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Latest from J Street U 
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Welcome Back to Campus!
Over winter break, the student board met in D.C. to develop new ways for you to get involved. Check out the many exciting opportunities below.
Leadership Opportunities
Programming Committee
We are looking for J Street U students to sit on our brand new programming committee. Committee members will generate ideas and give feedback on J Street U programming. Click here to apply.J Street U Bloggers
If you’ve got something to contribute to the discussion about Israel and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, then we want to hear from you. We are looking to hire volunteer bloggers who can commit to blogging once a month. Click here to apply.J Street U Student Board Elections
We will be holding our first ever J Street U board elections at our Summer Leadership Institute from May 27th – 31st at the Pearlstone Retreat Center just outside of Baltimore. Check out the 2010-2011 expanded student board.
Internship Opportunities
NYC Intern
J Street U is seeking an intern for our NYC office to start immediately. Applicants should be prepared to work 10-20 hours a week. To apply please send a cover letter and resume to info@jstreetu.org with “NYC internship” in the subject.J Street U Congressional Internship Program
Want to spend part or all of your summer interning on Capital Hill through J Street U? We will be offering this opportunity to a select number of J Street U activists during summer 2010. Click here to download an application.Other Ways To Get Involved
California Regional Conference
Live on the West Coast and want to meet other students from your area? E-mail elizabet@jstreetu.org if you are interested in attending our first ever regional conference at UCLA on April 11th.J Street U Programming
hether your goal is to build a presence on campus, to open healthy debate and dialogue, or to promote a two-state solution, programming can be an effective tool. Check out our brand new Program Roster for a variety of discussion guides, speakers, performers, films, and more that can help you achieve your goals.Online Forum
Want to engage in open dialogue and debate about Israel share ideas, best practices, and interesting links? E-mail info@jstreetu.org to join our online forum to connect with students from across the country. -
Calling All Bloggers!
J Street U is calling all student bloggers!
If you’ve got something to contribute to the discussion about Israel and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, then we want to hear from you. We are looking to hire volunteer bloggers who can commit to blogging one post a month.
Blog posts can be articles, essays, project/program profiles, interviews with luminary thinkers and frontline activists, reviews, poetry, art, videos or humor pieces. Possible topics could include (but are no means limited to):
• The Pro Israel movement on campus;
• The role of America in the Middle East;
• Opening up the debate on campus;
• Activists on campus;
• The role that dialogue can play;
• Pressing for peace negotiations;
• The two state solution;How to apply:
Review our Blogging Policy. Send a sample blog to tammy@jstreetu.org. Please note that the deadline for application for the first cohort of bloggers is February 15, 2009.Please write for a general audience, employing standard journalistic conventions.
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MIDDLEBURY CAMPUS – Tragedy of the past decade, tentative hope of the next
I was 11 years old, and it was my first time back to Israel since my family had left when I was five. We decided to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and I clearly remember being surprised by how many soldiers there were, by the flood of olive drab around the ancient, cool sandstone. I asked my parents about the soldiers and they shrugged and responded, “That’s just how it is in Israel.” It was 11 a.m., and the date was Sept. 28, 2000. It was the day I became conscious of the political reality that gripped my birthplace, and it was also the day that the Second Intifada began.
I began my personal struggle to understand and make sense of Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians in what was arguably the worst decade in the history of the conflict. True, they have all been pretty bad, but what made this past decade so painful was that it followed the 1990s and its glow of optimism, potential and hope shattered by violence and despair. But, that confusing September day at the Wall prompted me to begin to learn more and to care more. My hopes for peace were born right about when much of the world’s died.
The past decade was marred by the blood and brutality of military raids and suicide bombs, by men with guns and murdered infants, by hopelessness and fury. The past decade was torn by war: war with the Palestinians, war with Hizballah, threats of war with Syria and talks of war with Iran, seemingly incessant war culminating in the horrors of the Gaza crisis one year ago. The past decade was one of desperate half-fixes, of incomplete withdrawals, of separation barriers and of flawed reliance on the fake panacea of democratic elections.
The past decade was one of international polarization, of increased talking and decreased listening, of formulas of right and wrong, at fault and blameless. The past decade was one of American complacency, of Israeli repression, of Palestinian radicalization. The past decade was one of misery and of tragedy. And yet I refuse to believe that “that’s just how it is in Israel.” Or in Palestine. Or in our world.
Continue reading Morrie’s op-ed at The Middlebury Campus
Tags: Middlebury College
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Gaza Students Need Our Help
Since 2000, Israel has banned young Gazans from studying at West Bank universities. There are few educational institutions in Gaza itself, and for many, West Bank universities are the only option.
As students, we have a unique voice to add to this debate — and now, due to a few courageous members of Congress, we have a way to make an impact. A letter is currently circulating in Congress asking Secretary of State Clinton to urge the Israeli government to end the ban on student travel from Gaza to the West Bank.
Of course Israel must take the necessary precautions to ensure that its citizens are safe and secure – but these students are not threats to Israel’s security. They simply want a shot at a good education and a better life. What’s better for Israel’s future – and the fight against extremism – than well-educated Palestinian leaders?
Click here to see the letter that is circulating in Congress.
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Invest in Two States This Holiday Season
Hannukah – the Jewish festival of lights – will be celebrated from December 11-18. The miracle of Hannukah – that olive oil which was supposed to last only one night burned for eight – brought hope and a new beginning to people in distress.
But we can’t wait for a miracle to bring about peace and prosperity in the Middle East. We’ll have to take matters into our own hands – to bring hope to Israelis, Palestinians, and the people of the region.
Below are some suggestions for how you can use the holiday season to spread our “Invest, Don’t Divest” message to your campus.
Plan a Hannukah party using fair trade olive oil, jointly produced from Palestinian and Israeli groves. Is there already a party planned on your campus? Encourage your Hillel to do the same.
Use our Hannukah party resources to explore the need for, and challenge, of economic investment on a deeper level.
And don’t forget to check out our “Invest, Don’t Divest” campaign and help us reach our goal of recruiting 500 students like you by the end of the semester to pitch in $2 for 2 States. Spread the word to anyone you know who wants to support economic stability for all Israelis and Palestinians.
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COLUMBIA SPECTATOR – Positively J Street
Following a recent event with J Street director Jeremy Ben-Ami at the Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Barnard Senior Jill Marcellus penned this brilliant piece about how we’re helping her find a home in her campus Israel debate.
Columbia made me a self-loathing Jew. Living here, I didn’t believe any less in my self-worth, the worth of Jewish people in general, or the right of Israel to exist as a nation. But I also didn’t believe in spitting on basic human rights—and that, I was told, made me a self-loathing Jew.
On this extremist campus, those were my choices: right-wing hawk or progressive turncoat, hate myself or hate others. I disengaged, ignored both the tenure witch hunts and vitriolic anti-Israel rallies, and opted for a Jewish identity that could be Netflixed.˜ When Woody Allen seemed like its paragon of sanity, I ditched the American Jewish culture.
Last Sunday, thank heaven above and Washington, D.C below, I found the moderate Jewish voice of reason.
Tags: American Jewish Community, Columbia University, J Street, J Street U Press Coverage
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Invest, Don’t Divest.
The recent conference at Hampshire College promoted the misguided Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. This movement is spreading like wildfire on campuses across the country and we’re all going to get burned unless we speak out now.
We should be investing – not divesting – in our campus debate, in our communities and in the people who will bring about change in the region.
Join our “Invest, Don’t Divest” campaign to raise money for two organizations — LendforPeace.org, a Palestinian microfinance organization set up by students like us, and The Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development, which promotes Jewish-Arab Economic Cooperation in Israel.
We’re setting a goal of recruiting 500 students like you by the end of the semester to pitch in $2 each (2 bucks for 2 states!).
Investing in economic stability and cooperation will help set the context for a sustainable peace, but it won’t lead to a two state solution in and of itself. That’s why we are also asking you to invest in this issue in one or more of the following ways:
• Set up a table on campus and ask students to donate $2 for 2 states. Don’t forget to bring a sign-up sheet and a flyer for your next meeting.
• Write an op-ed to your campus paper about why we need to invest, not divest, in our campus debate, in our communities and in the people who will bring about change in the region. Use our talking points to assist you as you write.
• Invest in your campus debate and community. Check out our brand new programs we’ve put together to help you facilitate a discussion about why a broad debate is important on campus.
• Turn a push for divestment into a drive for socially responsible investment. Check out Mejdi to learn about socially responsible Israeli and Palestinian companies.
• Enter our t-shirt design contest. If you win, we will order t-shirts from Israeli and Palestinian companies with your design, for students to sell on their campuses. Submit your design via email – info@jstreetu.org – by Wed, November 25th to be considered for the contest!
• Host an Invest in Two States During the Holiday Season event on your campus.