Starting March 7, an organized week of Israel hatred known as Israel Apartheid Week will occur on over 55 college campuses and cities around the globe. Students on campuses will be confronted with many allegations against Israel that frame the country as an obstacle to peace and a human rights violator. While the vast majority of college students do not participate in Israel Apartheid Week, pro-Israel students feel forced to defend the Jewish state and make its case as a modern country among the family of nations.

Demonizing Israel. Israel Apartheid Week is an attempt to slander and demonize Israel by groups that oppose peaceful reconciliation.

Anti-Peace. The use of “apartheid” to describe Israel does nothing to advance peace or cooperation, but rather plays into the hands of extremists who seek only an end to Israel as a Jewish state.

Morally Bankrupt. Calling Israel an “Apartheid state” is morally bankrupt and intellectually dishonest because it provides a highly distorted view of Israel’s actions and policies and singles out Israel, a democracy, for special censure.

Organized Bullying. On some campuses, supporters of Israel Apartheid Week engage in tactics resembling organized bullying by disrupting pro-Israel events and otherwise stifling the speech of pro-Israel students. While recent focus groups have shown that such tactics turn off the larger student population, these tactics may intimidate pro-Israel students and must be stopped.

“The best ‘responses’ are proactive in showing Israel’s commitment to peace and freedom,” said David Bernstein, executive director of The David Project. “Educators and Campus Coordinators from The David Project are working to reach out to students on campus, and help turn their thoughts and feelings into organized activity and messages that they can use to talk to their peers and the larger campus community.”

For more information on how we can be a resource on campus, or to learn more about the Apartheid claim, please see below:

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