Pro-Israel group pledges support to pro-Israel Brown community

For the 100 community members at the Dwares JCC the evening of Oct. 29, the joint meeting of Rhode Island Friends of Israel and StandWithUs might as well have been a crossing of the Red Sea. The primary concern of those in attendance was the perceived anti-Israel programming taking place at both Brown University and Brown RISD Hillel. The most dramatic moment of the event was a clear request from Brown pro-Israel students for “rapid-response” help from the community on request, and a commitment clearly enunciated by chairperson Stefanie Feld that community members could be counted on when needed. Thus, a critical bridge between “town and gown” was put in place.

It was a landmark meeting for both organizations. Just eight months old, Rhode Island Friends of Israel, unabashedly pro-Israel, is in the process of becoming a chapter of StandWithUs. The turnout was representative of the community and included unaffiliated individuals as well as members of various community organizations.

Stefanie Feld led off with a brief history of Rhode Island Friends of Israel and a litany of its pro-Israel positions, including support for the people of Israel and its democratically elected government, and opposition to the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement. She explained that the move to become a chapter of StandWithUs was intended to bring expertise and resources to pro-Israel Rhode Island.

Evie Stieglitz, Providence native and pro-Israel activist now living in New York, painted a grim picture of rising anti-Semitism in communities and on campuses across the country. She presented a substantial list of actions that average households and individuals can take to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activities, which ranged from speaking up to the employer of an abusive anti-Semitic individual, to a multitude of actions that can be taken online.

Avi Posnick, StandWithUs regional director, showed a film of how StandWithUs pushes back on anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activities. His key message was empowerment as an alternative to complaining. He then spoke about a long list of resources that StandWithUs makes available as needed, much of it online and targeted toward young people. For instance, according to Posnick, the organization logged 30 million contacts during Operation Protective Edge. The organization’s strategy, as he described it, is to not let an anti-Israel campaign go unchallenged, but at the same time not give it more publicity than it already has. Also part of their multi-pronged program is an Israeli fellowship program, which currently has 1,000 grads in Israel, and the Emerson fellowship program operating on college campuses in America.

Following Posnick, Aviva Malveira, regional campus coordinator for StandWithUs, described her responsibilities, which include identifying students on campus to work with StandWithUs, training them to be effective in a college campus environment and making financial support available to a current group of 68 Emerson fellows now on campuses. She reported a 75 percent increase in anti-Semitic activities on campuses this year, including the scheduling of Holocaust deniers as speakers.

The final speaker of the night was Adam Bennett, who is the Emerson fellow at Brown University. While many in the audience groaned to hear his description of the campus environment, nevertheless a meeting of the minds did take place as the group expressed a commitment to support Jewish students at Brown in their pro-Israel activities. 

A question-and-answer session followed. Feld also announced expected follow-up activities where opportunities to become actively involved would become available. For more information on the meeting and organizations involved email rifriendsofisrael@gmail.com.

HOWARD BROWN is North Kingstown resident, co-founder of Rhode Island Friends of Israel and member of Chabad of West Bay.