---

***You can also read these SSI Blogs on our Jerusalem Post Blogs Area!***

---

What Really Happened at UCLA
May 22, 2018

Last Thursday on May 17, 2018 , Students Supporting Israel at UCLA (SSI) hosted an event meant to give a platform to three different indigenous communities to share the stories of their people. The indigenous groups represented were the Jewish, Kurdish, and Armenian populations, whose representatives eloquently shared an overview of their history, struggles, and aspirations from their personal perspectives. 

Each of these three individuals shared in common the feeling that their people are often ignored when speaking about their indigenous histories. Our hope was to create a space for dialogue for the similarities between the journeys that each of these nations have taken to combat persecution, oppression, and revisionism. Unfortunately, Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA (SJP) had other plans for that night.
Read More Related Articles

In the middle of Armenian student-panelist Darion Ouliguian‘s speech on his personal ties to his indigenous homeland, an aggressive SJP disruption stormed into the classroom, marched towards Darion, and shouted “This is my f*ing flag.” The protester ripped down the Armenian flag, threw a placard with Darion’s name and the flags of the indigenous communities at the audience, and immediately began threatening Darion and challenging his Armenian identity.

From there, SJP took this man’s abusive actions as an invitation to escalate the violence. This disturbing disruption included physically and verbally abusing panelists and the audience. Throughout the disruption, SJP actively denied the heritage and identity of the participants, threw objects at the audience, ripped down SSI’s Armenian and Israeli flags, and taunted the panelists. All the while, screeching chants that called Jews white-supremacists and called for the destruction of the state of Israel could be heard from the aggressors’ megaphones. 

After the disruption had continued for nearly 10 minutes, UCPD was forced to remove these individuals as they had violated the safety and first-amendment freedoms of those in the room. Once outside, the disruptors began banging on the door and threatening the students inside to further the point that SJP would use physical intimidation to prevent a discussion on indigeneity in which Jewish identity was included. 

By the request of the UCPD and in the interest of student safety, we were asked to rush through the event, skip the Q and A, and evacuate. 20 officers, some in riot gear, were required to escort us to safety. For their efforts, SJP responded by verbally attacking the officers. If it was not for their intervention, we fear that SJP’s aggression would have only continued; for this, we express our deepest gratitude to the UCPD. 

What was the reasoning behind this aggression? As described by an SJP member, it was a lack of Palestinian inclusion on the panel that was the trigger. This is unequivocally false. When we offered them to sit down, join us for dinner, and discuss their grievances, SJP responded with whistles and megaphone chants that included “We don’t want two states; we want ‘48” and “No peace on stolen land.” When it was offered to wave the Palestinian flag alongside the Israeli flag as a sign of peace and unity, we were met again with taunts and whistles. SJP made their intentions very clear: to actively deny Jewish indigeneity by any means necessary. In essence, the disruption was not about Palestinian exclusion from the event but instead about the inclusion of Armenian, Jewish, and Kurdish voices in the discussion of indigeneity. 

No student should be subject to the traumatizing display that SJP exacted on the participants in a discussion about indigenous cultural histories. No student should have their heritage challenged for political gain. No student should have to be escorted to safety from a campus event for celebrating their identity. No student should be made to feel physically unsafe at any university, let alone our university. Every student has a right to celebrate who they are and express their first-amendment freedoms in a safe environment. On Thursday night, SJP robbed students of that right. 

As the leaders of the pro-Israel community of UCLA, we are proud of our community’s poise and unity in response to Thursday’s disruption. We call upon the administration to take the appropriate measures in making sure this does not happen again and to punish the offenders. Students Supporting Israel at UCLA will never allow ourselves to be discouraged by those who choose intimidation over conversation. We will not be silenced.

---

The New Jewish Reality and the Old Antisemitism
​By: Dalia Zahger
May 10, 2018

In the last few weeks two violent anti-Semitic attacks took place in New York City, a violent anti-Semitic attack took place in Berlin and last week two members of Alpha Epsilon Pi (the Jewish fraternity) were verbally assaulted in Towson University. There is a clear rise in anti-Semitism in the world and as a concerned Jew I ask why.        
According to the State Department, anti-Semitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities”. Since the end of World War Two, anti-Semitism has been generally acknowledged as negative, unacceptable and dangerous. The whole world was aware of the horrific results anti-Semitism had had in Europe and realized how critical it was to protect Jews from such hatred. 

As a Jew who grew up in Israel anti-Semitism was mostly a concept I studied in school, when learning about War World Two, or from my grandmother's stories of her time in the diaspora. I grew up believing there was no place for such hate in today's world, especially in a place like America.
Read More Related Articles

This illusion was wrong, and there is data to show it. According to the Anti-Defamation League, during 2017 there was a 57% rise in anti-Semitism in the United States. When trying to understand the causes for this alarming increase, I examined the definition of anti-Semitism and realized that this definition by the State Department, quoted above, was no longer adequate.

The reality is that there are new forms of anti-Semitism, and it is not in the hands of the Jews to define the hate against them anymore. Evident mostly on college campuses, a new form of anti- Semitism is on the rise, camouflaged under careful language and propaganda. The new concepts, defined as anti-Zionist, constitute a new name to anti-Semitism, but when Jews point this out, their claim is dismissed. Here's one example to show the true roots and nature of the anti-Zionist movement: 


​
On the left is a propaganda cartoon used by the Nazis to convince the Germans that Jews controlled the world (a well-known anti-Semitic assumption). Below it, an anti-Israel image, with the Star of David and the letter Z for Zionist on it, conveying that same message of world domination (or the world’s leadership in the white house). Zionism is the Jewish movement which holds that Jews have the right to return to their historical homeland. Anti-Zionism is now used by many as a façade for anti-Semitism.  

After experiencing the language used on campuses towards Zionist Israelis or any individual who identifies as a Zionist, I realized the time has come for the Jews to redefine what anti-Semitism really is. Today, when Jews try to claim that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism, they are mostly dismissed. Since anti-Semitism is illegal in many countries, attention has been shifted instead to the only Jewish country in the world. Although criticism is important, and I myself criticize Israel often, criticism has crossed the line towards dangerous hatred. In a number of anti-Israel events on Columbia’s campus, I heard Israel accused of being responsible for all conflicts in the Middle East (which is a lot like controlling the world), I heard that Israel was responsible for increasing homophobia among Palestinians and that it was legitimate to kill any Israelis in order to fight the state of Israel. All baseless, absurd accusations targeted to promote hatred. By propagating these fabricated wild accusations their proponents clearly intend not to argue with Israel or its policies but to delegitimize it. We have learnt from history that delegitimizing a people sets the stage for attacking it. Having heard these expressions and views, and realizing their scary similarity to what my grandmother was witnessing in Europe during the 30’s, I am not surprised there is a significant and consistent increase in violent attacks against Jews. 

It is time for the Jews to define what hatred against them looks like. Our reality cannot be defined from other people’s perspective. Allowing someone else’s view of a reality to define your own is a post-modernist approach which is dangerous to the Jews, and any other threatened minority. There is one reality and truth when it comes to anti-Semitism, and it is the Jews who can describe it best and accurately.  

African Americans, Muslims, Native Americans and all other minority groups rightfully denounce any expression of bigotry against them and work to have it recognized as such. Thankfully, most student bodies on college campuses are supportive of such movements representing minorities. When Jews try to stand up to the hatred directed towards them and call it for what it is, they are told they are merely trying to protect their country by hiding behind such important definitions. When will enough be enough? are these surges of anti-Semitic attacks not enough? is the call for killing of Israelis on campuses not enough? I say it is.  My friends and I will do all we  can to fight this new anti-Semitism and call it for what it is until the right to define our own grievance will be given back to us. I hope my fellow Jews and Zionists, as well as all those who cherish the truth, freedom of speech and minority rights will join us in our new, yet old, struggle.

---

BDS is the Symptom, not the Disease
By: Ofir Dayan
May 3, 2018

In recent weeks, the Jewish-American media is filled with dramatic reports concerning the success of the BDS movement and other anti-Israeli movements in passing BDS resolutions in the top universities in the United States, among them Barnard College of Columbia University, and George Washington University. These reports tell us how these resolutions would change the climate, and how the fact that these resolutions passed symbolize a really harmful trend for the state of Israel and its supporters.
​
The reporters and the experts interviewed in the articles discuss in length the effect of BDS on the Israeli economy, culture, academia, and much more. Even Natalie Portman, they say, once a proud Israeli, is now playing right in to the hands of BDS advocates. We must take BDS seriously they say, we must lobby and demonstrate until it is no longer acceptable to boycott Israel.

After all, we invented the cherry tomatoes, drip irrigation, and Waze, they shouldn’t boycott us.

We do need to take it seriously, but I am not sure that “it” means BDS. BDS is not the disease, it’s the symptom. It is not the trunk of the tree, it is one of its branches.

Branches come and go. They can be trimmed or detach in the wind, they can be torn by a person walking by or break if there are too many fruits on it. But the trunk, the trunk will always stay there.

The trunk to which the BDS branch is attached to is the trunk of hate. But not just hate.

This trunk is the trunk of the oldest type of anti-Semitism, of Jew and Israel hatred.

The people who advocate for BDS and for some of the other branches of this tree, that seems to be the more moderate branches, argue that they have nothing to do with the anti-Semitism trunk. They just don’t like Israel, but they have no problem with Jews.

This is nothing but a lie.

These people use a double standard constantly.

There is one standard for every other state, and another standard for the Jewish state. When they disagree with the actions of any other state, they call for a change, but when they disagree with Israel’s actions they call for its destruction.

There is freedom of speech for every other student, and no freedom of speech to Zionists. When they disagree with other student groups, they let their say their mind, but when the pro-Israel groups want to speak, they deploy their anti-normalization policy, meaning no discourse with Zionists.

There is a right to self-determination for any other people, but no right to self-determination for the Jews. They support self-determination for the Kurds, the Yazidi, but not for the Jews.

Their anti-Semitic rhetoric does not only show in their double standards.

They say that Jews control the media, and this is why their voice is not heard.

They say that Jews control the Columbia administration, and this is why their voice is not heard.

They say Jewish lobby groups control Congress, and this is why their voice is not heard.

This is textbook anti-Semitism, the same claims made by dark regimes in Europe’s past. They are handing us proves that they are anti-Semitic on a silver platter and we choose to shut our eyes close and blame it all on BDS.

These groups and individuals would not rest until the only Jewish state in the world is destroyed, but in the meantime, they target Zionist Jewish students on campuses.

The discourse on the Arab-Israeli conflict is completely one-sided. The anti-Israel groups, with the assistance of professors (mostly from Middle Eastern Studies departments) monopolized the conversation, marginalizing Jews and Israelis, as if they are not a part of that discussion.

Don’t be fooled, even if it is done in the name of “academic freedom” and “freedom of speech”.

The conversation about Israel today on American liberal campuses could be compared to learning about democracy from a dictator, to learning about women’s right from a misogynist, or to learning how to counter-terror from Bin-Laden.

Students in these campuses learn about Israel from people who hate Israel to the extent they made it their life mission to destroy it.

Resisting BDS is fine, but this is only trimming the branch, this is not uprooting the tree.

We need to look down from the BDS branch and see this huge trunk of anti-Semitism that is attached to it.

We need to get the biggest saw we can find, a saw consisting of social justice instead of discrimination, of love instead of hate, of truth instead of lies, and uproot this tree once and for all.

We need to make our societies and campuses understand that anti-Semitism, in any form or shape, is unacceptable.

Jews are no longer willing to submissively accept this fate, Jews are now strong and proud and they stand strong against anti-Semitism.

---

What Really Happened at Brown University?
April 21, 2018

Students Supporting Israel (SSI) is a nationwide grassroots student organization that was established over six years ago. SSI has dozens of registered chapters with universities across the country. We have hundreds of activists, and we represent the legitimate view of a segment of pro-Israel students, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Our programs are held in different campuses and communities, with our message not being limited solely to campuses where we have a registered group. By now we have held activity in all Ivy League schools and major US universities, but the response our activists received in Brown was unprecedented.

Without exception, on every campus we’ve held events so far, our table and message drew a productive dialogue with by-passers. Some agree with us, some disagree, but overall it is always a great intellectual exchange. When our activists arrived to Brown, we set a folding table with our messages at a public space, as usual, but very soon students began approaching us and asking us to leave. Yes, numerous times, like the opinion writers confess. Not only that, but some even went above and beyond and called the police, which of course arrived just to tell us we can stay here as long as we want. The toxic exchange, eye-rolls, and disrespectful behavior we encountered at Brown was something we’ve never experienced before. 

Reading the opinion article made us think of the following Israeli expression which literally translates to “the camel does not see its own hump” and means that a person is not seeing his own flaws. So were the Brown students who claim in the opinion article to support conversations, but practically seem interested in only supporting a conversation that aligns with their own views. Unfortunately, they may have forgotten what freedom of speech is all about. Here is a reminder: the First Amendment to the United States Constitution grants individuals the freedom of speech and expression, especially in a traditional open public forum.

When our activists arrived to Brown, we displayed our message at a public space. The writers of the opinion stated they had an issue “with SSI decision not to consult with members of the Brown community before visiting.” As free individuals, we do not need to consult about when or where to express an opinion, especially as the writers added themselves a sentence later that “outside and national groups can, and regularly do, participate in the conversation about Israel and Palestine on Brown’s campus.”

The posters we display, like the writers noted, are on “very complex topics” but put into “simplistic slogans” on purpose, to draw attention and dialogue. However, it seemed that the ones who “did not know how to engage with intellectually curious” individuals are actually the few students from Brown, who instead of listening wanted us out of their sight. Here is another reminder to those students: you have the privilege to attend an academic institution, a place that teaches to listen to all kinds of opinions. If you are, like you write, incited or angered by opinions, the academic and intellectual way will be to listen and discuss it and not try to dismiss or remove it, especially that there is a large segment of people who hold the same opinions as SSI does. Yes, even in Brown. Yes, even on your campus and within your community. Some people, believe it or not, approached us to express support and agreement.

In addition, you wrote that SSI does not know to engage with “justice-focused students, and they were neither prepared for nor interested in, serious, nuanced discussion.” This sentence is a pure arrogance. SSI is composed of students just like you, and perhaps, just maybe, justice means different things to different people, and justice-minded people do not have to be like-minded. By setting a table in a public street with our message, we were nothing but ready and interested in a discussion, which we did have with many individuals who did not repeatedly ask us to leave and were not uncomfortable with our presence.    

Thus, if like you write you “worry that Israel-Palestine discourse on campus tends to become uncivil,” maybe it has to do with those who call the police attempting to shut down free speech more than the speech itself, because from our experience using our “tactics” as you refer to it on nearly 100 campuses, the discourse was always civil.  You do not need to be concerned that “SSI’s provocative language has the potential to excuse attacks on Zionist or Jewish students more broadly” because SSI is composed of Zionists, many of them are Jews and Israelis, and we are free to use the type of language we are comfortable with and we deem appropriate. If someone attacks Zionists or Jewish students, it is not because of an expression, but it is most likely due to a deeper hatred and anti-Semitism. No one should attack a person simply because they are in disagreement with their opinion, especially within academic settings.

Of course, we do share the writers’ concern that Jewish students nationwide “have been bullied, harassed, silenced, slandered and subjected to anti-Semitism and even to threats of violence” and in SSI we stand strongly against these concerning phenomena, which by the way SSI members have also personally experienced in the past. However, we believe that the way to deal with this is not to hide our opinions like you attempted to hide ours, but to stand firmly and confidently behind what we believe in. What you need to be afraid of, is not SSI’s guest message on your campus, but the fact that in 2018 some students at Brown tell us that Israel, the one Jewish state in the world, should not even exists. Clearly, with some in Brown holding such opinions, your ways may also not be perfect.

If you want to learn more about SSI and what we stand for, we invite you to give us a call, join an event, or attend one of our national conferences or seminars to learn more.

---

A Voice on Campus
By: Itzchak Maghen
February 22, 2018

On Wednesday, December 27th, over 60 students from across the country met together in San Diego, California. This was the first time many students, including myself, attended Students Support Israel’s national conference. Most, if not all of these students, are either current SSI board members or students trying to start the movement on their own campuses. Already a member of the SSI of SMC chapter, I personally hoped to network with other SSI members and learn about what they do differently on their campuses in comparison to ours. A pro-Israel organization, SSI’s mission is to “be a clear and confident Pro-Israel voice on college campuses, and to support students in grassroots Pro-Israel advocacy.”

Over the years, members of multiple SSI chapters have been successful in attaining student government positions, in addition to passing a variety of resolutions in favor of Israel on their college campuses. With their success, the goal of SSI’s national conference is to further broaden and utilize the skills their participants use on campuses throughout the nation. The purpose of the conference is to give students another skill to place in their toolbox. More importantly “[...] we were all able to learn from each other and I found a lot of value and inspiration in that,” says Doreen Benyamin, board member of the SSI chapter at Columbia University.
On Thursday morning, students had the chance to hear from Sally Abrams, a prolific writer, speaker, and co-Director of the Speakers Bureau for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Abrams emphasized the idea that “the pen is mightier than the sword.”Abrams handed out an outline to help guide students in their writing efforts. Below are a few of her tips:

* Know who you’re writing for, why you’re writing, and the message you wish to convey
* You need a captivating and catchy title to lure your reader
* Less is more -- get to the point


Participant Justin Feldman, president of the SSI chapter at SMC, described Abrams’ speech as “[...]the most elaborate speech on writing in the pro-Israel sphere that I have ever seen. I felt much more empowered to write with effectiveness after being given timeless tips by her.”

Participants also had the honor to learn from a Republican politician, commentator, and Senator Ted Cruz’s former National spokesman, Ron Nehring. He discussed the art of confronting your opponent in a conversation, and more importantly, how to set the narrative when engaged with your opponent. Nehring mentioned the importance of body language and transitional phrases when engaging your opponent. For example, many people will raise their voices and use profane words when they sense they’re losing an argument. In regards to Israel, Nehring mentioned it’s important for students to mention all the positive actions Israel has taken. In other words, educate your opponents by sharing the missing narrative they have not heard. Below are a few pointers Nehring mentioned:

* It’s better to respond to the question, rather than answer it directly. That way, you can help pivot the question
* Don’t repeat what you’re opponent asks, rather, answer with transitional phrases. For example “There’s more to the story…” or “The real issue here is…”
* And obviously, always remain calm and relaxed when debating

Last but not least, participants heard from Rachel Kaplan and Mordy Miller, representatives from an organization called Reservists on Duty. Their message incorporated both what Abrams and Nehring emphasized. For example, Kaplan mentioned that often, when she and her group confront anti-Israel students, most students can only hear shouting and yelling. Often, Kaplan and her group will literally take up pens and sharpies to write out their messages on posters. That way, at least students can see what she and her group stand for, the truth. A few of Kaplan’s suggestions::

* Always record or capture anti-semitic protests and events
* Always have security at your events. Protestors are aggressive and dangerous at times
* Don’t be afraid to write about your experience with protesters after the event -- speak up and educate others on the situation

With what I’ve learned at the conference, whether it be from the speakers or my fellow peers, I feel more confident standing up for Israel on my college campus. Now, I’ll be better suited to engage anti-Semitic/ anti-Israel students on campus. For one, I’ll share my experiences with others, whether it be on educational conferences as such, or, incidents involving anti-Israel students. But what really made an impact on me was how helpful my fellow SSI students were. Many of the participants, myself included, continue to remain in touch with one another. “From here we will only keep on growing, and what started as an organization by the students and for the students will keep making a difference,” says the President and Executive Director of SSI, Ilan Sinelnikov.

---

This Summer, Study Abroad in Israel!
February 21, 2018

Students Supporting Israel has announced the creation of a partnership with Oranim Academic College in the North of Israel, offering a one-of-a-kind 6 credits summer study abroad opportunity for students from the US and Canada. 

Last year Students Supporting Israel (SSI) launched a unique scholarship opportunity for students to help them attend study abroad programs in Israel. This initiative was a follow-up to the pro-Israel resolutions passed by SSI in student governments that called to invest in Israel instead of boycotting it, and recommended doing so by expanding existing or creating new study abroad options in Israel. 

This year, as a response to the strong demand to attend quality academic programs in Israel and due to the high number of scholarship applications, SSI National leadership decided to take the initiative to the next level. They have officially partnered with Oranim College to create a three-week program that will take place from July 29 to August 18, 2018, in the North of Israel.  The program is open to English-speaking students from all over the world.

This study abroad opportunity offers two courses for a total of 6 credits that will focus on leadership training and Israel’s culture and history.

“We chose to work with Oranim College as it is the largest academic college of education in the North of Israel, and we want students to experience a location that is not the usual tourism destination like Tel Aviv or Jerusalem” said Ilan Sinelnikov, SSI’s Founder and President. “Oranim is located in the beautiful Galilee, just 20 minutes east of Haifa. It also has an extremely diverse student body and it was important for us that the visiting students will create meaningful personal connections with Israelis from different backgrounds and be truly immersed in the daily life of the country. Such enriching involvement is the best tool against the boycott movement as students will be able to share from their personal experience upon return to campus.” 


Lori Abramson, Director of Jewish Peoplehood Programs, said, “This is a distinctive and multi-faceted summer program where we offer students the unique opportunity to study in Israel and receive academic grounding in subjects connected to the country’s past and present. The program contains numerous field study trips to different parts of Israel, an in-depth look at some of the remarkable individuals and endeavors that are the secret of Israel creativity, survival and resilience, along with lectures on the theory and practice of leadership, language instruction, emergency medical training, and many other interactive sessions and workshops." 


Dr. Roberta Bell-Kligler said, “Our college is committed to academic excellence and community involvement. We offer a broad range of programs and degrees to a student body with Jewish and Arab students of all ages, ethnicities, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds. We are excited to offer this summer program and hope that in addition to the academic content, the visiting students will gain the knowledge necessary to effectively debunk mistruths being spread about Israel on campuses in North America.”


The Application to the program is available at http://en.oranim.ac.il/node/287, and the scholarship application is available at http://www.ssimovement.org/study-abroad.html . For more information about the program, please contact[email protected] or [email protected].

---

Israeli Miracle: Where Immigrants Return Back Home
By: Ilan Sinelnikov
February 6, 2018

Students Supporting Israel's campaign to highlight the historical right of the Jewish people to live in their homeland focusing on the importance of The Law of Return and stories of immigrant communities to Israel from around the world.

Common accusations we hear on campuses these days include statements such as “Israelis are occupiers from Europe...”; “Jews are white colonialists ...” ; “Israel is a racist state...” and the list goes on. In addition, while it should be clear that sovereign countries have the right to define their own immigration laws, Israel is constantly being criticized for the right of return it provides for Jewish people to the Jewish homeland.

Moreover, questions are raised as to why those who considered Palestinian refugees are not also given the right of return to Israel. All these accusations and critiques are being voiced while completely ignoring the unprecedented miracle of immigration absorption on a mass scale that happened in Israel, where people from many different backgrounds were successfully able to come together as one nation and create a new identity, the “Israeli”.

The new Students Supporting Israel campaign was created to shed the light on these topics above. The program brings together a unique panel of 4 speakers, Jewish Israelis from diverse backgrounds: Ethiopian, Russian, Mexican and North African, to include an overview of the Jewish law of return, its historical significance, how it fulfills the idea of Zionism and a Jewish homeland, and why having a country that defines itself as Jewish is not a topic for debate but an existing fact that questioning it means applying a double standards towards Israel. 

The goals of the campaign are to show how diverse the Israeli, and especially the Jewish community is, to show how phenomenal it is that a new country was able to absorb such a large amount of immigrants, and contrast the issues of Palestinian refugees as opposed to Jewish immigration returning to Israel.

Each speaker will present the story of their community immigration to Israel and of a few other communities which are not represented on the panel. The presentation will speak for example of the over 1 million immigrants who came from former USSR republics, the story of the Operation Solomon to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel, and many more fascinating and historically significant moments. Following the community story, personal accounts of assimilation into the Israeli society and the development of the Israeli identity will be shared.

“We at SSI try to show students the multicultural nature of the state of Israel. Our unique delegation will bring to campus the true colors of Israeli society that is one of the only societies in the world where, where ‘immigrants’ are actually coming back home and not leaving one” said Naor Bitton who is part of SSI's founding team and will lead the delegation. Naor’s family migrated from North Africa, Morocco and Algeria, to Israel, and he will be sharing his family and community story. 

“I really look forward to joining SSI's delegation this spring because it is important to show the diversity inside the Israeli Jewish population to American students” said Gidy Basin, who was born in Moscow and moved to Israel in 1990 as a child. After graduating from IDF's elite program "Talpiot" and serving at the Israeli Air Force, Gidy is currently working in the Israeli start up scene and will represent the Jewish immigration from former USSR republics. He added “Like all countries dealing with immigration, the process was and still is not always easy, especially in a relatively young country like Israel. Having said that, I think most of us will agree that overall, "the system works", and Israel keeps attracting Jews from around the world who choose to leave their familiar lives and make Aliyah. On a personal note, my wife made Aliyah 6 years ago from Russia and all her family moved to Israel during the last year, so I am re-experiencing the immigration process and albeit the natural difficulties with the language and the cultural differences, it is a positive move."

The two other speakers of the program are Floretta Mayerson, who was born in Mexico City and moved to Israel after high school and is currently a third year political communication student and an intern in ACT.IL, an online community fighting against the demonization of Israel, and Sivan Sisay whose family migrated from Ethiopia, served in the army as an officer in the International military cooperation division and is now a performer singer and is involved with projects supporting the elders in the Ethiopian community. “It is so important for me to be a part of this campaign and to be able to share the message of the diverse people of Israel” said Sivan. Floretta added: “This campaign is the best way to give personal connotations to Israel, make people remember faces, flavors, feelings. To have a real impact in American campuses by transmitting from our hearts. We all carry responsibility towards this land; the same way we defend our little siblings, we must stand up for Israel. People must see the real faces and open up to the reality, not the mediated one, but the one happening in our everyday lives.”

The program is to take place between April 2 to April 13 hosted by SSI chapters in locations across the United States. For more details or to inquire about attending or hosting the program, please contact SSI National at [email protected]

---

The Story of the Students Supporting Israel Movement
January 26, 2018

Nearly six years ago, on March 2012, the first Students Supporting Israel group was registered at the University of Minnesota, following large protests on campus against the State of Israel that was fighting a defensive War in Gaza. Until today, it is hard to understand the fact that a country that serves as the only functioning democracy in the Middle East faces bias, hate and discrimination within our educational institutions across the country. On the one hand, the places that supposed to engage students in conversations, make students think outside the box, and encourage them to hear opinions that are different than theirs, became hostile not only towards the State of Israel but towards Jewish students alike. On the other hand, that situation gave the birth to the Students Supporting Israel movement that changed the narrative on campus and the conversation about Israel over the years.  
Students Supporting Israel’s mission is to be a clear and confident pro-Israel voice on campus and to support students in grassroots advocacy. To break it down, SSI wants that students who love, respect or support Israel Will not feel ashamed in doing so on campus. In addition, the goal of SSI is to be the group that every student on campus knows and is aware of. It does not mean that every student on campus needs to be part of SSI, but everyone needs to know what SSI is and that SSI is here to stay.


The beginning was not easy, challenges were raising from every corner and the obstacles that we faced made us rethink time and again if we need to continue what we do, or if we should stop where many others stopped before. Nearly six years later, looking back at our road to the top, as the founder of the organization I realized that Students Supporting Israel was able not only to encourage students to represent Israel on campus, but it has also built a community and a generation of student activists and Zionists who are proud in their work. Many of our students who graduated continued working and leading organizations in the Israel or Jewish world across the country. Nearly two dozen of our student graduates went to Israel and joined the Israeli Defense Forces, and many others moved to Israel to start a new page in their life in the Jewish State. SSI both sparked the fire in students who always supported Israel even more, and motivated students who cared about the issue but were not voicing it to show their passion and love outside their comfort zone.


In the spring of 2014, a second chapter joined Students Supporting Israel, and now before the new spring 2018 semester Students Supporting Israel is operating on over forty campuses across the country. Friends brought friends, relatives who were involved told their brothers and sisters to start SSI on their campus, and the movement spread across the country by word of mouth, which is the most grassroots method we could possibly imagine. However, the establishment of Students Supporting Israel was not a miracle, but a matter of nonstop work days and nights, missed classes and sacrificed grades, multiple trials and errors and getting ourselves back up, all in order to promote the place we love so much and never giving up or giving in.


Right before New Year, SSI hosted our third national conference in San Diego, California. Our student leaders from all across the country came to meet each other and learn how to be even more proactive and a better representative of the Jewish State. Our own background or which campus or city we came from did not matter as we all gathered around the factor that unites us, the care and passion for Israel. As one student wrote in her reaction to the conference, “prior to the conference I always cared about Israel, but now I am a proud Zionist”.


What started as an idea of a few students in Minnesota, is today the largest pro-Israel grassroots student movement that was built from the campus grounds and up. Just like in the past years Students Supporting Israel was an organization that changed the way pro-Israel students on campus operate, in the years to come Students Supporting Israel will be the organization to raise the next generation of Zionist, community and political leaders.


We hope that future students will have the ability to step into their college campuses knowing that we are the ones who control the conversation, and that this future generation of leaders will not remember a time when Israel was losing its image in the academia due to the lack of grassroots work. The new generation of activists created by SSI will continue to inspire their communities by nonstop work, creative minds, unlimited passion, freedom of expression and no fear.

---