If, for American college students, the face of Israel too often is that of soldiers dressed for combat or wild-eyed settlers confronting Palestinian farmers, it’s time for a new face.
That is the promise of the Israel Fellows program. Launched in 2003 by the Jewish Agency for Israel and Hillel International, it places young Israeli professionals on college campuses across the United States and Canada, where they serve as peer ambassadors.
As is evident from our cover story this week profiling Hillel of Stanford Israel Fellow Rebecca Avera, Israel’s true face is very diverse. It is Middle Eastern and East European, Arab and ultra-Orthodox, Russian and, as in Avera’s case, Ethiopian.
More than 30 years ago, Avera’s parents fled the harsh anti-Semitism of their native Ethiopia and came to Israel to build new lives in freedom. She and her family are part of the vibrant Beta Israel community that has added so much to Israeli culture over the last 30 years. The road has not been easy, particularly for the older generation, but progress continues to be made and the community’s future is bright.
Rebecca Avera is an outstanding young ambassador for Israel, well educated, well traveled and well informed. She has reached out not only to Jewish students and faculty but also, notably, to other ethnic groups and clubs, such as the Black Student Union and the Stanford African Students’ Association.
Members of these groups find in her not only someone who looks more like them, but also an individual who shows that Israelis don’t fit into the narrow stereotypes perpetuated by the media and Israel’s detractors. Her presence on campus and the work she does belie the claims that Israel is an apartheid state.
Israel Fellows currently serve 120 North American campuses. The emissaries (shlichim) come from all walks of Israeli life: high-tech, LGBT, Russian-speaking, Arabic-speaking. Their advocacy strengthens connections between Israel and American Jewish students, and as we have seen with Avera’s work, it opens the eyes of those who might otherwise be drawn to the BDS script agitating for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
There are times to fight anti-Israel propaganda with public protests or legislative efforts. And there are times to defuse it with one-on-one human connections, like Rebecca Avera and other Israel Fellows are doing in the Bay Area and around the country.
We are proud of these young Israelis and the positive ripple effects their work is having on college campuses everywhere.