Dina Maiben, chair of the Commission on Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County, is one of the organizers of the Israel advocacy workshops. Photo by Jill Huber
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Fine printJanuary 22, 2008
Young Jewish community members will have the opportunity to arm themselves with the knowledge necessary to combat anti-Israel activities on college campuses. The “In Defense of Israel” advocacy series for local 11th- and 12th-grade students will take place throughout Monmouth County for six sessions from the end of January through March.
Designed to prepare college-bound students to cope with and respond to the anti-Israeli expressions often found on college campuses throughout the country, the workshops will be presented by the Commission on Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County.
“The propaganda machines within many of the Arab and Palestinian territories distort Israel’s role,” said Dina Maiben, CJE chair and director of religious education at Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan. “As a result, Jewish students need to know how to respond when, for example, they hear someone say that the Zionists forced the Arabs out of their homes. If they are armed with the facts, they can use the truth as a weapon when they are exposed to some of these outrageous statements.”
The sessions will also be an opportunity for students from various parts of the community to meet each other, establish new friendships, and work cooperatively on a joint effort, Maiben said.
“This is an Israeli advocacy initiative program that targets a segment of the population that usually doesn’t get assistance — Jewish teens who are about to enter college,” Maiben told NJ Jewish News. “There are anti-Israel activities that take place on many campuses, and groups at some schools nationwide are distributing anti-Zionist propaganda. We hope to give our kids a framework about how to respond and deal effectively with this.”
The workshops are being funded with a $4,000 grant the CJE received from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in New York. The curriculum and design of the workshops were developed by the education directors of five religious schools throughout Monmouth County, Maiben said.
Among the guest speakers will be Rabbi Tovia Singer of Outreach Judaism in New York; Tuvia Book, author of For the Sake of Zion; representatives of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Rutgers Hillel in New Brunswick, and the Center for Holocaust Studies at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft; and Rabbi Ephraim Karp, community chaplain for the Joint Chaplaincy of the federation.
The workshops also will stress the connection between Israel and American-Jewish students, according to Dee Ross, workshop coordinator and youth group director at Temple Beth Miriam in Elberon.
“Recently, high school students sometimes view Israel as another country in the Middle East that is populated with many Jews, rather than feeling a deeper meaning and viewing Israel as a homeland,” Ross said. “This program will prepare high school students to acknowledge the significance of Israel, the history and struggle of the Jewish people in fighting for Israel, and why it’s important to defend her.”
Workshop organizers expect that 15 to 20 students will participate in the program.
What they will learn will give them “a substantial platform to stand on when they are faced with anti-Israel sentiment,” said Ross. “With this investment, they will attend college with a firm backbone and love for Israel, educate others on their experience at these workshops, perhaps enroll in a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, and hence, the ripple effect begins.”
“This is an ambitious project, but it’s very focused,” she said. “It’s crucial that we do as much as we can to support Israel and to prepare the students who are heading to the nation’s colleges and universities to do the same thing. These students are at a very vulnerable age, and now is the time to establish good role models for them.”
The fine print
THE “IN DEFENSE of Israel” workshops will take place on six Sundays: Jan. 27; Feb. 3, 10, and 24; and March 2 and 9. Workshop locations will rotate between Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, Temple Beth Miriam in Elberon, Temple Beth Ahm in Aberdeen, and Congregation B’nai Israel in Rumson.
Additional information about the workshops — including fees, registration, schedules, and locations — is available from Miriam Mizrahi at the federation at 732-531-6200.