NYU students silently display “the cold hard facts” at SJP screening of ani-Israel film.
Photo found on Mendy Boteach’s Facebook page

On December 3^rd, NYU sophomore Mendy Boteach orchestrated a counter protest at a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) screening of an anti-Israel documentary called “On the Side of the Road”. The Israeli-made documentary was described as “the story of those who fought to erase Palestine and created an Israeli Landscape of Denial,” and the purpose of the event, like most SJP events, was to vilify the Jewish state by placing the entire blame on the Israel for the modern Palestinian refugee issue. As Adam Billig wrote before, this issue cannot be properly understood without the proper context, so Mendy sought to bring context to SJP’s “interpretation”.

In his counter protest, Mendy and his friends “made one poster for each of the pogroms and massacres that occurred in Arab lands in the years leading up to and around 1949… made more for each of the outrageous genocidal quotes from the Arab leadership…held up a seven-foot sign made up of a collage of 20 posters which exclaimed as loudly as possible 865,000 JEWISH REFUGEES all without a sound (making actual noise is prohibited)…and spoke of the billions of dollars stolen from Jewish businesses and the thousands of homes businesses, and synagogues that were destroyed.” He understood the need for people to see the “cold, hard, indisputable facts” and planned the entire counter protest in three days. Despite the divisive nature of the issue, Mendy was not worried about a violent or intimidating reaction, like what happened to the students at Cornell. He was more worried about security evicting him, so he made sure to print out the rules for campus protests “in case anyone tried to tell [him] he wasn’t allowed to be there (which they did).”

Though he considers NYU “a good place for Jews and Israel advocates”, he worries about the recent growth of SJP and its affiliates. BDS talk has already taken hold in student counsel and some professors preach anti-Israel propaganda. Because of these threats, Mendy finds “no greater cause…than the Jewish people and few battles as crucial to the Jewish future as the battle for Israel.”

In a perfect world, Mendy would spend his days hiking mountains or writing about his many passions, but this is not a perfect world. He acknowledges that Israel needs advocates on college campuses and has stepped up in an admirable way. He joined the fight to protect Israel’s reputation and needs support. To give him and every other Israel advocate the necessary support, we must push politics aside and unite online with a singular voice for Israel. A voice that stands strong even if it must take the form of a silent protest at an anti-Israel event.

All quotes were taken from an exclusive interview with Mendy Boteach. Mendy is a sophomore at NYU where he studies History.