.” “Having this week is turning the campus into more of a battleground
than any awareness booster,” said College of Arts and Sciences freshman
Rachel Kessler. (Daily Free Press)
UC Irvine Protest against Israeli Official Still Reverberates
by By Raja Abdulrahim
 More than two weeks after 11 students were arrested at UC Irvine for
disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador, the incident continues
to draw sharp reactions from Jewish, Muslim and civil liberty
organizations. But the loudest voices are being raised far from campus, all but drowning out the sentiments of students. The repeated interruptions of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech
Feb. 8 are the latest in a series of incidents dating back nearly a
decade between Muslims and Jews on campus. But the sense among some is
that the publicity UCI draws is out of proportion with the attention
drawn by other universities, where protests and conflict might pass
largely unnoticed. (Los Angeles Times)
GW: Communications Expert Discusses Public Perceptions of Israel
by Reid Davenport
 Internationally acclaimed expert on the Middle East Neil Lazarus said
the rise of social media and an increase in tourism to Israel can help
bolster Israel's image worldwide at an event Tuesday night at the
Hillel. Lazarus said a major issue with Israel's worldwide perception is the
lack of context that media outlets give on the conflict in the Middle
East as a whole. He said the media has taken a lot of information out of context, resulting in an unfair image of Israel. "When you're talking about a one minute story, it's very difficult to explain 3000 years of history," he said. Lazarus stressed that the current transformation of the media - with
the addition of social networking tools such as YouTube - can help
bolster the image of Israel and end the media's reliance on the Israeli
government for information. (GW Hatchet)
Manitoba Urged to Reject ‘Israeli Apartheid’ Events
by Ross Romaniuk
 B’nai Brith Canada is asking the University of Manitoba to put a
stop to a week-long event it charges will bring anti-Semitic sentiments
to the campus. B’nai Brith officials said Thursday Israeli Apartheid Week will be a
“big, big problem for the university.” “The events themselves are problematic,” David Matas, legal counsel
for the organization, told a news conference. “We’re still hopeful, even though it’s late in the day, that this event will not take place.” Representatives of Winnipeg’s Jewish community are worried about what’s to come when the IAW comes to U of M. IAW organizers have spurred a storm of controversy due to
confrontations and violence that have reportedly erupted around their
events at other post-secondary institutions. (Winnipeg Sun)
Penn: Discussing Israel’s Innovation
by Andrew Kener
 For some, it is a mystery how Israel, a country of 7.23 million people
with foreign adversaries and few natural resources, has achieved global
success. Now, it is also the topic of a new book co-authored by Dan
Senor, Start-Up Nation: The Success Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. "[Co-author] Saul [Singer] and I started wondering whether the world could learn something about
Israel,” Senor said. Senor stressed the contribution of Israel’s mandatory military
service for teenagers — three years for males and two for females.
Learning what it means to lead, manage, improvise and take risks are
all “invaluable skills in a start-up environment, and Israelis learn
this at a young age,” Senor said. (Daily Pennsylvanian)
Vermont: Protestors Storm Performance of Israeli Ballet
  Protestors holding a banner stood in front of the FlynnSpace stage on Friday during a performance by the Israeli Ballet. "They were saying 'no tutu is big enough to hide war crimes.' Then
security or maybe people in the audience tried tearing down the
posters," sophomore Alexandra Raymond said. Raymond, who was in the audience, said she thought the protest may have gotten aggressive. The incident was short-lived and minor, although it appears to be
occuring at many of the Israel Ballet's stops, FlynnSpace Artistic
Director Arnie Malina said. "The whole thing lasted about three minutes. The dancers did not stop, they just continued dancing," Malina said. (Vermont Cynic)
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Columbia: Israel Debate Hits College Walk
by Leah Greenbaum
 There is no wall separating the organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week
and Peace Week on College Walk, but the lines in the cobblestones are
clearly drawn. Both parties will be fliering and demonstrating, as well as hosting events throughout the week. The organizers of Peace Week—the Israel Committee, LionPAC, Just Peace,
and Garin Lavi—are displaying signs, some of which feature hypothetical
questions asking students how they would react if locations such as
John Jay and Koronets were blown up by terrorists. On other college campuses—such as the University of California,
Berkeley and UC-Irvine—IAW takes on a much more
hostile tone. Michael Shapiro, ’12 and vice president of LionPAC, said he has
been grateful to see only peaceful rallies and relatively friendly
conversations among Columbia students with differing views. (Columbia Spectator)
Canada Students Counter 'Israel Apartheid Week' with Controversial Campaign
 A controversial pro-Israel campaign was launched in
universities across Canada last week, in an attempt to counter the
global pro-Palestinian campaign, "Israel Apartheid Week."
The campaign, named "Size Doesn't Matter," was initiated by the
Canadian Federation of Jewish Students, and is taking place in 23
universities across Canada, according the official "Size Doesn't
Matter" website.
An especially peppery video ad displays a young couple in bed, with the young woman complaining of the "size" of what turns out to be a map of Israel.
Organizers said that the campaign was aimed at
"highlighting the multitude of Israeli accomplishments and
contributions," saying it was the "result of the combined efforts by
the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS), local Hillels,
Jewish Student Associations, and Israel on Campus organizations across
Canada." (Ha'aretz)
Kansas: One Man's Trash Is Another's Interactive Stage Prop
by Alison Cumbow
 Ilan Azriel, the creator of “The Aluminum Show,” got the idea for it while browsing a tool shop in
Tel Aviv, Israel. He pulled a tool off a shelf, and it fell on the
floor. As it fell, the tool, an aluminum air duct piping, moved in a
slinky-type motion. As Azriel watched it move, he pictured it in a much
bigger form, with lights, music and dancers. Tonight, his idea will be
implemented at KU as part of its first tour of the United States. The 75-minute Aluminum Show is similar in genre to Blue Man Group in
that it requires audience interaction, but Azulay said the content
isn’t the same. The props are made of aluminum tubing, foil sheets and
balloons — some of which the audience must pass around. All of the performers are from or live in Israel. (Kansan)
North Alabama: Krav Maga Becoming a Popular Form of Self-Defense
by Amanda Bliss
  There is a new kind of self-defense being taught in Huntsville. Krav Maga is an Israeli hand-to-hand combat method that is currently
gaining popularity all across the world. Originally, Krav Maga was
developed during the liberation fighting in Israel, but has since been
integrated and practiced among elite forces around the world. Krav Maga is a very fast-paced, practical and tactical method of self defense that
is very useful in real-life situations where losing would be
potentially fatal. (Florala)
Pitt: Pro-Israel Group Rallies in Front of Cathedral
by Lindsay Carroll
 Students and members of the community rallied outside the Cathedral
of Learning earlier this evening to show their support for Israel. Pitt student group Panthers for Israel organized the event because
its members thought Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that
protests the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians, was going
to rally as well — but it didn’t. Micah Toll, a junior and the business chair of Panthers for Israel,
said he was there to show that students on campus support Israel and
its right to exist. “We just think that Israel as a country has a right to defend its
borders, like any other country under attack, and live peacefully,”
Toll said. Recca Yasner, a Carnegie Mellon student who attended the event, said she wanted to emphasize Israel’s status as a democracy. “To say that is an apartheid state makes no sense,” she said. (Pitt News)
Wisconsin Milwaukee: Israeli Soldiers to Visit
 Yoav Earon and Avi Webber are two of four soldiers
speaking at venues around the country about their personal experiences
serving in the Israel Defense Forces, particularly during the 2009 Gaza
war. The speaking event is part of a project called “Soldiers Speak
Out” that was launched by Stand With Us. The soldiers’ video
testimonies are on the Web site www.soldiersspeakout.com The two Israeli soldiers will speak at Hillel Milwaukee on Tuesday, March 9. (Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle)
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