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Making Israel Important on Campus
September 05, 2001Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friend
 In a Tucson art gallery, 1980s kitsch is on the wall. Students enjoy Israeli music by the Moshav band, as belly dancers twirl around them. Laughs are courtesy of comedian Joel Chasnoff, a former student activist and oleh. Pita, babaganoush, Bedouin tea are among a spread of Middle-Eastern food that covers tables all around. It's an Israeli sensory overload, with the goal of celebrating Israel on campus.
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and Hadassah's Hamagshimim group have joined together to make engaging, educational Israel programs possible. Hamagshimim helps support Hillel Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps fellows on nine campuses. JCSC fellows, recent graduates trained to encourage students to participate in Jewish campus life and create Jewish events, spearhead the programming on campus.
"The partnership has given me the ability to really to do stuff that's exciting for students and to go a step further educationally," explained Abby Gerstein, JCSC-Hamagashimim Fellow at the University of Arizona. "We are able to really get the voice out. Students love it."
Amid today's climate in the Middle East, Israel programming has become extremely important on the college campus. On the nine partnership campuses, fellows concentrate on Israel and Hamagshimim-related events. In return, Hamagshimim has invested $50,000 in Hillel's Steinhardt JCSC program, $2,500 of additional program funding for Israel and Zionism programming, as well as $1,000 for a major Israel-related event per campus.
All nine Hamagshimim fellows have extensive background in Israel, from spending a semester or year abroad, to living there for a number of years. In addition to the customary six-day JCSC training at Hillel's Charles Schusterman International Student Leaders Assembly, Hamagshimim fellows spend an extra day in New York, learning about tools available from Hadassah and Hamagshimim, including program ideas and strategies for coping with challenges.
"There is a good mix of programs," said Brian Jaffee, director of Hamagshimim. "The obvious hurdle is how are we going to get students interested in Israel-related isssues?"
Elana Hammerman, senior Steinhardt JCSC fellow at University of Southern California, explained that through the partnership, she was able to include Israel in much more of her programs. Among the events throughout the year, Hammerman planned a Solidarity with Israel/Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Service, a debate before the Israeli elections, and an Israel Defense Forces – Behind the Scenes program.
"The ideas I got from Hamagshimim are things I would have never thought of," said Hammerman. USC Hillel hosts three to four Israel-related programs a semester. "Our sign of success was that the Israeli elections debate attracted not only Jewish students, but Arab students as well."
In addition to Israel-related programming, the JCSC fellows help Hamagshimim groups start on campus. Many campuses have Hamagshimim student interns who help coordinate students interested in helping develop programs.
University of Arizona's Gerstein, who lived in Israel for four years, is in her second year as a Hamgshimim Fellow. In the coming school year, she is facilitating an Israel film festival and a close working relationship with the Israel Embassy, with help from the student group. For the U of A Hillel welcome back barbecue, students built a styrophone Western Wall in which to place prayer notes, and this winter's birthright israel participants will take them to the real Kotel in Jerusalem.
"The nine Hillel-Hadassah-Hamagshimim fellows will serve as leaders for the other 80-plus JCSC fellows in planning important Israel programs," said Melanie Sasson, the Jan Mitchell assistant director of Hillel's Center for Jewish Engagement. "They are the liaisons between the Corps and Hamagshimim. It's an important partnership that's having an impact on Israel campus programming nationwide."
The nine partnership campuses are: University of Southern California; California State University, Northridge; University of Arizona; University of Wisconsin; University of Georgia; University of Florida; George Washington University; University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and SUNY Albany.
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