Successful Peace Negotiations

     Israel has sought peace throughout its history and will continue to strive for peace until it is reached. In 1978, just five years after the Yom Kippur War, Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt. Peace with Jordan seemed unlikely after the Independence War of 1948 and the Six Day War of 1967, yet King Hussein of Jordan and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace in 1994. Rabin also reached a groundbreaking deal when he and Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, signed the Oslo Accords, essentially laying down an outline for a future Palestinian state. Unfortunately an intifada, a religiously-inspired uprising, followed and the Palestinian leadership refused to end the conflict even though Israel showed a willingness to create a Palestinian state.

Despite Israel having a stellar record for reaching out for peace with its Arab neighbors, the Palestinian leadership has “never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity” to create a coexisting Palestinian state next to Israel. Nevertheless, Israel will not stop pursuing a fair, permanent peace and an end to the conflict.

A Call of Duty

The international war on Israel is not only in the trenches and negotiation rooms, but also on campus. We are a new kind of voice for Israel; educated and willing to both listen and explain. Pro-Israel advocates make up a diverse group of people ranging from religious to secular, conservative to liberal, Israeli to non-Israeli, and Jewish to non-Jewish. One who is pro-peace can be pro-Palestinian, but they must also be pro-Israel. Yet there are those who participate in hateful movements such as the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS is an anti-Israel movement that campaigns for boycotts and sanctions against Israel based on fictitious and exaggerated Israeli misdeeds. Those who support or take part in the BDS movement are not simply pro-Palestinian; they are anti-Israel and often anti-Semitic.

Many “pro-Palestine” groups and their allies continue to pass BDS resolutions. Ask them why, as Muslims or Arabs or even just concerned global citizens, they are not advocating the boycott, divestment, and sanctioning of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and many other countries which actually violate human rights, unlike Israel. The only reason BDS continues to target the Jewish State of Israel is because of hateful, anti-Israel sentiment.

On-Campus Alliances

We strongly believe in organizing pro-Israel events with other groups on campus. Creating relationships with other student organizations can only benefit Israel advocacy’s cause, because by relating Israel to the causes of those organizations, you will show everybody a “new” side of Israel. You will be rebranding Israel.

Change the Brand

Israel is in a difficult situation. Seemingly no matter what Israel does, it will be attacked by anti-Israel groups on campus and in the media. We must remember to remain confident and continue to educate people about Israel’s efforts for peace and its excellent human rights record. Israel is not perfect, but it is certainly a force for good in the world. By cooperating with other groups on campus, let’s change the brand of Israel one step at a time.

Written by Alexander Ferenczi