It was a flashback to an old-time Zionist rally: Students clamored for a better depiction on campus of Israel, a rabbi offered a blessing for Jerusalem and AIPAC representatives pledged to help with pro-Israel activism.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee held its 14th annual Back-to-Campus event in San Francisco on Thursday of last week.
More than 100 students from the Bay Area gathered to hear speeches on “50 Years of Student Activism” by a local rabbi and assemblyman in the Fairmont Hotel’s lavish Venetian Room.
Surrounded by murals of a thriving Venice, Rabbi Alan Lew of San Francisco Congregation Beth Sholom called for a thriving Jerusalem.
“Our lives are intimately, deeply, inevitably, inextricably together with Israel,” he said.
“A part of our life is going on elsewhere,” he said, adding that his computer displays both San Francisco time and Jerusalem time.
He also recalled his family’s involvement with Israel’s birth. In one anecdote, he related a moment when, as a kid, he was playing under a bed in his house and found several rifles, a machine gun, and a samurai sword. “My bubbe was running guns to Israel,” Lew said, smiling. “It was important to her to do that to have sense of participation in her people’s history.”
Although Lew noted that Jerusalem is currently “an angry place,” underneath its difficulties, “Jerusalem calls from the deepest part of our soul. Such is the pull of Israel for those who love her.”
The other speaker, Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-S.F.), chose to use his time to relate humorous yet off-topic stories about his rise in politics.
Directing his comments to general issues confronting young adults, Shelley confided that “change does not happen by altruistic, well-intentioned politicians, though I wish it did. It happens by organized, grassroots work.”
While Shelley focused on lighthearted campus-related issues, Lew stressed that energies should be directed to social issues that extend beyond campus circles.
“To me, I don’t think it is activism to rally for more space on campus to play Frisbee,” Lew said in a question-and-answer session. “In this country, we have to talk about what is fundamentally wrong. We need to speak deeply to people’s strongest feelings. We will never lose when we do that.”
AIPAC leaders concluded the speeches with pleas for more positive consciousness about Israel on campus and in the media. “The activism must not stop!” proclaimed Josh Bakhshi, co-organizer of the event.
Jason Weiner, who also helped organize the event, echoed Bakhshi’s pronouncement and asked the audience to “use AIPAC’s resources to do something on your campus this year.”
The calls for action did not reverberate hollowly, but neither were they met with overwhelming fervor. The mild crowd — which one organizer said was smaller than expected — seemed out of place in the large, dramatically decorated room.
After the speeches, several Jewish community agencies staffed tables offering information on resources for campus activism. Most of those in attendance could be found creating desserts at the make-your-own-sundae stand, while a few official-looking adults stood in the back of the room — like school principals — perhaps to ensure the rally stayed on course.
Shoshana Isaac, a sophomore at George Washington University, said that while she was interested in learning about AIPAC, she was struck primarily by Lew’s eloquence.
“I was really into Rabbi Lew’s spiritual connection to Israel since I don’t consider myself especially pro-Israel, although I am not anti-Israel,” she said. “I do consider myself strongly Jewish and it was inspiring to think about connecting to Israel on that spiritual level.”
Joshua Slater said the evening fulfilled his expectations. The Harvard junior came “to hear a rallying cry, a re-energization of an already active community. The speakers offered tools for people to become more effective and a reminder of how many services are out there to facilitate action.”
Yonatan Gelblum, a sophomore at U.C. San Diego who emigrated from Israel eight years ago, said he would rise to the challenge posed by the speakers. “When I get back to school, I will actually seek out to be active” in pro-Israeli issues.