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April 6 • 2017 77 jn for college students by college students April 6, 2017 / 10 NISAN 5777 P alestinian American Victor Hasbany and I created a new student organization, Peace by Piece (Palestinian Israeli Effective Change through Education) at Grand Valley State University and, for our first event, co- hosted "Between the Lines: Voices of Israel, Stories Untold." Sponsored by StandWithUs, this annual tour fea- tures two reserve-duty Israeli soldiers who discuss their backgrounds, life in Israel and their military service. We want our club to focus on supporting and humanizing both sides and their right to exist, while still educating people and engaging in dialogue. The soldiers, Ashager, an Ethiopian Jew, and Mohammed, a Muslim Bedouin, spoke to the diverse crowd. Student attendees ranged from zero knowledge on the conflict to asking important, relevant questions. The "big questions" at first stressed Victor and me, but we soon realized they needed to be asked and answered for both sides to understand each other. For example, someone brought up the settlements and wondered how Israel can be a Jewish state and still a democracy? The soldiers answered these questions calmly to keep the event peaceful and educational. Difficult situations are also beneficial to people uneducated about the conflict because it provides an opportunity to learn and see that although we may not agree on everything, we still support each other. "It was refreshing and really eye-opening to hear the other side of the story rather than just what the media has to say," Victor said. "The event didn't go entirely as we had planned because we didn't want it to become political, but, of course, it did. However, I really enjoyed that we were surrounded by people who had the same aspirations for peace in Palestine and Israel as we do. I look forward to seeing how far our organization will grow in our short time at Grand Valley, and I am very excited to make progress on our campus." Victor Hasbany, who is Palestinian American, and Allison Egrin, who is Jewish, have created Peace by Piece at Grand Valley State. Peace By Piece GVSU's Israeli/Palestinian group offers students chances to learn and share. Allison Egrin } jewish@edu writer A s senior year nears its end, the daunting atmosphere of a college campus quickly approaches. I find myself wondering what I can do to stand up for Israel on my future campus. That's why I decided to attend the third annu- al StandWithUs Anti-BDS Conference and learn current, working techniques to combat anti-Semitism. Held in Los Angeles March 4-6, the confer- ence brought hundreds of high school and college student leaders as well as communi- ty members from North America and Israel together with professionals from organiza- tions working on the front lines to stop the anti-Semitic BDS campaigns. StandWithUs aggregated top international experts who examined the movement's latest tactics, including how its activists infiltrate and pressure various sectors of society. It addressed BDS on college cam- puses, in the legal arena and within legis- lation, academia, business, cultural arts, churches and also unveiled the money trail that contributes to organizations that work to undermine Israel in all ways. Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz spoke about BDS in the legal arena and what students can do to protect themselves. U.N. authority Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights, explained how the U.N. foments BDS. Just as exciting was the student track of discussions and training provided by SWU campus and research staff, together with campus Hillels. Many students gave in-depth descriptions of the current state on their campus regarding Israel. At first, hearing personal anecdotes of pro-Israel students threatened solely for their love of Israel brought up feelings of trepidation. One student depicted the mock eviction notice on his dorm room, and then described the apartheid wall erected in the heart of the campus. Fortunately, my fears diminished with the next speaker, who spoke of unity on her campus, while emphasizing how far the pro- Israel community has come. She explained that pro-Israel students passed anti-BDS Battling BDS StandWithUs conference offers tools. continued on page 78 Ranya Hwail, member of the Muslim Student Association, Allison Egrin, StandWithUs Emerson fellow, and Ziv Zelinger, Hillel Israel fellow continued on page 78 Josh Kornblum jewish@edu writer