June 1, 2009
The ICC is pleased to present this essay by Stephanie Feit of New York University, who was selected as one of the two winners of the
ICC Best Practices Contest by the ICC's Steering Committee. The award was presented in the ICC Spring Consultation May 21, 2009.
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New York City; the home of liberalism; the home to a myriad of people, languages, cultures, and religions. It is the home of an array of opinions on issues that vary from the environment to gay marriage to the best bar to go out to that night. As I entered New York University, I felt ready for the challenge of New York City. I felt ready for the new atmosphere I was entering that would be a huge change from the isolated Jewish environment in which I had grown up. While still possessing some naivety, I was aware that the place I was going to spend the next four years was going to be thriving with liberalism, a view opposite of my own conservative stance. However, I was excited for the challenge.
As I entered college, I knew that I wanted to become involved in the student community, and I knew that a large focus of my efforts would be primarily promoting Israel. However, I was unaware of what was to be the necessary amount of activism. The first few months ran smoothly and brought no shock to me. There was no real anti-Israel sentiment being portrayed around campus. The first anti-Israel event I ran into came with New York City's Israel Apartheid Week. Although having previously been oblivious to the phenomenon around New York City, I was made more than aware by the various flyers promoting the anti-Israel events on campus. Knowing that something had to be done to counter these efforts, Gesher, the Israel group on campus in which I had become involved, decided to organize lectures and information sessions to arm the students on campus with the information to combat false claims. Also, we encouraged students to attend the anti-Israel events and ask questions about their said claims. I left last year with ambivalence as to how I felt about the Israel climate on campus. On the one hand, I was happy about the minimal anti-Israel sentiment, but on the other hand I felt that more could be done to get more students involved to better promote Israel's image.
This year has brought new and more difficult challenges. The fall semester passed, with little excitement. I decided to spend my winter break in Israel on Hasbara Fellowships, a program that brings students to Israel over winter break and trains them to become better Israel advocates on their respective campuses. I came back to school with a strong drive and I was ready for the challenges that would come. The Gaza War had just taken place, and I expected lot of anti-Israel activity. Sure enough, on my first night back, there was a large anti-Israel rally right outside of my apartment building. While at first taken aback, I was not surprised. This was to be expected. As Apartheid Week approached, Gesher got together and began to brainstorm what would be our plan of action. We decided to organize a pro-Israel rally in Washington Square Park, the crux of the campus. We ordered pro-Israel t-shirts and gave them out to the student body that attended the rally. While it took place on one of the coldest days of February, the NYU campus got a chance to see that there was a strong pro-Israel sentiment on campus. During the rest of Apartheid Week, students attended the various anti-Israel events and gave out their own materials, along with arguing the facts. We also organized a screening of Alan Dershowitz's "The Case For Israel." The event went over extremely well and over 300 people attended, including both students and non-student community members. A message was definitely portrayed to the NYU community that students were pro-Israel and we were more devoted than ever.
In honor of Israel's Independence Day, an Israel week was organized. It began with a lecture given by Colonel Zion Gruber of the Israeli army that focused on morals and the Gaza war. It continued with an Israel themed weekend that involved Israeli food, decoration, songs, and comedy sketches. We invited Oded Feuer, a former paratrooper commander and head of USD Hagshama for a Yom Hazikaron ceremony and reflection. This all built up to Yom Haatzmaut, Israel's 61st birthday. For the celebration, we planned an all night party at the university Hillel. The Hillel turned into an Israeli shuk with celebration, dancing, food, and Bedouin-style decorations. There were trivia games, Krav Maga and a movie showing. Many came out to celebrate the day and it was a major success.
What happened early in the day was a major accomplishment for the NYU Israel Community. A few days prior, I was made aware of a pro-Palestinian rally that was going to take place on Independence Day. Right away planning began. There were less than two days, but it was imperative that something be done. We decided to plan a counter rally. We spent those two days recruiting whomever we could, ordering T-shirts, making signs, chalking sidewalks, and just getting the word out that support was necessary. The result was more than successful. At the same time that the pro-Palestinian students gathered, a significantly larger group formed across the street. This was our group. We brought Israeli flags, massive signs, and songs of peace to our rally. We sang, chanted and danced in the streets to show our love for Israel. As time passed, hundreds gathered to watch both sides and their respective demonstrations. While the pro-Palestinian students were shouting hate slogans, our pro-Israel community chanted messages of peace. "1,2,3,4 Israel doesn't want a war, 5,6,7,8 teach war not hate" was just one of the many slogans that we chanted. Heated debates went on on the side of the street, but the atmosphere was mostly peaceful. Many walked away from the rally with a more positive attitude. We also received positive press around campus. To me, the rally, combined with our Yom Haatzmaut celebration afterwards, made for a successful Independence Day. The most successful part of this rally, along with the rally and events during "Israel Apartheid Week" is that the greater campus community saw our message. They saw the pro-Israel message through the media and through our actions. They saw the great accomplishments of Israel, instead of the lies that the anti-Israel community was attempting to preach.