Statement by Students Supporting Israel regarding University of Michigan's Antisemitic Incident:
January 12, 2023
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Statement by Students Supporting Israel regarding Duke University Vetoing SSI's Chapter Approval: November 16, 2021
Earlier this year, students at Duke University have assembled to establish a Students Supporting Israel chapter on their campus.
Students Supporting Israel is a recognized international grassroots student movement that has operated for almost 10 years on over 160 college campuses and universities throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina, and several other countries. SSI’s mission is to be a clear and confident pro-Israel voice on campuses, and to support students with grassroots activism. The new SSI chapter at Duke was just chartered as a new student club on Wednesday, November 10th, 2021. We were excited to know that through our movement’s activities of this new chapter, Zionist voices would be heard, and that Israel education programming will be available to students on Duke’s campus. Yet, on Monday, November 15, 2021, we were surprised and disturbed to unexpectedly learn that Duke’s Student Government President decided to veto the recognition of Duke’s Students Supporting Israel’s chapter on campus. We would like it to be known that SSI National is appalled by and opposed to this decision and its provided reason. The reasoning provided by the student government for the veto is: “evidence that the group singled out an individual student on their organization’s social media account in a way that was unacceptable for any student group and appeared antithetical to the group’s stated mission to be welcoming and inclusive to all Duke students, and educational in mission and purpose…. Any group exhibiting potentially hostile or harmful behavior is liable to having their official status re-examined or suspended at any time”. — — — - Below are the facts related to the said event: Soon after SSI’s chapter was chartered, the school’s newspaper The Chronicle published an article titled “DSG charters pro-Israel group, updates House Rules procedures at Wednesday meeting.”
One Duke student reacted by sharing the article on social media, with the writing “my school promotes settler colonialism”. As a response to the student’s comment, the new SSI Duke chapter wrote on its social media to the student and to others who may have similar opinions, explaining that this statement she made is problematic, that this is why the club was created: to call out false and misleading information, and inviting the student to attend the upcoming SSI event. The student's comment was public, as was the response. The response was not “calling out,” as the student said, but rather calling in- inviting the student to participate in a conversation.
Unfortunately, the response by the chapter led to very unpleasant progression of events. The fact that the chapter responded was claimed by the student to be “undeniably targeted harassment” that “made [her] feel unsafe to express her opinion on campus.”[1] Following the student’s complaint, the student government president decided to veto the entire club’s existence altogether, in a first veto used in over 5 years on Duke’s campus.
The new SSI chapter’s students were told they can attend this upcoming Wednesday, November 17, 2021** another vote of the senate regarding their recognition and to answer questions, and were advised by the school advisor to apologize for their conduct to increase the chance of reinstatement. (**update: it has come to our attention that the student government vote was now moved to take place tentatively on Wednesday, December 1, 2021) — — — - SSI national views this situation as complete theater of absurd, and condemns the student government veto, the silencing of pro-Israel students, and the singling out of the new SSI chapter and its activists. We maintain that: - The original claim made by the student is false and SSI chapter had the full right to respond to it. The original statement was false for two reasons: o First, to say that the school itself is promoting anything is false. It is students on campus who have the right to express their opinion in support of Israel who created a club to educate the campus community about Israel. o Second, and most importantly, the statement about “settler colonialism” is also false and can be considered Antisemitic. According to International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism[2], “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor. It is one of many forms in which Antisemitism is taking place and hatred towards Jews is being spread.
It is from the IHRA definition of Antisemitism that was adopted by over 30 countries in the world including the U.S. Department of State, we can understand that blaming Israel with settler colonialism aka a racist endeavor can easily be viewed as Antisemitic accusation. The Jewish people are indigenous people to the land of Israel, have always maintained presence in the land, and prayed towards it even when most of the Jewish people were in exile. Israel is not a settler colonial project; Israel is the home for the Jewish nation and the place where over 55% of the Jewish population worldwide lives.
- It is claims like that of the said student that promote hatred and cause divide, and in SSI, it is part our chapters’ purpose to be pointing out false information and speaking up to correct it.
- It is an absurd that responding publicly to a public comment and inviting a discussion will be considered hostile, but promoting incorrect Antisemitic information, is allowed.
- It is absurd that responding on social media directly to a person is considered harassment. Those who put their opinion in the public space, need to know they can get public response.
- It is our view that shutting down a whole student club for a social media comment is what should be considered “undeniably targeted harassment” of the pro-Israel activists, if anything.
- It is the student government and the school that is now making the SSI chapter’s students feel “unsafe to express their opinion” by denying them to assemble as a club on campus, and suggesting they issue an apology for simply writing an online post. - The Duke student government in its mission claims that their goal is to “define and represent student concerns, provide student services and support, and serve as a reliable source of information to the student body”. In their decision to veto SSI Duke after 5 days they do not meet any of their stated and proclaimed goals above.
- We would like to know if other clubs on Duke’s campus have their social media channels reviewed by the student government as well? Do other clubs need to apologize for writing statements that some may disagree with? If not, then this is a clear singling out of the new pro-Israel club, and we are concerned about whether Duke students truly have the right to free speech. - If there are members of the academic community who will make false accusations about Israel, it is exactly the purpose of SSI chapters is to educate them on the actual facts and invite them to have a conversation. This cannot be accomplished if there is an intentional effort to silence a segment of the Duke student population.
- The chapter’s social media response was clearly not an attempt to “single out” a specific student, but an attempt to answer the claims raised by the specific student. It is unacceptable that pro-Israel students’ speech and opinions will be silenced. Speech is not violence, and to claim that the social media response of the chapter put the student at risk is a complete fabrication, as the only risk there was, was of hearing a dissenting opinion. - We ask that student government reinstate the chapter’s recognition during its upcoming meeting and address this blatant injustice, and we encourage the student government President and student body leaders to embrace the guidelines that they are elected to uphold, without any personal bias. - Rather than attempting to silence the pro-Israel voices by vetoing a pro-Israel student club, the student government at Duke should be spending its time condemning antisemitism promoted on its campus[3] or sponsored by it[4].
Statement by Students Supporting Israel regarding a petition titled: "Justice for Black Lives: Petition to University of California"
June 2, 2020
Not even two weeks have passed since the death of Mr. George Floyd, that we unfortunately already begin seeing anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and antisemitic groups on and off campus exploiting the discussion about the struggles of African Americans, hijacking this cause to divert the conversation to the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. In a petition that came to our knowledge titled "Justice for Black Lives" the writers "call on the UC to divest from companies that profit off of Israel’s illegal military occupation of Palestine, investments that uphold a system of anti-Black racism in the US."
This attempt to connect between the two issues is bizarre, but yet we are not surprised as we've seen such texts in academic settings before, promoted by the same groups. We condemn the use of the circumstances in the US to score talking points in the campaign to delegitimize the state of Israel, and hope the conversation that needs to happen in the US to heal and bring the citizens of one country closer together will not be further appropriated by opportunistic sides to promote hate against another country.
Message to the Pro Israel Students and Community:
November 21, 2019 9:20 am.
These past weeks weren’t easy for many of the students on campus. What started with a large anti-Jewish vote at Urbana Champaign declaring that, ‘anti-Zionism is not a form of anti-Semitism,’ began a chain of events that proved that anti-Zionism IS, in fact, anti-Semitism.
At Benedictine University, An SJP member walked out and laughed at a holocaust survivor in a matter of protest after he declared that what happened to the Jews in WW2 isn’t the same as what happens to Palestinians in Gaza today. The same SJP member, publicly tweeted her support for a genocide against the Jewish people earlier in 2017.
At the University of Toronto the graduate student government voted that kosher food should not be allowed because it is related to Israeli food—which they boycott. This vote was outrageous and the graduate student body later issued a weak apology.
At the University of Minnesota, the National SJP conference took place while members of SJP covered up windows and walked in and out of the conference covering their faces like criminals. Inside the conference, presentations supported members of terrorist organizations. The University of Minnesota president issued a weak statement discussing freedom of speech and hate, without mentioning SJP.
At George Washington University, a video of a student was taken saying “we’re going to bomb Israel,” adding “Jewish pieces of sh**”. Words like that are often being said in many campuses, that incident just managed to go on record.
At Arizona State University an event with two Israeli soldiers was distributed by SJP and the Socialist club, who held up signs calling for the support of the intifada. Intifada calls for the murder of Israeli Jews. ASU campus police needed to be involved, but were not. At the University of Florida, dozens walked out on an IDF soldier speaking on campus. The former soldier invited the students to stay but they refused his offer.
Yesterday afternoon, at UC Santa Barbara, a mob of students led Intifada chants in the middle of campus calling for the murder of Jews. The hate in their voices and their eyes were screaming racism. Nothing was done about it.
At Warwick University in the UK, a mob of anti-Israel protestors tried to destroy a lecture of an Israeli officer that was responsible for saving the lives of thousands of Syrians. The mob showed support for the Islamic Jihad in Gaza and Assad, but not to the Syrians who were saved.
At York University in Canada, we have a witness outrageous photos and videos last night of a terrorist mob physically attacking and assaulting pro-Israel students. Canadian police were forced to create a separation gap between the pro-Israel students and escort them to their cars in order to keep them safe. A fight broke out, and students were bullied and hurt. Our words cannot describe what students at York felt last night.
So when will our calls for the removal and banning of the anti-Israel groups on campuses be answered? Do we need students to be hospitalized, or worse, KILLED, in order for the universities to take action and protect our pro-Israel students? Why do university administrators publish weak statements non-stop, but will not dare remove the radical voices from our campuses? Why do the Jewish and pro-Israel communities face hate and violence, while the universities defend terrorist students in the name of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. Is there one standard of hate towards Jews and another towards everyone else? Clearly, there is. Is it ‘OK’ to hate and hurt Jews? It certainly appears that way.
In Europe, a march of hatred towards Jews started on university grounds in “academic settings,” where administrators failed to protect Jewish students, and allowed for the protest against them. The biggest haters were groomed on the university grounds. The administrations in the UK, the USA, and Canada have failed to protect pro-Israel students for years. Will any of that break us or make us take a step back? No, it will not.
We encourage pro-Israel students to double their activity on campuses and to increase their visibility on the ground. We encourage pro-Israel students to open the door to as many IDF speakers and soldiers as possible- they are always welcome on our campuses. SSI can help with bringing IDF soldiers to your campus—just let us know.
Pro-Israel students must realize that either hand we have is our power hand and our events and activity on campuses are being presented as the strong and powerful side; the side that protects civilians against terrorists, the side that established a country in one of the most complex areas of the world, the side that freed the Jewish people from the diaspora and gave them a home.
Donors, it is time to pull your funds from the universities. If the administrations are afraid of bad publicity and empty pockets, show them that your dollars do not go to shying away from the mobs on campus that terrorize our communities and students.
Administrations, step up your game. These statements are weak. Suspend these anti-Israel groups and show them the door out. They are not welcome.
SSI MOVEMENT will keep supporting pro-Israel students across North America. Our best answer to hate is simple - more Israel on campus, no fear.
If you want to join SSI, contact us today. Pro Israel. Grassroots. Movement.
Students Supporting Israel Statement on NSJP National Conference Announcement
September 17, 2019 – 1:00 p.m.
Minneapolis, MN – Students Supporting Israel issued the following statement regarding the announcement of NSJP on their national conference, that will take place at the University of Minnesota on November 1st-3rd of 2019: Students Supporting Israel was first established at the University of Minnesota in March of 2012, following the attacks of the “Israel Apartheid Week”. Due to the lack of opposition nor organizational support for the State of Israel on campus, SSI was created.
SSI’s mission is to be a clear and confident pro-Israel voice and to support pro-Israel students in grassroots advocacy allowing every student to feel comfortable and proud of the State of Israel. The actions that SSI took at the University of Minnesota, including our proactive approach, inclusivity, and grassroots mobility led to the establishment of the only pro-Israel student movement that has operated on over 80 college campuses and universities in the United States, Canada and Israel until present day – Students Supporting Israel.
Students Supporting Israel among the pro-Israel communities across the country remember the dozens of pro-Israel events that SJP demolished and destroyed all over the country throughout past years. Examples of desecration of Students Supporting Israel events by SJP include, but are certainly not limited to: SSI at UCLA where SJP terminated the “Indigenous People Unite” event, SSI at UC-Irvine where SJP shut down the “Beneath the Helmet” movie screening, and the University of Minnesota, where SJP members and their community supporters attempted to ruin the “My Truth event” and the “minority panel event” hosted by SSI. SJP is a racist, dangerous organization that goes against our values of academic freedom and speech. SJP chants include: “We don’t want two states, we want 1948,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Intifada, Intifada, we support the Intifada!” SJP persists in going to extreme lengths in order to demonize and hurt the Jewish State, and Zionist students on our campuses.
On other campuses across the country, similar violent tactics are consistently used by SJP groups. Though the organization has not made a statement on its ties to terror, SJP consistently allows praise of known terrorist groups, terrorists, and associates of groups linked with the funding of terror. At the NSJP conference at the University of Houston, one of the speakers was Rasmea Odeh - a convicted terrorist that was later deported from the United States to Jordan. At UCLA, SJP was chanting “Intifada! Intifada!,” a violent timeframe in which thousands of Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. All of these are recent examples, but there are many more instances of SJP’s abusive actions on campuses nationwide.
Zionism is the national movement of the Jewish people that called for Jewish sovereignty and led to the establishment of the State of Israel. Zionists believe in the right of return of an ancient and indigenous people into their homeland after a millennia, and the right of the Jewish people to become masters of their own destiny. Today, decades after the Jewish people have returned to their homeland to establish a Jewish and democratic state, those who support the existence of Israel face anti-Semitism and anti-Zionist attacks and disruptions against them on college campuses, and those efforts are prominently led by SJP. On the national level and on the local level, SJP actively seeks the advancement of hateful ideologies, and as evidenced by the examples above, have used violent and harmful means to do so on our campuses.
We hope that the University of Minnesota’s administration will take the appropriate actions in rejecting a distinguished violent group like Students for Justice in Palestine to host their national conference on our campus. In doing so, the administration will set a national example that denial of free speech, disruptions, intimidation of students, and violence are not tolerated in the academic community. As leaders of the pro-Israel community, Students Supporting Israel will keep bringing proud pro-Israel voices to our college campuses, and represent the Jewish State of Israel in a positive manner that will allow all students peaceful participation in our events. Please sign the petition below in order to take action:
Statement From UCLA's SSI Chapter Regarding SJP's Announcement to Hold Their National Conference at UCLA:
August 22, 2018
Members of the Jewish and pro-Israel communities across the country remember that on Thursday, May 17th, 2018 Students Supporting Israel at UCLA (SSI) hosted an event called “Indigenous People Unite.” The event provided a platform to the Jewish, Kurdish, and Armenian communities to share the stories of their people by providing an overview of their histories, struggles, and aspirations. However, the academic and cultural discussion event was violently disrupted by members of Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA (SJP at UCLA). The disruption included physical and verbal abuse of panelists and the audience, denial of the heritage and identity of the panelists, throwing of objects at the audience, ripping down SSI’s Armenian and Israeli flags, taunting of the panelists, insulting chants that called Jews white-supremacists and called for the destruction of the state of Israel: “We don’t want two states, we want 1948”.
In other campuses across the country, similar violent tactics are consistently used by SJP groups. At UC Irvine, SJP is currently put on probation for their violent actions over the years. At New York’s Fordham University, SJP was denied approval to register as a campus club for its violent activities. In the previous SJP national conference at the University of Houston, one of the conference’s speakers was Rasmea Odeh, a convicted terrorist that was later deported from the United States to Jordan. All of these are just recent examples, and there are many more to demonstrate SJP’s violent actions from campuses nationwide.
Specifically in UCLA, SJP acted violently to remind Jewish, pro-Israel students, and their partners that they are a violent organization on our campus, as in other parts of the country. SJP clearly aimed for the destruction of our event, the denial of our free speech, and the negation of the academic freedoms which our university stands for, a similar pattern of action used by them on US campuses time after time. While for some the events of May 17th are well in the past or act as merely a reminder of the growing prevalence of anti-Semitism Zionophobia across university campuses, for us, SJP across the country serves as an organization that denies freedom of speech and uses violent methods to silence their opponents, methods that lead to bullying and violence.
Merely a few months after the May 17th event and with the investigation still ongoing, it has unfortunately come to our attention that SJP plans to further subject our university to their racist, hateful, and Zionophobic tactics and messages by hosting its national conference on our campus. One of the conference's openly-stated goals is that Zionism “can be destroyed...broken down and dismantled,” a reminder to all students, including Jewish and Israel community members, that SJP groups stands for hateful and violent tactics as a national strategy. Zionism is the national movement of the Jewish people that called for Jewish sovereignty and led to the establishment of the state of Israel. Zionists believe in the return of an ancient and indigenous people into their homeland after a millennia, and the right of the Jewish people to finally become masters of their own destiny. Today, decades after the Jewish people have returned to their homeland to established a Jewish, indigenous, and democratic state, those who support the existence of Israel face anti-Semitism and Zionophobic attacks and disruptions against them on college campuses, and those efforts are greatly led by SJP. In UCLA, and on the national level, SJP actively seeks the advancement of hateful ideologies, and as evidenced by May 17 and the other examples mentioned, have used violent and harmful means to do so. We hope that UCLA’s administration will take the appropriate actions in not allowing a well-known hate group like SJP to host their national conference on our campus. In doing so, the administration will set a national example that denial of free speech, disruption, intimidation of students, and violence will not be tolerated in the academic community. On our end, as leaders of the pro-Israel community, Students Supporting Israel at UCLA will keep bringing a proud pro-Israel voice to our campus and represent the Jewish State of Israel in the positive manner that will allow all students peaceful participation in our events. -Students Supporting Israel at UCLA
A Statement on SJP's Violent Disruption of SSI's Event at UCLA:
May 21, 2018
On Thursday, May 17th, Students Supporting Israel at UCLA(SSI) hosted an event called "Indigenous People Unite." The event provided a platform to three different indigenous communities to share the stories of their people, by providing an overview of their history, struggles, and aspirations. The indigenous groups represented were the Jewish, Kurdish, and Armenian communities, three groups who are often ignored when speaking about indigenous history.
In the middle of the Armenian student-panelist Darion Ouliguian's speech on his personal ties to his homeland, the group Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA (SJP at UCLA), violently disrupted the event. The disruption included physical and verbal abuse of panelists and the audience, denial of the heritage and identity of the panelists, throwing of objects at the audience, ripping down SSI’s Armenian and Israeli flags, taunting of the panelists, chants that called Jews white-supremacists and called for the destruction of the state of Israel (“We don’t want two states we want 1948”), and yelling of obscenities at those in attendance. SJP made it very clear that they were not there to have discussion or even to speak regarding Palestinian identities when they refused an invitation for them to sit down and have a conversation on their grievances. All SJP was looking for is the destruction of our event, shouting down free speech, and denying the academic freedoms which our university stands for.
After the violence continued for sometime, UCPD was forced to remove the disruptors from the event into the hallway where they continued to shout obscenities and bang on the door of the classroom as a means of physically intimidating students. SSI strongly and fully condemns SJP’s actions that threatened the safety and first amendment rights of those participating in and attending the event. Every student has a right to free speech and freedom of expression, and SJP robbed us of these freedoms. No student should feel unsafe on their campus, have their identity challenged, or be subject to the violent and traumatizing events which took place on May 17th. We demand that the administration punish SJP and the students responsible for the violations, as turning a blind eye to such disruptive behavior will signal to SJP that bullying can continue on campus without any consequences. We demand that SJP will issue an apology to our speakers and student group for their brutal and non-academic behavior. We are very proud that our community is able to respond to the violent incident with confidence and poise. We thank the UCPD for protecting everyone in attendance and for making sure no further violence ensued. As leaders of the pro-Israel community on this campus, SSI will not allow our voices to be silenced. - Students Supporting Israel at UCLA
UC Irvine Investigation Result: SSI, unlike SJP, is NOT responsible for violating student conduct policies.
February 21, 2018
On January 10, 2018 the University of California Irvine issued a decision letter that confirms the results of the investigation conducted by the Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct following the events taking place during May 2017 "Israel Apartheid Week" at UCI.
The decision reads: "Based upon the preponderance of the evidence standard, I find Students Supporting Israel NOT RESPONSIBLE for 'aiding or abetting in the commission or attempted commission' of a University Policy Violation." Bellow please find the full statement:
Subject: SJP UC Irvine, Violation of Student Conduct Code - 2nd year in a row
May 12, 2017
On May 18, 2016, Students Supporting Israel at UCI - SSI hosted a film screening on campus. During the event, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UC Irvine deployed various aggressive tactics at their disposal to prevent the film from being shown on their campus. This included illegally blocking the entrances and exits, and verbally abusing attendees while causing safety concerns and disruption.
It took three months for the university to respond and only on August 18th a response from the office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs was issued (full response is attached as a photo):
“after a thorough review of, the student conduct investigation is now complete. The investigation found that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the group that organized and lead the protest, violated student conduct policies regarding disruption… as a result, SJP was issued a written warning effective immediately and continuing until March 29, 2017. As part of the sanction, SJP must host an education program by November 18, 2016”.
A year later, on May of 2017- approximately one month after the administration’s official warning expired, SJP at UC Irvine again attempted to silence our activists and destroy SSI’s event which hosted Reservists On Duty on campus. Again, it was specifically the event of the pro-Israel group that was targeted, showing the anti-semitic and bullying nature of their behavior. It’s important to note that Edgar Dormitorio, the Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief of Staff Communications and Special Programs, was also present at the SSI event, Edgar spoke to SSI National on Friday 5.12.17 saying that investigation has started again. Following a series of disruptions and walkouts, our chapter was forced to ask the police to escort the speakers and pro-Israel students outside of the room out of major concerns for safety.
“At one point it almost got violent, I needed to step in so it won’t get violent… at that point, I told Edgar we needed to call the police and the police escorted us out from a side door, I felt like I am the criminal here. The officers took us from a route that was all lined with SJP protesters… we were inches from the protestors and the police couldn’t really protect us” Kevin Brum, President of SSI UC Irvine.
It is time to hold Students for Justice in Palestine accountable for their actions!
-We demand SJP be held accountable and receive more than just a written warning for their consistent despicable (and illegal) actions. -We demand SJP be held accountable for not abiding by the terms of their warning. -We demand SJP be held accountable for not hosting an educational program about tolerance as was required or not inviting SSI to a dialogue about the topic. -We demand SJP be held accountable for their illegal, and disgusting bullying of our SSI students at Irvine. -We demand SJP be suspended as we can not tolerate an organization that spreads hate and violence and terrorizes the academic community.
Starting today, SSI leaders, members and supporters from all over the country will be calling the university office of the Vice Chancellor at 949-824-4804 demanding a sanction against SJP in the form of being suspended from campus for an academic year. Same will be done via emails to the school at [email protected] and won’t stop until we see results.
We need the pro-Israel and Jewish community to support our students and to not allow UC Irvine to drag the investigation, make our students feel unwelcome and unsafe on campus, and SJP gets away with a minor punishment that makes members of SJP feel empowered.
BDS Defeated at the University of Minnesota!
March 8, 2016 Students Supporting Israel (SSI) National salutes SSI’s first chapter at the University of Minnesota and our SSI student leaders for defeating BDS on campus.
A new tone has been set at the University of Minnesota as SSI moved from defense to offense. About a month ago a BDS campaign was launched at the University of Minnesota campus. The activists of SSI came up with a pioneer strategy: instead of defending ourselves in the student government against the BDS resolution, our own resolution was submitted to be presented on the exact same day, making the debate in the student government a two sided story by facing two resolutions.
SSI Minnesota started a campaign called #UmnUnited. The goal was to bring the campus community together and unite it against the BDS movement, instead of dividing it. This campaign was leading to the presentation of the SSI and the SJP resolutions on March 1. Today, the student government gathered to vote on both resolutions, one presented by SJP, and one by UMN United. Following a discussion, both resolutions were removed from the agenda, and BDS at the University of Minnesota was defeated.
SSI National wants to congratulate the SSI members of our founding chapter for their creativity and actions arguing in front of the student government and leading the UMN United campaign. We also want to thank our partners, Minnesota Hillel and the JCRC, for their hard work. The achievement of SSI Minnesota in the student government follows five pro-Israel resolutions that were passed by SSI chapters across the country, as SSI is committed to be pro-active on the grassroots level and inside student governments to defeat BDS and promote Israel on American college campuses.
Israeli Mako News: Israeli Advocacy pages that you must follow - SSI!
Date: 07/20/16 In a series of three articles, Israel's Mako News covered different social media pages that "every Pro Israel advocate should follow". One of the pages that Mako pointed out to the Israeli public was the Students Supporting Israel Facebook page that up until today has nearly 15,500 Facebook Likes. In the article Mako news quoted the Chairwoman of the SSI Board Valeria Chazin "We are here to create a united pro Israel student front that will work together for the State of Israel on campus". SSI is proud to make it into Israel's top news network knowing that the SSI page is one of the best pro-Israel pages to follow on Facebook. If you haven't done it yet, give us a Like on Facebook by clicking here!
December 17, 2015 Students Supporting Israel National condemns in the strongest possible terms the University of California Los Angeles student and employee, Lisa Mendez for her anti-Semitic and Zionophobic remarks over social media. It should be alarming for the UCLA community, students and faculty alike, that Jewish and Zionist students are being demonized for their religion and their beliefs.
Liat Menna, president of Students Supporting Israel at the UCLA says that the statements made by Lisa Mendez an official UCLA employee and student are disgraceful and disrespectful and can not be tolerated by any means. Additionally, Menna published an article mentioning that “Enough is enough. The Jewish community can no longer wait for the University to contemplate its response to anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on its campuses. It is time for the UCLA administration to realize that Zionophobia exists and the university must take a strong and unwavering stance against it.”
SSI National, and the SSI UCLA members call for the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs to take a stronger stance condemning the words of Mendez so that students can begin to feel safe again. This is not the first time that Jewish students have been discriminated against, and now is the time to make a stance in order to create an end to this. As we head into the holidays and the beginning of a New Year, it is our duty and responsibility to keep aiming to reach fair behavior on campus in regards to Israel and the Jewish community. SSI National supports the local SSI student leaders at UCLA and we would like to see the university take a strong stance against students or faculty that incite against Israel and the Jewish community.
Israeli Embassy in D.C. Congratulates SSI on Its First Conference!
Date: 08/24/15 We want to thank the Embassy of Israel for congratulating SSI on our first national conference on Twitter! The conference took place on August 21-23, and was an unforgettable experience. 50 students from 27 different campuses came together to talk about pro-Israel grassroots activism. We are all ready for the upcoming academic year!
SSI Announces Its First National Conference!
May 1, 2015 We are extremely happy to announce the first ever SSI conference that will take place this summer in Minneapolis. We are making history by leading the change on our campuses as a united, confident pro-Israel front, and this is a big step that makes us very proud of SSI's achievements!
Get ready for an amazing weekend and be on the lookout for more information to be posted on the "Conference" page on our website! Students: contact us to apply today! Travel reimbursement will be provided! The conference will include: - Two night stay at a hotel plus meals! - An amazing hands on program about grassroots advocacy!
SSI at Texas A&M Passed a Pro-Israel Resolution on Israel's Independence Day!
Date: 04/22/15 The legislation calls for increasing co-operation with Israeli universities and states that: "Israel is the only stable democracy in the Middle East...Israel is a leader in science and technology. Per-capita venture capital investments in Israel is 2.5 times that of the United States and 80 times that of China." This resolution is the second pro Israel legislation to pass in 2015 across North America, following the successful efforts made by SSI at the University of Georgia. - Dan Rosenfield, the President of Aggie Students Supporting Israel: "This resolution is a catalyst for further activism and the culmination of a year of campus engagement". - Jacob Arnett, SSI member, who moved the resolution to the Student Government: "The resolution makes it clear that the A&M student body wants a working relationship with Israel, and I believe that this helps A&M students, both in the short and the long term". - SSI Auggie Social Media Chair Kristen McAffee Wheeler, added that "the resolution will create a spark of history on our campus". - Naor Bitton, SSI National Advisor, praised the SSI leaders for their efforts: "Time and time again, we see our students taking initiative and working for a stronger US-Israel relationship. - SSI National President Ilan Sinelnikov concluded: " I am proud of our students. The proactive approach that SSI brings paves the way to win back our campuses.
Welcome to the family - SSI Missouri!
Date: 01/07/2014 We are happy to announce the joining of our 26th chapter: Students Supporting Israel at the University of Missouri! We are looking forward to be working with the amazing student activists at Missouri. Today our movement is stronger than ever as we are excited to have the opportunity to be represented at a new state!
25 Chapters across the US & Canada
Date: 12/23/14. We are proud to announce our 25th Chapter, and our first one in Pennsylvania: Students Supporting Israel at Penn State University. Know someone from Penn? Share the news with them! As always, SSI will work with other groups on campus to form strong coalitions to support the people of Israel. Together, we are stronger!
Outstanding Fall Semester and One United Movement
Date: 12/10/14 We let the numbers speak for themselves. From September 1st to November 30th Students Supporting Israel -
Led 149 events across North America.
Engaged 5,464 students on 24 campuses and universities.
Reached 463,084 profiles on social media.
A true Pro-Israel. Grassroots. Movement. As the semester is almost over we are starting to get ready for Spring 2015. Join the family, join the movement. Message us for an SSI on your campus!
Students Supporting Israel opens its first High School Club!
Date: 12/07/14 Students Supporting Israel is excited to announce the opening of our first High School Club. Please welcome Students Supporting Israel at NEST+m High School in New York City! The establishment of the first SSI High School Club followed SSI's founder, Ilan Sinelnikov, and Minnesota chapter President, Ron Feingold, visit to New York City. During the visit, Ilan and Ron spoke in front of the Israeli scouts about leadership and Israel. Students Supporting Israel will educate the students at NEST+m about Israeli culture, society and history. SSI will make sure that the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School will be able to learn accurate information about Israel. If you know any high school students please refer them to Students Supporting Israel! Best of Luck to our amazing student leaders at the high school!
Students Supporting Israel Regional Hangouts
Date: 11/03/14 Students Supporting Israel hosted three regional hangouts in which all of the SSI chapters participated. Once a month SSI makes sure to bring its students leaders together in order to discuss - Israel on campus and how to make our universities a better place. We are grateful for our amazing student leaders across the country!
Students Supporting Israel reaches 20 Universities!
Date: 10/29/14 We made it! Students Supporting Israel has a chapter on twenty college campuses and Universities across the country. In seven months our movement was able to grow from one registered group at the University of Minnesota. To an International movement in the United States and Canada! With the joining of the 20th chapter we are writing another chapter in the amazing success story of Students Supporting Israel. Do you want to be involved? Don't wait, join the family, join the movement! Message us in the contact us page.
Students Supporting Israel October Tours
During the month of October 9 speakers are touring 11 different SSI Universities in 14 different lectures! Engaging thousands of students every month, we will continue to make sure that our students will get the top speakers in order to host the best events on their campuses! Keep on supporting SSI National. Donate today, be the change on our campuses!
First row - left to right: Honorable Consul General Roey Gilad will travel to DePaul, Minnesota and Augsburg. Dr. Anat Barko will travel to Urbana Champagin, Indiana and New Mexico. Naor Bitton the Director of SSI spoke at Minnesota and Augsburg. Pastor Dumisani Washington will travel to San Diego. Second row - left to right: Human rights activist Simon Deng will travel to Ryerson in Canada. Neil Lazarus has traveled to Vermont. Colonel Bentzi Gruber has traveled to Minnesota Saint Mary's. Sun News Reporter Ezra Levant traveled to Ryerson Canada. JPost Reporter Etgar Leftovits will travel to University of Georgia.
Welcome to the Family - Pace University!
Date: 10/19/14 Students Supporting Israel would like to welcome Pace University to the family as our 19th chapter! In the past week three new schools joined the movement and became part of SSI. Pace University is the first chapter to join from New York City! We welcome you to the family and wish you good luck!
Students Supporting Israel - Augsburg College Victory!
Date: 10/05/14 Congratulations to Students Supporting Israel at Augsburg College for becoming a recognized chartered organization in Augsburg!! After our campaign, the decision to deny SSI Augsburg was overturned. In addition, the whole flawed process is now under examination by the college administration. SSI National team worked close with SSI Augsburg in the past week to overturn the unjust decision of their Student Government, and we would like to thank everyone who took part in this effort. SSI Augsburg President, Julian Kritz: "We would like to thank the school's administration for overturning student governments decision. By doing so the school showed that it stands by it's mission of diversity and inclusion." SSI National President, Ilan Sinelnikov: "Today SSI scored a huge win as a national movement. For the first time, students were able to fight an unjust decision, overturn it, and win. SSI will continue supporting Pro Israel college students across North America." SSI National Advisor, Naor R. Bitton: "Our successful efforts to overturn Augsburg's decision show what SSI is really about. Pro-Israel grassroots movement that shows the Israeli perspective on college campuses. Together, we are stronger." Students Supporting Israel- United pro-Israel grassroots movement.
SSI's September Numbers Can Speak for Themselves!
Since the first Students Supporting Israel chapter begin the school year on August 16th until September 14th SSI's numbers can speak for themselves! - 33 events were hosted or will be hosted by SSI chapters until the end of September. - 1690 Students were already engaged in the different events on campus. - 73,345 people were reached on Facebook in the first two weeks of September. We are Pro Israel. Grassroots. Movement. - Students Supporting Israel, join the FAMILY! 14 chapters - 1 Movement.
We Remember.
Date: 09/11/14 13 years ago the largest terror attack on American Soil took place Students Supporting Israel remembers the heroes. We remember the people that lost their lives on that dark day, the firefighters and the policeman who rushed the World Trade Centers in order to rescue people, and the men and women in service who lost their lives fighting for our freedoms in the following years. Students Supporting Israel were holding memorial events together with other campus organizations on different campuses to remember what happened on the morning of 9/11.
Israel Rally at the University of Georgia
Date: 09/10/14 Students Supporting Israel at the University of Georgia hosted a pro Israel rally on campus, on Tuesday September 9th. Over 60 people showed up to the rally including the President of the University student body and many others. Check out the great article written about the event and make sure to watch the YouTube video from it.
Welcome Students Supporting Israel at Loyola Marymount University!
Date: 08/31/14 Students Supporting Israel has made it to LA! We are happy to announce the opening of our 14th chapter - Students Supporting Israel at Loyola Marymount University! Loyola Marymount University will be the second University which joins SSI from the state of California. We would like to welcome the students to our family. We will work as hard as we can in order to make Loyola Marymount an Israel friendly campus.
Welcome to the Family Students Supporting Israel at the University of Georgia!
Date: 08/28/14 Students Supporting Israel opened a new chapter! Our 12th chapter is joining us at the University of Georgia! We are now stronger than ever! Students on different campuses across North America realize, that there is a need in one UNITED pro Israel campus movement. This is where Students Supporting Israel comes in place. We will make sure to get into every college campus and University across North America, we will advocate for Israel everywhere we can! We are now an international movement, 13 chapters - 1 family! Join us today!
Students Supporting Israel and Hasbara Fellowships Social Media Conference!
Date: 08/24/14 Students Supporting Israel and Hasbara Fellowship hosted a social media conference in which 7 out of the 12 SSI chapters attended including the campuses of: Minnesota, Augsburg, Urbana, New Mexico, Indiana, Kansas, and Texas. Hasbara Fellowship Midwest coordinator Barry Jakob led the conference, in which he explained to the different campus leaders the importance of a strong social media presence.
Students Supporting Israel start the 2014/15 academic year!
Date: 08/24/14 We are so excited to start our 2014/15 academic year at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the University of Indiana! Today Illini Students Supporting Israel will host the first event of the year - SSI Quad Day! SSI Indiana will table for at the Hillel welcome back BBQ for the first time of the year! We would like to wish all of the Students Supporting Israel campuses good luck in the upcoming school year, we know it will be an amazing, pro Israel year on our college campuses! We are 12 campuses - 1 international movement! - We are Students Supporting Israel!
StudentsSupporting Israel goes International!
Date: 08/13/14 Within the last year, Students Supporting Israel has gained momentum and has opened up 12 new chapters! In this past month of August, Students Supporting Israel has announced that they are going INTERnational! Their twelfth chapter was opened up in the beginning of August at Ryerson University in Canada. SSI is excited to have the new initiative going on in Canada, especially to show that Israel is not alone in the world. Students Supporting Israel is really excited to see where this will take them for the future in hopes to expand the pro-Israel student movement to more countries as well. Go ahead and give a nice warm welcome to the students at Ryerson Universityby liking their page and keeping up to date with the news going on in Canada!
