In the charged and often toxic campus culture in colleges today, students can find themselves unprepared to respond to anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic language and movements on campus. In response to this issue, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey organized the iCAN Answer Now Teen Conference, an event featuring many prominent speakers, interactive sessions and student panels about how to deal with these encounters. Widely attended by high schoolers throughout northern New Jersey, the event was designed to arm future college students with the tools they need to both defend against hateful attacks against Israel on campus, and engage and educate others about Israel as a historical, humanitarian and innovative country.
The event was kicked off by several engaging speakers. Chloe Valdary, one of the first, spoke about the work she does for Israel as director of partnerships and outreach at Jerusalem U. After graduating from the University of New Orleans, where she headed a pro-Israel group, Valdary began working for Jerusalem U, creating video content designed to “introduce the world to Israel.” Her films, documentaries and digital shorts can be found on YouTube, Netflix and social media, and feature powerful and inspiring footage of all facets of the land of Israel: the people, the culture, the struggle and the history. Valdary emphasized the importance of sharing Israel’s remarkable story of survival and strength with the world, believing it has the power to inspire many. “We believe that this generation has the capacity to effect positive change in the world,” she said. “And we believe that the story of Israel, and the story of the Jewish people, can inspire this generation to do that.”
After the first round of speakers, the students were divided up into sessions focused on helping them become well versed in the facts of Israel’s history and present, to enable them to refute lies and develop strong and clear defenses for Israel. Heading the sessions were several prominent leaders of organizations like StandWithUs, Hasbara Fellowships and the ZOA. One of the session heads, Rabbi Elliot Mathias, the founder and executive director of Hasbara Fellowships, focused on the idea that all anti-Israel arguments can be broken down into one of three claims: Israel’s being guilty of occupation, racism or excessive force. Once you are prepared to disprove each of these claims, he explained, you can win any debate. Engaging the students with questions and insights, Rabbi Mathias described a logical progression of facts and events irrefutably proving Israel innocent of these claims, leaving the students feeling well informed and prepared to debate each of these issues.
The sessions were followed by Shahar Azani, executive director of StandWithUs Northeast US, who addressed the students about one key way to stop organizations like BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) from succeeding in spreading their lies. Azani described the main tactics employed by BDS as the “3Ds”—dehumanizing Israeli soldiers, delegitimizing the state of Israel and holding Israel to an unfair double standard. The main reason these tactics work, Azani explained, is because so many people don’t know what Israel is actually like. “People do not know, and ignorance prevails; and when ignorance prevails, it is easier to spread that poison that the BDS movement is trying to put out there.” Azani explained that the best way to stop BDS from being effective is to educate others, and teach them the truth about Israel. He told the students: “You’re here, because you can take the next step and be ambassadors for Israel. To educate yourself for the purpose of educating others. To spread light where darkness is only prevalent.”
One of the highlights of the event was the student panel. Three current college students briefly described their experiences overcoming challenges and advocating for Israel on campus. Ariela Rivkin, the senior class president of the University of Wisconsin, from Teaneck, told students about the importance of making connections with other students and groups on campus. She explained that the strongest way to advocate for Israel is not just to fight BDS, but to make Israel relevant to other students who may not know or care about it. “If you can find what individuals or groups of people are passionate about on your campus, and then bring that story to them as it relates to Israel,” Rivkin said, “(then) you’re laying groundwork long before you even have to fight or be defensive about a BDS resolution.”
Ben Mivo, a senior from the University of Michigan, also discussed the value of getting involved and making connections on campus, saying that “those are the things that help you be able to defend, protect and advocate for Israel throughout your time on campus.” Mivo also talked about the importance of having mutual respect among all sides, including pro-Israel groups with differing opinions and even for groups that do not support Israel, explaining that “shouting matches… only bring negative attention to people who had no allegiance or understanding of the issue.”
Aliza Ohnouna, from the University of Pennsylvania, advised students who are not interested in engaging and debating hateful speech and actions against Israel. “If you are the type of person who is particularly combative, and can confront the anti-Semitism, that’s wonderful. If you’re not, like me, than it might make you feel better to walk past the demonstrations armed with the appropriate facts.” Ohnouna urged the students to talk to the faculty and students at their Hillel. “They have… a breadth of experience dealing with this anti-Israel sentiment. They can be a wonderful resource to you, and they can also be a wonderful learning source to you.”
Throughout the day, many of the speakers and panelists stressed how important it was for events like the iCan Answer Now Teen Conference to prepare future college students for the difficulties they are likely to encounter on campus. Jennifer Zimmer, community volunteer and mother of Zach Zimmer, member of the iCan Teen Task Force, expressed her appreciation for the event and what it accomplished. “I think it’s important that they know how to face the anti-Semitism that they are likely to find, no matter what college campus they’re on,” she said. “This conference is designed to give them the tools they need to stand up for not only themselves, but for their country, Israel, their family, their culture. And I think so far they’ve done a really great job educating them about the history of Israel… on the challenges they are likely to face, and how to deal with them; when to speak up, when to be quiet; and to maintain their pride in being Jewish.”
By Rachel Retter
Rachel Retter is a former Jewish Link summer intern and a proud Jewish Link contributor.
