I had only 15 days in office before my university faced a boycott, divestment and sanctions resolution. As the incoming president of Aggies for Israel, the pro-Israel student organization at U.C. Davis, I had only 15 days to plan, strategize and act. Fifteen days to delegate, collaborate and struggle. Fifteen days to lose sleep. Fifteen days to gain the trust of a whole community and empower participants to believe in me as a leader and to believe in themselves.
But those 15 days don’t define me. I ran for this position because I believe it is really the 16th day that matters. Divestment is one day, but pro-Israel advocacy is a lifelong pursuit.
When I arrived at U.C. Davis as a freshman, I was not involved with the pro-Israel movement. My freshman year, I attended our campus Hillel once and was unaware that a club like Aggies for Israel even existed. During my sophomore year, a Hillel staff member invited me to discuss the upcoming divestment resolution with her. At the time, I was an external affairs commissioner in our student government and would be voting on the bill publicly.
I decided to attend an Aggies for Israel meeting to learn more about the pro-Israel movement on campus. I found a community filled with passionate and creative activists fighting for their homeland. Inspired to come to meetings and get involved, I later became the president.
My first task was grappling with the BDS movement, a movement rooted in lies and hatred. I had a simple choice: to stand silently under a dark cloud of misunderstanding or to let our voices be heard. I chose the latter: I did not want myself or my fellow Jewish students to be defined by the divestment issue.
Since then, the Aggies for Israel board and I have planned numerous events for the remainder of the year. We have four different speakers coming to Davis from all over the world, a leadership dinner to honor campus leaders in a pro-Israel context, a campus event to celebrate Israeli culture, an initiative to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and much more. While other student groups instigate campus conflict, our students are supporting their beliefs by celebrating Israel in a positive and meaningful way.
Divestment does not dominate this campus — a positive pro-Israel culture does.
The best way for our community to further its mission of peace is to be productive and make an impact on a political level. This past year, I have been involved with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. After attending two AIPAC Saban leadership seminars, I have learned valuable skills that have taught me how to mobilize, lobby and educate others about the importance of the American-Israel relationship. Soon a group of students and I will go to Sacramento to lobby our state legislators on behalf of the American-Israel relationship. Instead of just promoting Israel on campus, pro-Israel U.C. Davis students are facilitating conversations that will make a difference on a larger scale.
At U.C. Davis, the pro-Israel community stands united in support of Israel no matter what obstacles impede our course. As one of many leaders within this community, I look forward to continuing our pursuit of peace and pro-Israel sentiment for the upcoming year. While the divestment bill passed at U.C. Davis on Jan. 29, followed a couple days later by a disturbing incident in which the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house was defaced with swastikas, the pro-Israel community forges ahead, united and strong. Whether it’s one day, 10 days or 16 days, we will always focus on the strength of our community and the integrity of our movement.
Julia Reifkind is a third-year philosophy major at U.C. Davis. She hails from Los Angeles.