UCI on TwitterI am gravely concerned regarding a forthcoming event by Hillel and J Street on the Pennsylvania University campus. On Feb. 4, J Street will broadcast live from the university to 24 U.S. colleges across the country, as well as synagogues and Jewish community centers.
It is a travesty that such a strong anti-Israel message should be received by a vulnerable group of Hillel Jewish youth who may be uninformed about Middle East issues. This could not happen if national Jewish organizations were providing a strong factually accurate educational hasbara program. It is past time for them to begin. And B'nai B'rith should be the first to accomplish this mission.
I am often asked, “Where are the Jewish voices that are expected to be heard loud and clear explaining and supporting Israel's positions?” How disheartening to learn that instead of supporting Israel the venerable B'nai-B'rith-sponsored Hillel has actually agreed to provide a platform for the new controversial J Street organization to “launch a new grassroots campaign in the Philadelphia area” on February 4.
The Unity Coalition for Israel (UCI) joins forces with the American Israel Action Coalition (AIAC) an issue-oriented organization based in Israel where 250,000 Americans live. UCI joins AIAC in calling for Hillel's “Foundation for Jewish Campus Life” to rescind their invitation extended to Jeremy Ben Ami, Executive Director of J Street, to speak at and broadcast from the University of Pennsylvania campus next week.
The event is to take place in Steinhardt Hall, the Hillel building at the University of Pennsylvania, thereby subtly lending a Hillel stamp of approval on their policies. The J Street announcement is promoting the event as a “call to action” for their agenda. This showcase will turn around B'nai B'rith's pro-Israel Zionist history and defy common sense by encouraging Jewish students to hear and absorb the J Street doctrine that mirrors Palestinian propaganda.
J Street backs negotiations with the Hamas terrorist organization and endorses the Goldstone Report accusing Israel of war crimes in the war against Hamas terror last year. It has supported the PA's demand for a total, unlimited building freeze in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and supports dividing Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, including the neighborhoods containing Judaism's holiest sites, the Western Wall (Kotel) and the Temple Mount. On its website It openly refers to the 300,000 Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria as “an obstacle to peace” and refers to the “disputed” territories as the “occupied territories.” During the defensive Operation Cast Lead which Israel finally waged as a response to the 10,000 Hamas rocket attacks launched from Gaza on Israeli civilians, J Street called for an immediate end to Israel's defensive action.
Ambassador to the US from Israel, Michael Oren, the brilliant historian, refused to speak at the lobby group's convention late last year. He explained that “J Street constantly opposes the Israeli government and calls for strong American pressure on Israel… without the real attention to the terrorist policies of both Hamas and Fatah that we all need to more squarely confront if there is ever to be any real progress made in the Middle East.”
Hillel will be doing a great disservice to the Jewish community as a whole, which is trying desperately to promote the positive cause of Israel against an array of 22 well-financed Arab states. Jewish university students should not become “the enemy within” and should not be encouraged to spread anti-Israel propaganda by aligning themselves with J Street.
It will be a perversion of the message that should be received by young Jewish students, who represent both Israel's and America's best hopes for the future survival of Israel, and indeed of all western civilization.
Esther Levens is Founder and CEO of the Unity Coalition for Israel.
Tags: Anti-semitism , Black September, Chicago, Connecting the Dots, Financial Support , Gaza Conflict , Global Radical Islam , Human Rights , Islamic Religion and Violence , Israeli Activism , Israeli Politics , Palestinian Terror State , Propaganda - education , Security and Defense , Shariah Law , Supporters and Partners, Terrorist Activities , UN , UNRWA , US Politics
Yes… Yes… Yes… Esther Levens once again has trumped the deceptive plans of an anti-Israel organization and called for Hillel to take a stand to support Israel instead of support those who fully intend to destroy the homeland of Jews and the very roots of the Christian faith. Thanks, Esther, for being on the front lines and for being available to help Hillel see the truth of what lies ahead. Judith Swisher
As an contributor to Hillel I am amazed that Hillel would Sponsor J Street. That Organization is so outwardly and openly anti-semitic. That is NOT what I donate to Hillel for. I shall make sure from now on who gets and how my tzedaka is used.