Jewish students plan to use this weekend’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions conference as an opportunity to spread awareness about Israel.
Though many Jewish students see the views of the BDS conference against Israel as inflammatory, they do not plan to respond in a hostile manner.
Friday evening, when the conference is set to kick off, Penn Hillel and other students will have already begun their own programs to “educate and engage with students about Israel,” said College sophomore and Hillel’s Israel Sector Intern Josh Cooper, who is helping to coordinate some of the programs.
However, the activities are not meant to be a “direct response to the BDS conference,” Cooper said. “We don’t want to make [our response] about who can ask the angrier questions, or who can make the louder point.”
On Thursday, Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz will deliver a lecture — titled “Why Israel Matters to You, Me, and Penn” — at the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts. Hillel serves as one of the event’s many sponsors, and over 750 members of the Penn and Philadelphia communities are expected to attend the public lecture, according to Cooper.
The event will comprise of a keynote speech followed by a question-and-answer session. A small dinner reception will precede the lecture, giving campus leaders an opportunity to speak personally with Dershowitz.
Though Dershowitz criticized BDS initiatives as being “far too broad a tactic to be used both fairly and morally,” he still encouraged an open-minded discussion.
“Let’s have a conversation,” he said. “Let’s see if we can change each other’s minds.”
Following the lecture Thursday night, Hillel will sponsor an “Invest in Israel” party at Smokey Joe’s on 40th street. The party will feature an open bar and accept donations to onefamily.org, a charity providing aid to war refugees in Israel and other countries.
College senior Sam Schear, one of the three students coordinating the party, said, “we want to harness that momentum [after Dershowitz’s lecture] and show that we are Jews, we are Americans, we are Penn students.”
“Our goal is to show solidarity for Israel and for democracy when BDS shows its ugly face on campus,” he said. “And [to] have a great time at Smoke’s.”
Additionally, several Jewish students on campus will host small dinner discussions as part of “Israel Across Penn,” an event also hosted by Hillel.
Students will volunteer to serve as dinner hosts and invite a group of friends and acquaintances to have small, intimate dinners and converse about Israel. As of Tuesday, 50 meals have already been coordinated, with a total of 769 registered attendants. Hillel will also host discussions and meals.
The participants will discuss a wide range of subjects, including issues relevant to Israel’s religious, cultural and political character. However, the ultimate objective is to speak about Israel positively, said College sophomore Ellie Stoller, who will be hosting a dinner.
“Nobody is going to come and try to start a conflict, no one is going to be close-minded,” she said.
Stoller and her roommate invited 12 people to a lounge in Rodin College House. Stoller believes that all of her guests will bring diverse and personal perspectives to the table.
However, not all of the discussions will center on politics. Stoller said her decision to host a dinner resulted not from a desire to engage politically in the BDS debate, but rather to participate in the discussion “as a Jew on campus.”
Cooper echoed Stoller’s sentiments, emphasizing that “there’s no agenda behind these meals.”
College sophomore and a member of Penn Israel Public Affairs Committee, Brian Mund said the conference is “an absolute gift for the pro-Israel community.”
“The uprising of support for the Penn administration, for closer ties with Israel — it lies unspoken among the student body,” added Mund, a Daily Pennsylvanian contributing writer.
“The conference coming here sort of wakes the sleeping giant in the campus and pro-Israel community,” he added.
The Penn Israel Public Affairs Committee drafted an open letter to the University administration, requesting the University to strengthen their ties with Israel.
It is also circulating an online petition that has garnered over 500 signatures as of Tuesday.
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