August 21, 2008
Director's Note
Although I’ve visited Chicago in August many times as a native Midwesterner, it has never occurred to me to bring along a jacket at this time of year. Yet throughout the first half of last week, the weather was so beautiful and unseasonably cool there that even native Chicagoans seemed a bit perplexed about which season we’re really in. The weather took a backseat to what was happening inside the Hyatt Regency Chicago, however; the primary attraction for me was the gathering of 120 pro-Israel Greek campus leaders who attended Israel Amplified to gain Israel advocacy skills and education alongside their peers, and to plan pro-Israel campus events for the 2008-2009 academic year.
Thanks to the generous support of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and another private family foundation, and through the leadership of AEPi and AEPhi, Israel Amplified this summer continued its tradition of providing the most impactful venue for Israel engagement among Greek campus leaders. For three days, students worked hard at building critical Israel engagement skills and focusing on how the Greek system is a unique and excellent mechanism for campus Israel engagement. And the ICC was proud to help with the organization and facilitation throughout, alongside an impressive roster of national fraternities and sororities.
Yet the true measure of the impact of such a gathering is what happens when everyone returns to campus, and in this regard, Israel Amplified is unique; each student left the conference with a written plan detailing a series of Israel-related campus initiatives that each student is committed to carrying out this year. Between the supportive staff from the participating national Greek organizations and the ICC’s own Greek Outreach Associate, Alex Shapero, we’ll be working closely with each student leader throughout the year to jointly engage as many Greek students as possible. And the ICC’s new Greek Resource Guide, which debuted at the conference, will help provide students with the resources they need to achieve their goals on campus.
But even as Israel Amplified showcased a remarkable coming together of students who are committed to a common goal, so too did it showcase the collaborative spirit of the ICC and our member organizations. A wide range of ICC members traveled to Chicago to share their perspectives and campus engagement methodologies with the student leaders in attendance, and to bring added resources and programming ideas as well. And the students left all the richer for it. From AIPAC and Hasbara Fellowships to the Jewish National Fund, StandWithUs, MASA Israel Journey and others, students were able to experience the best of what ICC member organizations have to offer them. ICC members led sessions and offered resource and advice during two open “dessert fairs,” and each and every student I spoke with felt supported and encouraged by the width and breadth of organizations that were present to support them.
Greeks today represent a population on American college campuses that has perhaps more potential than any other group to influence our country’s business and politics in the future, and to shape the wider campus community today. This is why Greek engagement offers such a tremendously powerful tool to expand Israel advocacy and engagement among college students around the country. As I said at Israel Amplified, Greek student leaders – like other pro-Israel students – should take this opportunity to “think big” and start with a clean slate as they imagine what types of Israel engagement they want to bring back to their campuses. The sky is the limit. And based on the fall program planning that I witnessed in Chicago, Greek student leaders around the country will be tremendous advocates for Israel among their peers in the coming school year. And we – the ICC staff and all of our member organizations – will be on hand to help out at every step of the way.
David A. Harris
Executive Director