Israel mayors, WZO meet US students to learn about campus challenges

Israeli mayors and representatives from the World Zionist Organization (WZO) met with Jewish and pro-Israel students in New York City on Sunday morning to discuss the challenges facing the young activists on campus.

World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel and mayors from towns such as Hatzor Haglilit, Karnei Shomron, Hadera, Yerucham, and Tel Mond heard from activists from Students Supporting Israel (SSI) before participating in the city’s annual Israel Day Parade.

“How students have been treated is disgusting,” SSI campus director Rebekah Mann told the Israeli delegation.

University of Illinois student Anna Warshay said that the hateful rhetoric her peers had been experiencing emanated from the top of the institutions down to the students, with professors “teaching antisemitism” in class. These professors often have tenure and can’t be fired, Warshay said. She gave the example of the assignment of a paper that blamed Palestinian domestic violence on the Israeli administration of the West Bank. Warshay urged the Israeli leaders for the government to speak to university and college heads about the situation.

Students fight institutional antisemitism 

One way in which students said that they had been addressing institutional antisemitism was through the passing of student government legislation that defines and explains antisemitism so that it can be then addressed. SSI University of Iowa head Kendall Michaels told the mayors how she had led a campaign at her university for the student government to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Certain factions didn't favor the inclusion of examples of antisemitism that touched on Israel, so she said that she had partnered and worked with other student groups to pass the legislation.

Eden Litvin, who had revived and led SSI at Pace University, said that Israeli officials should provide more up-to-date information about current events so that students could counter anti-Israel arguments faced on campus. In the wake of the October 7 massacre, Litvin said that SSI had created an online document that they updated as events unfolded, but much of the information was obtained from personal connections.

SSI founder Ilan Sinelnikov said that while Jewish students were outnumbered by extremists who broke the law on campus, pro-Israel activists would continue to fight lies and operate on the side of the law. At every campus with SSI, Sinelnikov said that "there will be advocates for Israel."

Hagoel said that the students on campus faced a pre-planned campaign that had been activated on October 7 by anti-Israel elements. The anti-Israel students engaging in what was "trendy" mostly did not know "what a Jew is, don’t know where Israel is, don’t know which river or sea they’re talking about."

“I’d like to thank SSI and all the students, you are heroes,” said Hagoel. “You’re the Iron Dome of Israel for advocacy.”