Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/671794
T he swift, targeted and effective communal mobilization against a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) bid at the University of Michigan- Dearborn punctuated how nimbly Jewish Detroit can galvanize in support of Israel. It didn't take long for a coalition, anchored by Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD), to rise up against the April 7 intro- duction of two BDS resolutions to be voted on four days later by the UM-Dearborn Faculty Congress. UM-Dearborn falls under the rubric of the six-campus Hillel of Metro Detroit, based at Wayne State University in Detroit. By April 10, the coalition had enlisted the backing of UM-Dearborn Chancellor Dan Little, who has worked hard to maintain a non-hostile, inclusive cam- pus. The coalition also had arranged a conference call bringing together HMD Executive Director Miriam Starkman, Jewish Community Relations Council of Metro Detroit Executive Director David Kurzmann, Anti-Defamation League Michigan Region Executive Director Heidi Budaj as well as representatives from Israel Action Network, Academic Engagement Network (AEN) and Israel on Campus Coalition, all national causes. Kenneth Waltzer, past director of Jewish Studies at Michigan State University, leads AEN. The linchpin to this multidimensional strategy was Little's decision to speak against BDS resolutions for the second time in two years in recognition of the unjust incursion of BDS on a campus dialed into a sense of inclusiveness that goes beyond the number-counting typically associated with cultural diversity. THE TARGETS David Skrbina, a senior philosophy pro- fessor at UM-Dearborn, proposed the BDS resolutions as "an attempt to isolate an offending nation," he told the Faculty Congress according to the JN's April 14 coverage ("BDS Vote," page 24). He called the matter "an ethical issue," branding Israel "an apartheid state" for its "war crimes" and "ethnic cleansing." One resolution sought an advisory panel to study the feasibility of divesting univer- sity funds from companies doing business with Israel. The other request urged the boycott of Israeli academic institutions — asserting such rejection was protected by free speech. It was no surprise Professor Jamie Wraight spoke out nobly against Skrbina's resolutions. Wraight follows founder Sidney Bolkosky, who died in 2013, as director of the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive at UM-Dearborn. He exhibits many of Bolkosky's qualities as a strong, clear voice on behalf not only of academic freedom, but also of Israel on a campus whose Jewish presence is a sliver of what it is on U-M's main campus in Ann Arbor. Wraight posted the upcoming BDS vote on Facebook. Two of his students noticed the post and placed the call to HMD to get the communal ball rolling. HMD, in tandem with campus leadership dialed into multiculturalism, knew it could rally forces to generate a meaningful counter. AT THE READY Skrbina's resolutions overwhelmingly failed. But the coalition had no way of knowing that. Given the uncertainty surrounding BDS votes (some actually pass), the coalition couldn't assume the resolutions would go down. It's sad, but a signpost of today, so many U.S. campuses continue to confront initiatives bearing the imprint of the BDS international move- ment's anti-Israel rant. Fighting BDS has become standard prac- tice for the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Anti-Defamation League and Israel-driven organizations. It also has become a necessary task of Hillel chapters across the country — Michigan included. HMD and all Hillels in the Great Lakes State understand that excellent rapport with Jewish watchdog groups matters in order to be positioned and equipped to help students stand up to the rigors of BDS' spin. Israel and the Jewish community don't benefit from a tepid campus response to the propaganda. The episode at the University of Michigan-Dearborn reinforces the advan- tage of a Jewish community whose orga- nized infrastructure is capable of collab- oratively and expeditiously defending the Jewish state — and capable of recalibrating when necessary. UM-Dearborn's nationally recognized focus on inclusiveness is something Chancellor Little's colleagues at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor would be wise to study and incorporate into their own on-campus challenges — BDS or otherwise. * viewpoints » S e n d l e t t e r s t o : l e t t e r s @ t h e j e w i s h n e w s . c o m 6 April 28 • 2016 editorial UM-Dearborn Joins Detroit Jewry In Opposing BDS D E T R O I T J E W I S H N E W S theJEWISHNEWS.com To make a donation to the DE TROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfounadtion.org Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us F. 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Subscriptions: 1 year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $85 2 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $153 3 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $204 1 year out-of-state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $125 2 years out-of-state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $225 Per year foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300 Detroit Jewish News 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110 Southfi eld, MI 48034 ©copyright 2016 Detroit Jewish News It's sad so many U.S. campuses continue to confront initiatives bearing the imprint of the anti-Israel rant of BDS. As founder of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group and chair- man of the Center for Near East Policy Research, Eid is qualified to help dispel virulent anti-Israel lies. The international StandWithUs organi- zation's mission is to counter the demoni- zation and delegitimization of Israel. StandWithUs also exposes the double standard evident in the "war of words" waged in the media, and on high school and college campuses that seek to elimi- nate Israel from the Middle East map. StandWithUs-MI thanks Contributing Writer Harry Kirsbaum and the Jewish News for their responsible ongoing coverage of this challenging threat to Israel's existence. For JN readers who missed hearing Bassem Eid, your excellent coverage fur- thered their education. — Barbara Moretsky, president StandWithUs-Michigan West Bloomfield Letters to the Editor: We prefer letters that relate to articles in the Jewish News. We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Brevity is encouraged. Letters published will include the name and city of resi- dence of the writer. Letters submitted must contain the name, address, title of the writer (if applicable) and a daytime phone number. We prefer emailed letters. Please email to letters@thejewishnews. com. (Letters sent by U.S. Postal Service must be hand-signed and mailed to the Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034. letters continued from page 5