January 22, 2008
GWU student Harry Baumgarten presented Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni with a solidarity statement reaffirming the students’ commitment to raising awareness about Israel on campus through diverse pro-Israel programs.
Israel on Campus Coalition Facilitates Unprecedented Solidarity Mission to Israel for Diverse Student Leaders
This winter, the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) – comprised of 32 national pro-Israel organizations, spanning the political and religious spectrum, and dedicated to promoting Israel education and advocacy on college campuses – facilitated the ICC Israel @ 60 Student Leadership Mission to Israel, December 27th to January 6th. This mission afforded forty-one diverse American Jewish student leaders – nominated by ICC organizations – the unprecedented opportunity to join together in Israel to express solidarity with Israel as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.
While in Israel, students met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and presented her with a signed solidarity statement articulating their support for Israel as it turns 60 and reaffirming their commitment to raising awareness about Israel on campus through diverse pro-Israel programs. During the meeting, Livni addressed pressing issues facing Israel at this pivotal time.
“We have you fighting for Israel; we know that you are there to defend Israel, and we are here to defend you. And all together we will win," Livni added in conclusion.
“As someone who throughout the years has worked as an advocate for Israel on campus, this mission was one of the highlights of my life -- being able to meet and hear from Israel's number one advocate to the world," said Harry Baumgarten, a student at The George Washington University who introduced the Foreign Minister. "It meant so much to me to see how much she valued our efforts on campus as well,” Baumgarten added.
During the mission, students also heard from a diverse panel of Israeli Knesset Members about various domestic and geopolitical issues facing Israel at this pivotal time in its history. They participated in discussions with author Michael B. Oren and world renowned Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer, and met with faculty panels from the University of Haifa and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. They also volunteered at Aleh Negev, a home for severely disabled children; at College for All, an organization in Yafo dedicated to ensuring that underprivileged children are afforded equal opportunities; and in the town of Dimona.
The ICC Mission, supported by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, was implemented through the prism of four distinctive themes: solidarity though community service in a variety of communities in Israel; high-level meetings with Israeli dignitaries; educational seminars with experts on a broad range of issues; and advocacy initiatives that convey students’ solidarity with Israel to their campus and community leaders.
While on the trip, students shared their personal narratives with regard to Israel on campus, engaged in dialogue about a plurality of Israel on campus issues and thought strategically about how to approach Israel advocacy on campus.
The ICC Israel @ 60 Mission is the first of three meetings of the newly formed ICC Student Leadership Council (SLC). Students serving on the SLC will share their insights and experiences pertaining to Israel on campus to help inform broader ICC initiatives and programs.
Of his experience on the ICC mission, Joseph Rosenberg of New York University commented, “If the purpose of my first two trips to Israel, in the winter of 2004 and summer of 2005, was to paint me a marvelous picture of the country, and to enable me to affirm my support for the Jewish state, then the purpose of the ICC Israel at 60 mission was to give that picture a frame. That frame, of course, came in the form of meetings with scholars, visits to controversial locations on the ground, and talks with people who in some way represent the other side, with points of view that are suitable for only the most mature, open-minded audiences. The mission was not about giving us the answers—every time I learned one thing, I had two more questions—but it was about enabling the 41 of us to understand and begin to engage the problems. This was a trip for a group of students who could see the issues we encountered not only through an emotional lens, but also though a lens of intellectual inquiry.”