Bracing for what will likely be another tumultuous school year for students at U.S. colleges and universities, hundreds of pro-Israel and Jewish undergraduates converged in Washington D.C. this week to rally and gain support and encouragement from each other.
The Israel on Campus Coalition hosted its annual national leadership summit under a theme “Take Back The Campus,” drawing about 500 students from 153 campuses, Fox News reported.
The summit followed a 2023-24 school year that saw thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested on campuses nationwide in sometimes violent and aggressive protests that followed Israel’s response to the deadly terrorist attacks on its civilians Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,200 men, women and children.
“This summit empowered a diverse network of young leaders ready to ‘Take Back The Campus’ after the surge in brazen antisemitism on campus last semester,” Israel on Campus Coalition CEO Jacob Baime told Fox News.
“We are grateful to all our speakers for inspiring and energizing our students to stand up for what’s right. ICC stands firmly with these students as they confront this difficult climate and take back their campuses.”
The coalition posted on Facebook the summit featured “incredibly inspiring stories about Israeli resilience and about Israel’s unsung heroes.”
“My main message for donors and Congress: ‘There should not be a dollar going to a university with an SJP on campus–universities must restore law, order, and academia,'” student Eyal Yakoby, a prominent pro-Israel activist, stated on X regarding his talk.
Another speaker at the event, famed Israeli writer Hen Mazzig, told the crowd: “When you’re fighting monsters, it’s very hard to keep your humanity. Hamas’s main goal is to destroy Israel as a Jewish state and destroy us as Jews. They want us to become like them, but we’ll never be like them.”
The conference also featured performances by artists Noa Kirel, Matisyahu and Duvbear.
Fox News reported that the speakers “focused many of their remarks on never apologizing for being Jewish, especially in the face of antisemtism, and to remain unified as the war continues raging since Oct. 7.
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IMAGE: Israel on Campus Coalition / Facebook
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