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for college students by college students
November 20, 2014 / 27 Cheshvan 5775
VOLUME 5, NO. 4
Wolverines
For Israel
U-M pro-Israel student
groups led successful
advocacy event on Diag.
Alex Adler and Erica Mindel }
jewish@edu writers
hen it comes to Israel on college
campuses, outside communities
typically perceive campuses as
hostile, polarized environments. BDS, mock evic-
tion notices and protests are quick to attract
widespread media attention. What news outlets
often overlook, though, are all of the positive
and proactive events put on by the pro-Israel
students.
After a challenging summer of turmoil and
controversy with the war in Gaza, we —
leaders of pro-Israel student groups at the Uni-
versity of Michigan — came into this semester
with a sense of urgency, intent on refraining the
conversations surrounding Israel on our campus.
What would a unifying response look like? How
would we show our campus that the pro-Israel
community remains strong after such a difficult
summer?
Countless hours of collaboration and
brainstorming sessions later, we agreed that
a tangible, public display of pro-Israel support
would be the best way to show our solidarity
with Israel here at U-M.
Through the financial support of the Israel on
Campus Coalition, our two groups —
I-LEAD (Israel-Leadership Education Advocacy
Dialogue) and AMI (the American Movement
for Israel) — designed, ordered and distributed
more than 450 shirts to the broader pro-Israel
community. On Sept. 19, under the unified
umbrella of Wolverines for Israel, hundreds of
students proudly wore their shirts showing their
support for Israel.
The day culminated with a gathering at the
Diag, the center of campus. The Diag, a sea
of blue and white, represented the cohesive-
ness and strength of our pro-Israel community.
Constructive conversations between students
of different backgrounds took place, as curious
students sought to learn more.
To us and to the hundreds of students wear-
ing them, these shirts served as much more than
W
Wolverines on page 31
30
november 20 • 2014
JIM
Top: Freshman Lauren Yellen, Farmington Hills; senior Noah Linsk, Ann Arbor;
seniors Babs Albritton and Tony Capodilupo, both of Marquette; and junior
Justin Ozrovitz, Berkley. Bottom: freshman Rebecca Kaufman, West Bloomfield and
senior Mike Metcalf, Lansing.
Students in Upper Peninsula work together with Hillel
and Ishpeming temple to enhance Jewish life.
Lauren Yellen } jewish@edu writer
packed everything I owned in a U-haul trailer and
headed eight hours north to Marquette this fall.
Lake Superior has been calling my name ever since
I first visited its shores with Tamarack Camps in
2009.
Being happy has always been my goal in life, so it was
evident that Northern Michigan University was the place
for me to find my true happiness. Whispers of what
Jewish life is like in rural communities have filled my
excited ears ever since I began my quest to define what I
want community to really mean in my life.
I was accepted to NMU in early July of 2013. I was
lucky to get in touch with the Hillel Campus Alliance of
Michigan (HCAM) and, on a snowy day in December,
I joined the HCAM staff on the long trip to Marquette,
allowing myself a first glimpse at the community I would
become a part of.
During this short visit, I met the current key players,
was warmly welcomed by the board of the synagogue and
had my first interactions with Jewish students at NMU.
Thankful for all of the skills and networks I gained
from being extremely involved in Jewish organizations
as a teen, my ease into this community has been super
smooth. There are 13 students who openly identify as
Jewish and want to be active in creating community.
We have hosted a Shabbat dinner and a fall feast during
Sukkot on campus since school started. Many of us are
eager to dedicate time to strengthening the Jewish com-
munity in any way we can.
Our relationships with other groups on campus are
blooming. The Muslim Student Union and the Jewish
Student Union collectively decided to work alongside each
other to enrich lives.
A small but mighty group, together we are no more
than 25 people. As we tackle being the minority religions
on campus, we will begin to form a role as ambassadors
Up North on page 31