Advocacy meeting inspires

ROXIE LEWIN

I was fortunate to attend the third annual Stand With Us (SWU) Israel in Focus conference in Los Angeles last month. Having attended the past two as well, I can honestly attest that they just keep getting better each year.

This year's conference hosted 15 students from Canadian campuses, including McGill University, Concordia University, University of Windsor, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario and Carleton University, and representatives from the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS).

The conference allowed 150 leaders in Israel advocacy from Canada, the United States and, this year, Australia, to assemble a meeting-of-the-minds to brainstorm creative national initiatives for their respective countries. The conference provided an excellent opportunity to network with our peers and hold productive face-to-face meetings; an opportunity we would not have otherwise had.

We were also privileged to hear from high-calibre speakers, including communications expert Neil Lazarus (Awesome Seminars); Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, who covers the West Bank and Gaza for the Jerusalem Post; military strategist Elliot Chodoff; director of Palestinian Media Watch Itamar Marcus; SWU director of education-research Roberta Seid; and Israel Defence Forces Sgt. Benjamin Anthony.

I applied for the SWU Emerson Fellowship after attending the Israel in Focus conference in 2008. I was impressed by the quality of the speakers and the organization of the weekend, and the fellowship seemed like an excellent opportunity to broaden my horizons. Now in its third year, the SWU Emerson Fellowship selects and trains 38 student leaders from campuses across the United States and Canada to run Israel education events and counter anti-Israel rhetoric on campus. I am also a vice-president of Israel on Campus and on the board of the CFJS.

Stand With Us resources and campus coordinators helped me during times of crisis, when countering anti-Israel speakers, and it has provided financial support for proactive programming and a network through which to share ideas.

Last September, Israel on Campus hosted a board-training seminar for 20 student leaders from the various Israel groups at UVic, UBC and Simon Frasier University. Co-sponsored by SWU and Vancouver Hillel, programs ranged from the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, to debates on the moral code of the IDF, and on Israeli society and Israeli identity. SWU West Coast campus coordinator Ron Furman attended and reviewed programming ideas and strategies. The students left feeling empowered.

UVic's Israel on Campus is currently organizing A Feast in the Middle East, an evening of Israeli culture. In spring, we are planning IFest, a weeklong celebration of Israeli culture and identity. It will include a soldier panel, speakers, hummus and pita, and a fundraiser for the Save a Child's Heart organization. These programs are designed to engage the campus community in education-based programming, thereby facilitating a productive dialogue about the situation in the Middle East – programming that is crucial, as it seeks to educate students about the issues before they are otherwise misinformed.

Roxie Lewin, class of 2012 at the University of Victoria, is a Stand With Us Emerson fellow and a vice-president of Israel on Campus and Tzedeck chair of the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students.

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