|
|
CJP'S LAWYERS & ACCOUNTANTS DINNER | January 25, 2012 Park Plaza Hotel Boston, Massachusetts |
| With over 500 Boston-area lawyers and accountants in attendance, 30 students added their dynamism to CJP's annual Lawyers and Accountants Dinner. The students - alumni of the Taglit-Birthright Israel program, which sends Jewish youth aged 18-26 on a free 10-day tour of Israel - participated in the dinner to share their stories with CJP stakeholders. UMass-Amherst students shared a video they created of their time spent on an Alternative Spring Break trip in Haifa following their Birthright trip. 
|
MIT HUMMUS EXPERIENCE ANNUAL TASTE-OFF | January 19, 2012 MIT Lobby 10 Cambridge, Massachusetts |
MIT Tech / Elizabeth L. Rosen
| Ethan P. Sherbondy ’14, Katharine Schutz ’14, and Leah Alpert ’13 serve various flavors of hummus during the "The Annual Hummus Taste Off" held underneath MIT's famous dome.
Attendants sampled among different hummus creations made by student teams and voted for their favorite. The winning flavor was “Messrs Bentry and Lolpert’s Silk Road Hipster Hummus with Grapefruit Black Tea Infusion.” Afterward, students were able to taste samples from Tribe Hummus, Cedar's, Sabra, JP Licks Hummus Ice Cream, among others. This event was co-sponsored by MIT Hillel, MITSI (MIT Students for Israel), MIT Israeli Students Association, MISTI-Israel, and ASA's-LEF. |
STUDENTS RETURN FROM TAGLIT-BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL | January, 2012 Colleges and Universities Boston, Massachusetts |
| Representing 11 Boston-area campuses, over 500 college students traveled to Israel this winter to partake in their first group tour of the country.
Students hiked up the ancient fortress of Masada, dined in the modern metropolis of Tel Aviv, visited holy sites in Jerusalem, explored nature, and more. If you or someone you know is interested in joining a FREE tour of Israel this summer, pre-register here today! 
|
HARVARD STUDENT DEFENDS ISRAEL | December 3, 2011 Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Harvard Law student Lee Hiromoto '13 penned an op-ed for The Boston Herald about Israel's respect for human rights.
Having served in Israel's Defense Forces as a gay soldier, a practice which Israel has permitted since 1993, Hiromoto has first-hand experience with Israel's treatment of minority groups. 
|
THE ROLE OF
| November 17, 2011 Boston University Boston, Massachusetts |
| 70 students, including Birthright Israel alumni and students from the Political Science department, came to hear a talk by Danny Yatom, the former Director of the Mossad.
The Mossad is Israel's Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations. The Mossad collects information vital for the safety of Israelis, and acts when necessary to take out threats. Some of the Mossad's more famous alleged operations include the capture of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann from Argentina, the destruction of a French plant where material for an Iraqi nuclear reactor was being assembled, and acquiring a Soviet MiG fighter jet and loaning it to the U.S. Yatom spoke about the Arab Spring and the threat of a nuclear-armed Iranian regime. He discussed what these developments mean for the Middle East in general, and Israel specifically, and speculated as to how Israel may react. |
THE BANALITY
| November 17, 2011 Emerson College Boston, Massachusetts |
| Israeli playwright Savyon Liebrecht's The Banality of Love takes the audience on a journey into the complex relationship between philosophers Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger, from their first encounter as student and teacher in 1924 to their meeting after the Holocaust in 1950.
The American premiere of The Banality of Love by Savyon Liebrecht was held on November 17th at Emerson College’s Bill Bordy Theater and on November 20th at the Goethe Institut Boston. The Emerson College performance was followed by a panel discussion featuring Emerson Performing Arts Professor Craig Mathers, Emerson Communications Studies Professor Pablo Muchnik, and Northeastern’s Holocaust and Media Professor and former Boston American Jewish Committee Executive Director Larry Lowenthal. The event was sponsored by the Israel Campus Roundtable, in association with the Consulate General of Israel to New England and Emerson Hillel. 
|
A NIGHT
| November 17, 2011 Student Union Ballroom University of Massachusetts-Amherst |
The Jewish Student Union at UMass-Amherst recently partied as they would in Tel Aviv: with a night of fun, good music, entertaining personalities, glow sticks, and dancing all night long. Over 500 students brought some style to the Student Union Ballroom! Additionally, students learned about study abroad programs in Tel Aviv. 
| 
|
MURAL ADDS TO
| November 6 - 11, 2011 Wellesley College Wellesley, Massachusetts |
| Wellesley College Hillel had the unique pleasure of hosting artist Diana Gilon, who led students in painting a mural which represented the variety of cultural affiliations on campus. This multicultural mural painting project brought dynamism and energy to the Wellesley College campus. The project was successful in that it attracted people of many different backgrounds to paint a piece of art that will soon be on display on campus. After brainstorming about thematic concepts for the mural, the painting took one week to complete. 
|
STUDENT OP-ED
| November 10, 2011 Emerson College Boston, Massachusetts |
| 
|
VISITING HOST OF ISRAELI BIG BROTHER TV SHOW A HIT IN BOSTON & ISRAEL | November 5 - 7, 2011 All over Boston Boston, Massachusetts |
Israel's Channel 2 covered Azar's Boston visit
| Assi Azar, the host of Israel's "Big Brother" TV show, visited Boston in November for the American debut of his documentary, "Mom and Dad: I Have Something to Tell You."
The film details his journey as a gay man in the media, with specific emphasis on the impact that coming out as a gay person has on parents. Azar interviewed his parents, along with other Israelis and their families, for the project. Throughout his time in Boston, Azar showcased his film with the Boston LGBT Film Festival at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, as well as at Gann Academy in Waltham, and at Boston University and Emerson College in Boston. |
STUDENTS CREATE
| October 22 - 29, 2011 MIT Student Center Steps Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| What are the colors and symbols of peace? When artist Diana Gilon meets with college students, she poses this question as they together dream up ideas for school murals. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, students designed a mural of the university’s famous dome, its columns decorated with crosses, yin yangs, stars and moons and Jewish stars, and its top filled with names of leaders in science and technology, from an Israeli instant messaging company to an ancient Persian mathematician. The mural, which now hangs in the Religious Activities Center, reads, “Disciples of the wise bring peace to the world. These beacons of technology are our paths to peace.” Ms. Gilon completed an artist residency in Israel in 2004, ended up making aliyah and marrying an Israeli. The couple returned to the United States last year for Gilon’s husband to study at Columbia University. |
| 
|
CELEBRATING ISRAELI CULTURE ON THE STAGE | October 20, 2011 Emerson College Boston, Massachusetts |
| 
Producing Artistic Director and Emerson College Student, Guy Ben-Aharon
|
A MODERN
| October 19, 2011 Harvard Graduate School of Design Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Student participants from the Harvard Graduate School of Design had a few weeks to propose an innovative design for a temporary pavilion that conformed with all the traditional rules of a kosher sukkah. A sukkah is a temporary dwelling in which Jews eat dinner during the week of Sukkot each autumn, to commemorate the fragile conditions upon which the Israelites traveled from Egypt to Israel.
The contest was won by Tian Ren, Nick Gu, and Patchara Wongboosin. Their concept was to emulate the journey of the ancient Israelites from the bondage of Egypt to freedom. The entry of the sukkah is a narrow ramp that one must journey through to ascend to the main gathering space. An interesting aspect of the winning design was the utilization of cutting edge design methods to generate the form of the sukkah. The design was created using parametric software that allowed the designers to vary the cross section over the length of the sukkah. Jurg Conzett, a Switzerland-based structural engineer who is guest lecturing at the school for the fall semester, consulted with the team on the project. The completed sukkah was up for three weeks, during which time it received a lot of use from students, faculty, and local community members. An inaugural sukkah party was held during the holiday that explained the concept of sukkah and allowed the design school community to view the finished product while enjoying falafel and sample Israeli wine. JewSD, the official Jewish student group of the GSD, co- sponsored the contest with Harvard Hillel and CJP. |
| 
|
STUDENTS HOST
| October 17, 2011 Brown University Providence, Rhode Island |
| The Brown University Democrats and Brown University Students for Israel hosted a talk by U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA). Frank called Israel "one of the most democratic centers in the world," referring to the only liberal democracy in the Middle East, and praised this fact, given that Israel is "always under attack." Frank also spoke of his support for repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" U.S. military ban on gay soldiers, referring to Israel's acceptance of gay soldiers since 1993. Speaking of Hamas' rule in Gaza, Frank said that the Islamist government must recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state -- the only Jewish country in the world. |
INTER-CAMPUS STUDENT ACTIVIST BRIEFING | September 26, 2011 Boston University Hillel Boston, Massachusetts |
The Consulate General of Israel to New England, along with CJP and the Israel Campus Roundtable, hosted the Israeli Embassy's Counselor for Public & Academic Affairs in North America, Gali Baram. Baram addressed the Jewish and pro-Israel communities in Boston regarding emerging events in New York, Washington, and the Middle East. Following the briefing, the Israel on Campus Coalition presented national initiatives and action steps. Over 60 students attended this important event, which included a raffle for two tickets to the Boston Jewish Film Festival. | 
|
SALVADOR DALI DEPICTS RETURN TO JEWISH HOMELAND | September 23, 2011 Brown University Providence, Rhode Island |
| Salvador Dali, the famous surrealist painter, was commissioned in 1967 to paint a set of 25 images for the State of Israel's upcoming 20th anniversary.
The Brown University-RISD Hillel Gallery portrayed this collection for public viewing. The set is entitled, "Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel." The gallery viewing received a write-up in The Brown Daily Herald. 
|
BIRTHRIGHT REGISTRATION AT UMASS-AMHERST | September 14, 2011 Campus Center UMass-Amherst Amherst, Massachusetts |
As the school year began, so did Keren Hatkevitz's efforts to push
the Taglit-Birthright Israel program to UMass-Amherst students.
Keren, an Israeli spending the year at the flagship campus of the state university,
was offering Jewish students who had not been to Israel before on an organized trip
the chance to see Israel up-close for 10 days for free.
By the time registration was over, over 70 students signed up to travel
to the Jewish homeland over Winter Break 2011-2012!
the Taglit-Birthright Israel program to UMass-Amherst students.
Keren, an Israeli spending the year at the flagship campus of the state university,
was offering Jewish students who had not been to Israel before on an organized trip
the chance to see Israel up-close for 10 days for free.
By the time registration was over, over 70 students signed up to travel
to the Jewish homeland over Winter Break 2011-2012!
| 
|
CAMPUS GROUPS
| September 13, 2011 The Great Lawn Brandeis University |
| Over 100 students enjoyed an outdoor event co-sponsored by Brandeis Zionist Alliance, Hasbara Fellowships, the International Club, Namaskar (The Association for Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs), and the Brandeis Sephardic Initiative.
Students partook of hookah, snacks, and dance performances by Brandeis' Israeli dance ensemble, B'Yachad. Vice President of BZA, Avi Fuld '14, said, “I think [cultural events] are crucial when trying to reach out and educate the college campus. Often times, students are tired of the political arguments that polarize a campus. We have found, students are a lot more receptive to Israel-related education when we use a cultural lens. No matter what one's political affiliations are, everyone can relate to Israel's rich, thriving culture.” 
|
FINDING OUR VOICES: STANDING UP FOR ISRAEL IN WESTERN MASS. | August 24, 2011 The David Project Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts |
Finding Our Voices: Standing Up For Israel in Western Massachusetts is the story of students at Smith College and Hampshire College standing up for what they believe in.
It represents both the challenges and opportunities the pro-Israel community faces on campus, as well as the power students hold to make a difference. |
BRANDEIS STUDENTS
| June 5, 2011 5th Avenue New York City |
| Over two dozen Brandeis students marched down 5th Avenue in New York City along with thousands of other celebrants.
These students took part in the largest annual parade, which started in 1964, celebrating the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. Notable participants included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), and U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Charles Schumer (D-NY). 
|
