for college students by college students
Jan. 26. 2017/ 28 Tevet 5777
VOLUME 8, NO. 1
Meet Michigan SWU Fellows
T
Israel
Advocacy
StandWithUs
training helps bring
Israel in focus for
Jewish, non-Jewish
students.
Allison Egrin and Sebastian Parra,
StandWithUs Central Region campus
coordinator, at Handprints4Peace
at Grand Valley State University
Allison Egrin } jewish@edu writer
I
became a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow
because I wanted to educate my fellow
students about what it means to support
Israel and to tell its story like no one had
related it to them before. I wanted to show
that we are more than the horrible images of
war portrayed in the media.
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international
Israel education nonprofit based in Los
Angeles that supports people around the
world who want to educate their campuses
and communities about Israel.
Seeing students engaged and interested
motivates me to continue advocating. I feel
rewarded when I see non-Jewish students
learning about Israel and developing an
interest and affinity toward my ancient
homeland.
I would not know how to accomplish this
strategically and effectively without the train-
ing I received at the StandWithUs Emerson
conference in August. They taught us, includ-
ing the three other Michigan fellows, skills
to outreach, educate and engage students
regarding the country I love.
Founded in 2007, the Fellowship selects
and trains 75 student leaders from 75 North
American universities to educate about Israel
on their campuses and to confront anti-Israel
rhetoric.
I believe our work on campus would be
futile if we didn’t reach out to the non-
Jewish community, which is why for my first
event, Handprints4Peace, I reached out to
any student who passed by to show their
support for coexistence and peace in the
Middle East.
We created a white canvas where students
could create a mural with their handprints.
40
January 26 • 2017
jn
he state’s four StandWithUs Emerson
Fellows are led by Andrew Moss,
Midwest campus liaison, and Sebastian
Parra, new Central Region campus coordina-
tor, who is Christian.
Elana Werblin/Michigan State
University: “My campus is fairly apathetic.
The students are unsure how to defend
Israel. I became a StandWithUs Emerson
Andrew Moss
Fellow to learn better ways of advocating
for Israel and also how to impart that to the
students.
“One big project for me is ‘Israel Take 5, Get Wise.’ MSU’s
Israel fellow, Rotem Raiter, and I will be at different coffee
shops and ice cream places on and off campus each week and
talk about Israel to people as they grab a free coffee or ice
cream. Each week will be a different subject — Israeli sports,
culture or politics.
“I’m also planning a Middle Eastern food event with the
Arab Student Association and another where people can make
schnitzel and falafel at Hillel. The biggest event is the Israel
Fest in November.”
Mariel Setton/University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: “This is a
big campus with a lot of different opinions about Israel and
the Middle East. Many students are uneducated about Israel;
and the anti-Israel groups, including Students for Justice in
Palestine, are very active. I became a StandWithUs Emerson
Fellow to learn how to confront anti-Israel actions and how to
motivate students to join me.
“I have reached out to non-Jews on campus to educate them
about Israel. I ran a Shabbat dinner with the Christian Business
Initiative and Students as Living Testimonies, and I am working
with pro-Israel Christian students to create a
Christians United for Israel group on campus.”
Shira Starr/Eastern Michigan University: “I
will be running a few fun Israel informa-
tional sessions including a Jeopardy game
and an Israel 101 session. Also, together with
Hillel and the David Project, I will bring sever-
al strong Israeli woman to speak about diver-
sity within Israel’s society.
“I will also show Jerusalem University’s
Shira Starr
movie Beneath The Helmet, which is about life
as an Israeli soldier. I am very excited for this
year’s programs and to be promoting Israel across campus!” @
It was a huge success and an incredible
moment for me, as I was inspired to see my
peers engage with Israel in a positive outlet.
I had low expectations and some hesitancy
about student reactions going into it, but
a ton of students were excited to dip their
hands in some paint for peace. We saw
students of all backgrounds showing their
appreciation for what we were doing, and
we were even able to strike some meaning-
ful conversations about peace, Israel and the
conflict. The event was co-sponsored by Hillel
Campus Alliance of Michigan.
This year, I started a new club at my univer-
sity called Peace by Piece (Palestinian-Israeli
Effective Change through Education). A
close friend, Victor, is a Palestinian-American.
Together we strive to educate students on
both the Palestinian and Israeli narrative to
show that education is the path for peace.
Bias, hatred and silence from either side is an
obstacle towards peace.
We plan on hosting events, bringing in
speakers, arranging fundraisers and encour-
aging dialogue while finding common
ground.
The first event that we are presenting in
February is StandWithUs’ Israeli Soldiers Tour,
where two reserve duty Israeli soldiers share
their personal experiences in the IDF, discuss
their backgrounds, life in Israel and answer
questions. They put a "human face" on the
IDF uniform.
For more about Peace by Piece,
visit https://www.facebook.com/
PeaceByPieceGVSU/?fref=ts. @
Allison Egrin is the StandWithUs Emerson Fellow 2016-17
and Hillel Vice President at Grand Valley State University.
Mariel Setton, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor; Sebastian Parra, StandWithUs Central
Region campus coordinator; Allison Egrin,
Grand Valley State University; and Elana
Werblin, Michigan State University