July 2, 2008
Hosting a performance by Israeli rock band Hadag Nachash. Raising over $1000 to plant 60 trees in Israel through JNF. Conducting sophisticated Israel advocacy training for previously uninvolved students. Bringing inspirational speakers to give campus-wide presentations. Recruiting hundreds of students for Taglit-Birthright Israel trips.
With projects like these, 43 Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Interns left their mark on 38 campuses across North America during the 2007-08 academic year. Originally created in 2002, the Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Internship is an outstanding opportunity for student leaders to have a profound impact on their campus communities. Grinspoon Interns develop and implement a creative, ongoing, strategic, collaborative and impactful long-term initiative, within one of the Internship’s issue areas, that is designed to change campus Israel culture tangibly.
Following several days of intensive training last August at Camp Ramah Darom in Georgia, Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Interns spent 10 hours each week during the school year bringing pieces of Israel to their campuses and exposing hundreds of their peers to information about modern Israeli society. While some interns focused their Israel engagement efforts on celebrations related to Israel’s 60th birthday, others diversified their approach, reaching out specifically to campus groups that could find common ground with aspects of life in Israel.
At the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), for example, Grinspoon Intern Rich Goldman focused on bringing Israel into the public space. He did this through a 360-image photo gallery, a donation of 40 Israeli-themed DVDs to the campus library, weekly Israeli dance classes, an Israel-themed dance with the Gay-Straight Alliance, a JNF fundraiser to plant 60 trees in Israel, a lecture discussing Israel's electric car initiative, a candle lighting for Israel Memorial Day, and a culture tent for Israel's 60th Independence Day. Participants ranged from the campus custodial staff to the President of the university, and events were conducted throughout the university.
At Oberlin College, Grinspoon Intern Shira Ziegler hosted weekly lunch-and-learns, creating safe space in which students could comfortably discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Grinspoon Intern, Meira Kreuter, significantly raised awareness about Israel through a widespread marketing campaign for FAU’s Israel Week, which saw hundreds of students across campus proudly wearing specially designed blue and white t-shirts. Julie Schechter, the Grinspoon Intern at Wayne State University in Detroit, designed an intimate fellowship program for 10 of her peers. Following a ten-week educational seminar, each participant planned a program promoting Israel at one of the five college campuses in the metro-Detroit area, spreading Israel awareness around the entire community.
In these and myriad other ways, Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Interns positively altered the Israel landscape on their campuses this year – but they leave behind big shoes to fill for the class of interns that will follow them! For the 2008-09 academic year, with the generous support of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the ICC is pleased to be placing 46 interns on 40 campuses, with training to occur during the first week of August at the University of Maryland. For more information about the Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Internship, please contact the ICC’s Student Leadership Development Associate Tracy Altman at taltman@israelcc.org or 202-449-6518.