J Street U Brown
Advocating Peace and Justice in Israel/Palestine J Street U Brown is a chapter in a national student movement dedicated to strong American leadership to the the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution. In doing so, we are opening the debate on Israel in the pro-Israel community to ensure that students from all points on the political spectrum have a voice in our community. We are a pro without an anti: Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestine, Pro-Peace.
We kicked off the 2011-2012 academic year with a phone bank in J Walter Wilson - a centralized student location - to Representative David Cicilline's office, urging the Congressman to add his name to the Price-Welsh letter and to support continued aid to the Palestinian Authority. J Street U launched its "Fund Peace" campaign recognizing the role that the P.A. plays in providing security and stability for Palestinians and Israelis, as well as critical humanitarian relief for the Palestinian people.
In October, J Street U and Brown Students for Israel co-hosted a discussion in the Hillel building on the topic of what it means to be pro-Israel. Together, we committed to building a robust pro-Israel community at Brown that supports Israel, yet allows room for multiple and diverse perspectives. Particularly because Israeli politics can become such a contentious issue, our community's commitment to a broad debate on Zionism and Israel is truly a testament to a strong Jewish community at Brown and RISD.
Our semester ended with a talk by Oded Na'aman from Breaking the Silence, an organization of former Israeli soldiers testifying about their experiences serving in the West Bank. Oded's lecture challenged students to think about the intersection of human rights and security maintenance, and to ask whether one must come at the expense of the other. This event was co-sponsored by Common Ground: Students for Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel, Amnesty International, and Anti-War Action.
J Street U is always recruiting students interested in attending national and regional conferences, and we would love to take in new members.
Contact Harpo Jaeger for more information.