By: Hayley Magerman

Supporters of Israel have to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are many events on your campus that will occur whether you like it or not. Evaluate who you believe will be in the audience ahead of the event so that you can decide how to appropriately prepare for it. Here are a few tips on how to best react to anti-Israel events at your school.

1.      Don’t give them more attention than they already had

• Sometimes it is better just to ignore the event. While the attention you give them would be negative, sometimes negative publicity is better than no publicity. If students know that there is drama between the pro- and anti-Israel students, they might be curious what is going on. If without your op-ed or Facebook post, the students may not have known about the event in the first place, then refrain from promoting the event and doing its organizers a favor.

2.      Be respectful

• You want to look like the calmer of the two. Even though your information will be accurate, from an outsider’s perspective, you are a supporter of Israel and your character is the real representative of the winner/loser in the conversation. Refrain from yelling and getting emotional. Observers will gain reverence for you if you maintain your sanity more effectively.

3.      Come with facts (specific ones)

• Make sure anything you say can be backed up by concrete information. You will often be asked for proof and a source. If you cannot give one, you will lose the debate. But, there is nothing wrong with telling the student that you will get back to them if you need to look up the information to find your source.

4.      Record everything

• Bring a notepad, camera, and video camera if possible. The best footage is videos so that you can prove what was said at the event. You never know when documentation might come in handy.

5.      Use it as a tool to educate others

• Invite members from your organization who are interested in hearing a perspective from the “other side.” This serves two purposes: they can become more aware about what is said outside of your pro-Israel circle and you will have someone to back you up at the event. It will often inspire students to be even more active in your organization once they see how many fallacies are stated.

You may feel nervous or uncertain about interacting with anti-Israel students, but know that you are doing the right thing. It is daunting at first, but you must realize that you are standing up for what you believe in and that is why you became an Israel advocate in the first place. The university was founded to be a place for free and spirited debate and hate speech can only be defeated by good speech. Will you be the one to defeat it?