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By Eric Schorr

In deference to all this anti-Israel activity, the pro-Israel students at these schools have worked tirelessly over the last week to promote an environment of peace and discussion. New York University, in kicking off their Israel Peace Week activities, hosted "Get Me, Get Israel," an event which featured the "Dream Team" as they're being called around the pro-Israel circuit. Made up of an Ethiopian Israeli Architect, an Israeli Arab, an Israeli gay youth leader, and the CEO of the Ethiopian Israeli TV channel, the "team" is an all-star group hoping to break the moniker of "apartheid" on college campuses across the country.

 

At Columbia University, students in the Columbia/Barnard Hillel decided to develop a unique perspective and plan with regards to IPW happenings on other campuses. Their campaign, "Separating Fact from Apartheid: A Week of Discussion" is described in their own terms as programming that "focuses not only on the issues, but also on the need for dialogue and discussion on campus to better understand the circumstance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The week-long series of events at night and tabling during the day (opposite the C-SJP mock wall) is jointly hosted and supported by the Hillel Israel Vaad, which is made up of LionPAC, Just Peace, Garin Lavi, and Tarbootnikim.

During the Rutgers demonstration, pro-Israel students were out on campus tabling about Israel's commitment to equal rights and for a peaceful solution to the conflict. Using Hasbara materials alongside some of the successful displays created at Columbia University, the Rutgers students had a positive campaign in opposition to the anti-Israel displays they faced from organizations like BAKA.

Most impressive however, beyond the campuses in New York City, is the firestorm of activity that has been raised after an LGBT Center in the city removed its support for an IAW party. The Jerusalem Post reported on the entire affair, quoting the architect of the endeavor, an American-Israeli gay porn producer, in saying he "defeated a group of anti-Semites," calling it a "landmark moment" in his life. The organizers of the city-wide IAW campaign were up in arms, preparing petitions and demonstrations, all in an effort to convince the center to change its decision. The successful cancellation of the anti-Israel event, as it connects to the LGBT community, has led many students to work more directly with their respective LGBT communities on their campuses, adding another important ally in the campus struggle to combat anti-Israel activity.