Rutgers Hillel Strategy to Defeat Hate Week

Dear supporters of Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement, 

This is an important month for Israel on campus and I want to share an update on what is happening at Rutgers:

On select college campuses across North America there is an annual week devoted to spreading hatred towards the Jewish state. It goes by the name “Israel Apartheid Week,” but a more accurate moniker would be “Hate Week.” The staff and student leaders of the Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement (RHCIE) developed a plan that we call “Defeat Hate Week.”  Our strategy is threefold: (1) Prepare the community by providing knowledge (2) redirect attention from anti-Israel events and 3) craft smart pro-Israel messages based on the latest research.

Prepare the community.

This was done in several ways:

Rutgers students meet with Congresswoman Shelley Berkley

• Student leaders met with Congresswoman Shelley Berkley to learn more about the American-Israeli alliance.

• Multiple showings of the film Crossing The Line at various venues on campus
• Delegation of student leaders and RHCIE staff attended the Talk Israel Weekend Retreat, sponsored by CRC and Israel Program Center of UJC MetroWest, the David Project and the RHCIE.
• RHCIE leadership training meetings.

Redirect attention. 

By providing compelling programs at the same time, we redirect attention toward pro-Israel events.   

• Guess Who? Israelis, the Melting Pot of the Middle East. Monday Feb. 27, over 60 students attended this standing room only event at Hillel last night.

• Ethiopia to Israel: Operation Moses Firsthand. An Ethiopian Israeli who was rescued during Operation Moses tells of his experiences in both Ethiopia and Israel and talks about the status of Ethiopians as a minority in Israel. Wed Feb. 29

• Israel and America: The Culture of Friendship, sponsored by RIPAC. Thursday March 1
• Tabling for Peace: The pro-Israel community at Rutgers will promote the quest of Israelis for peace, in front of Brower commons, at the center of the New Brunswick campus. All Day Thursday March 

Smart Messaging

Materials conveying smart, consistent pro-Israel messages will be passed out and utilized all week. Message materials come from:

• StandWithUs
• The David Project
• Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement

 learn more about Rutgers' Israel advocacy:

1. facebook fan page. Link
2. Twitter. Link
3. Blog. Link