Sean Savage, JNS.org In response to the Jewish community’s concern with the growth of anti-Israel bias and pro-Palestinian sympathies on college campuses, the field of Israel Studies has grown dramatically over the past decade. The newest player in that sphere of Israel Studies is the Washington, DC-based Israel Institute—a new non-partisan organization that was founded in 2012 but did not officially roll out its programs until this Tuesday. The institute is now seeking to consolidate the emerging …More

At the height of Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense last November, pro-Israel students on campuses across America felt the need to act, and to act fast. At the University of Michigan, students from the group I-LEAD, which focuses on leadership, education, advocacy and dialogue, decided to hold a pro-Israel rally. To attract a substantial turnout in a short time-span, group leaders took to their social media accounts. According to Barak Kaufman, the president of I-LEAD, student organizers inundated their …More

The connection between Israel advocacy and improv may not be immediately clear, but a growing number of student activists are realizing that they can learn a lot by harnessing their inner improvisational performer. Last month, The David Project and Boston's Combined Jewish Philanthropies sponsored an event for New England-area college students at improvisational comedy theater Improv Asylum in Boston’s North End. The idea for the event emerged from The David Project’s repositioning as an organization …More

Most college students enjoy all the newfound freedoms of speech and expression that a collegiate atmosphere grants them. Pro-Israel students are no exception to this general rule. However, for one week each year in February or March, pro-Israel students have to work extra hard for their cause. Started in Toronto in 2005, Israeli Apartheid Week is a weeklong series of activities aimed at, as the website explains, “educating people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build boycott, …More

The tensions are hidden beneath the surface. There aren’t many protest wars. There’s very little outright violence. But in 2002, The David Project realized that there was something wrong on American college campuses. “The problem is a drip-drip of negativity on Israel, rather than what’s often characterized as hostility toward Israel or Jewish students,” Executive Director David Bernstein explained to Jspace News. It’s far from an overt problem, with no easy solution. To …More

Ahead of the annual Israeli Apartheid Week, Giulio Meotti charts the progress of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign. [Ynet] Carlo Strenger examines the prevalence of "severe right wing syndrome" in the United States and Israel. [Haaretz] David Bernstein tries to change the way college students are approaching Israel through The David Project. The effort attempts to break the cycle of rallies and protest centered in extreme viewpoints. [Washington Jewish Week] Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis …More