Israel Activism on Campus —
What You Can Expect When You Begin University
by Israel HighWay Staff

The university campus, long known as "the marketplace of ideas," is the first place many Jewish students encounter views contrary to those shared by their family, friends and community. The exchange of ideas that takes place on college campuses is often a key component in helping young people form their own ideological identity. In many regards, this is a healthy and important step as young people transition into adulthood. However, for the young Jewish activist, this exchange of ideas may also be the first experience he or she will have of the virulent anti-Israel or even anti-Semitic rhetoric that is present on some North American campuses.

In order to properly prepare yourself for life on campus as a pro-Israel activist, it is important to understand what to expect on campus and how you can appropriately respond. Juniors and seniors, you may want to subscribe now to the Israel Campus Beat to see what’s happening on campuses around the country, including the ones to which you are applying. While you are filling out applications, find out what the universities’ policies are about a year abroad in an Israeli university. Some U.S. schools don’t approve Israeli programs! Let the school know if that’s an important consideration for you.

If you choose to be an activist, your job is not just to be reactive – defending Israel; you should also be proactive, as an effective advocate on behalf of Israel and your community. The key to both of these tasks is the same: information. The most important tool you can have in your activist arsenal is information. It is so much easier for you on campus if you are informed about the history, the people, the culture and the politics in Israel along with at least a basic knowledge of the modern Zionist movement. If you need help or further information there's a long list of organizations below that can help you with backup, with resources, and the names of other students on your campus who can help.

Issue of the Week is continued below

Israel's Former Ambassador to U.S. Aims to Bring American Jews to Jewish State

After more than four years as his government's ambassador to Washington, Daniel Ayalon is back home in Israel. In his new job, he hopes tens of thousands of American Jews will follow him.

Ayalon this week joined Nefesh B'Nefesh, a group that sponsors immigration from North America, as its co-chairman. Ayalon hopes to use his experience and contacts in the U.S. to raise funds for the group, and use his stature in Israel to help ease what is often a bumpy transition for new arrivals."Once we reach out, I'm sure the reservoir of people will increase," Ayalon said in an interview at his home in central Israel. (AP/International Herald Tribune)

Foreign Investment in Israel Doubles in 2006

Foreign investment in Israel more than doubled in 2006 to reach an all-time high of $21.1 billion, the Bank of Israel said Sunday. The sharp rise was helped by American tycoon Warren Buffet’s four-billion dollar acquisition of 80 percent of Israeli metalworks company Iscar in May. Overseas investments by Israelis also reached a record in 2006 and stood at $21 billion. (Middle East Times)

Invading Romans' Greatest Obstacle Uncovered in Jerusalem
by Etgar Lefkovits

An immense bedrock cliff uncovered opposite Jerusalem's Temple Mount may help explain why it took the Romans so long to capture what is now known as the Jewish Quarter almost two millenia ago, an Israeli archeologist said Sunday. The cliff, uncovered during a year-long excavation at the western edge of the Western Wall Plaza, was one of several important finds that include the remains of a colonnaded street called the Eastern Cardo, dating from the Roman-Byzantine period; a section of the Lower Aqueduct that conveyed water from Solomon's Pools to the Temple Mount; and a damaged rock-hewn and plastered Jewish mikve (ritual bath) that dates back to the Second Temple period, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced at a press conference this week. (Jerusalem Post)

Olmert's Visit Refreshes Personal Bond with China

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert paid his first official visit to China, a country that played an influential role in his family history. Olmert's grandparents moved to Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, from Russia to flee persecution in the late 19th Century. Olmert's parents grew up in Harbin before moving to Israel. Before Olmert's father died at the age of 88 his last words were in Chinese.

The visit, marking the 15th anniversary of the establishment of China-Israel diplomatic relations, focused on economic and technology issues. (Chinaview.cn)

SanDisk Shows Israeli-Engineered Solid-State Drive
by Melissa J. Perenson

SanDisk showcased its newly introduced 32GB solid-state drive (SSD) this week. SanDisk's SSD was engineered by the company's new Israel-based Computing Solutions Division. The 1.8-in. drive is designed to replace hard drives. The advantages to SSD are multifold. SSD has no rotating parts. SSD also has a speed advantage. Another bonus is power efficiency. Additionally, SSD allows support for a wider range of operating temperatures than hard disk drives and lower noise noise levels. SanDisk expects to ship the drive to notebook manufacturers this quarter, and estimates the first high-end notebooks equipped with the drive will appear in the first half of 2007. (Computerworld.com)

Israeli Degree in 'Medical Clowning' a Prescription for Health
by Asher Goldstein

The University of Haifa is introducing Israel's first degree program - and perhaps the only degree in the world - in medical clowning. Though the hospitals accept the presence of medical clowns, they don't consider them part of the staff. The students hope that the new degree program will change this situation. In addition to courses in the Theater Department and in the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, the medical clowning program will have special offerings. One of these, found nowhere else in Israel, is the Sociology of Humor and Clowning. (Israel21c)

"Ambassadors" Discuss Teen Life in Israel

The youth ambassadors, Nir (pictured right) and Eliya (left), who live in the Kiryat Malachi area, traveled to Arizona under the auspices of the TIPPS (Tucson, Israel, Phoenix, Palm Springs and Seattle) Region of Partnership 2000, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Israel Center. When the pair visit public schools, most of the questions are about the daily life in Israel as a teenager, Nir says. One student asked if Israelis live in houses. About that question, Eliya says, "We really want people to know we're not a Third World country. We're really advanced."

Nir tells the story of how his brother was killed four years ago during a battle in Hebron. The ambassadors share stories like these so the U.S. teens who listen to them can begin to see the complex picture of life in Israel. (Jewish Agency for Israel)

14 Carter Center Advisers Resign over Former President Jimmy Carter's Book by Melissa Drosjack

Fourteen members of a leadership group under former President Carter's think tank resigned last week over concerns that Carter's book on the Middle East does not represent "the Jimmy Carter we came to respect and support." The members of the 200-member Board of Councilors, a leadership advisory group founded in 1987, join a longtime Carter aide, Jewish groups and lawmakers who have publicly criticized the former president's best-selling book "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid" for inaccuracies and distorting history.

The members submitted a joint resignation letter, saying the book confuses opinion with fact. The members say the book "portrays the conflict between Israel and her neighbors as a purely one-sided affair with Israel holding all the responsibility for resolving the conflict." (FoxNews.com)

Kibbutz Students to Visit Settlements by Guy Mei-Tal

Israel's Education Minister Yuli Tamir (pictured) recently approved a special joint study program for kibbutz and settler students, initiated by the Religious Kibbutz Movement, the Kibbutz Movement and the Yesha Council.

Yair Reinman, secretary-general of the Religious Kibbutz Movement said, "The kibbutzniks and the settlers meet for the first time in the army, or even when one comes to evacuate the other from an outpost." Reinman explained that the purpose of the program was to bring the two publics together. (Ynetnews.com)

Jerusalem's New Tourism Initiative by Tali Heruti Sover

Nir Barkat is a Jerusalem city councilman. His decision to devote himself to Jerusalem led him to found non-profit organization StartUp Jerusalem in 2004. This week, StartUp Jerusalem launched its new English-language web site, gojerusalem, which is geared toward anyone looking for a vacation abroad. The organization's web site has tour packages divided on the basis of Jerusalem's three religions, as well as a tour of boutique wineries in the Jerusalem hills, information about exhibitions in Jerusalem, and information on places where families can hold weddings, bar mitzvahs, and the like. (Ynet/Israel Insider)

April Is the Coolest Month by Randi Sherman

The April Quintet musicians answered the call of jazz three years ago when they enrolled at the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts near Tel Aviv. They answered it again by traveling to New York this week to perform at the prestigious International Association for Jazz Education conference, which runs from Jan. 10-13.

In addition to the IAJE performance, the April Quintet is running a mini-tour while in New York, with performances or jam sessions at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts, Bard High School Early College, Makor and P.S. 67 in Spanish Harlem. (New York Jewish Week)

True to Life: Stories of Ramla Youth by Molly Ritvo

The Boston Jewish Film Festival recently showed a documentary, True to Life, about Israeli teens' experiences in Ramla, a lower-class suburb near Jerusalem. The film was made, produced, and shot by the teens who star in it. True to Life is a documentary comprised of five 10–15 minute segments, each focusing on one teen's story. The common thread is that the teens all live in Ramla. Each individual segment shows the complexities of growing up caught between two cultures - the parents' homeland culture and modern Israeli/Palestinian society. (JVibe.com)

Ex-Sony Exec to Help Israeli Musicians Performing in English
by Tamar Sukenik

A new project, funded by the Bronfman Foundation and supported by the Foreign Ministry, will promote Israeli musicians who create in English. The project, a label entitled, "helo! Records," was established by Jeremy Hulsh, an American Jew who immigrated to Israel five years ago. The label will provide financial assistance, facilitate hosting by students and Jewish organizations and expedite connections with local ticket agents to assist bands interested in touring abroad. (Ha'aretz)

BlogCentral: Big Jew on Campus by Ben-Zion Jaffe

Generally, the diversity of the college campus is enjoyable. But with diversity comes difference in belief, lifestyle, and politics. After two and a half years of attending Rutgers University,a fairly liberal school, there are still some thoughts and beliefs that I hear from other students that shock me.

One of these surprising moments happened during final exams in December. During our review, Iran was mentioned. One woman in my study group blurted out that she thinks Ahmadinejad is quite intelligent. She continued to say that his Holocaust conference was not such a bad thing. Come again? What I found most disturbing is that the absolute lies spewed by evil people such as Ahmadinejad actually has an effect on conscious, educated, and critical minds. If Ahmadinejad is able to indoctrinate one person then many more can follow. What I fear is that there may be enough confused minds that find evil to be the truth and are able to silence those who want no more than peace and freedom. (Jerusalem Post)

When Palestinians Kill Palestinian Children by Ze'ev Schiff

In recent Hamas-Fatah clashes, children have been deliberately killed. Last month, the three small children of Fatah General Intelligence officer Baha Balusha were murdered while traveling to school in their father's car. Last week, Hamas attacked the home of a senior official in Fatah's Preventive Security Service, Mohammed Gharib. The officer begged the assailants to spare him and his young daughters; however, they killed him and four of his bodyguards, and seriously wounded his daughters.

A few months ago, the earth shook when Palestinian civilians were killed by the IDF's misguided artillery fire on Beit Hanun. Tempers ran high in the UN, and some in Israel demanded that an international commission of inquiry be established. When Palestinians kill Palestinian children - and not by accident - no criticism is heard. Perhaps the professional critics consider such incidents too minor. (Ha'aretz)