Rap star Remedy Ross performed at Israel Bar Night last night. The event was sponsored by AMI (American Movement for Israel). Remedy’s song Never Again about the Shoah appeared on a Wu Tang Clan album back in 1998.
Jason & Randy Sklar of ESPN’s Cheap Seats performed tonight at the Power Center on University of Michigan’s campus. The event was sponsored by Michigan Hillel, Big Ticket Productions, and the Mel Gibson Foundation for the Anti-Semitic Arts through Religious Film Production. The Sklar Brothers were hillarious. They are clearly the only stand-up comedians currently using the term “eiruv” in their routine.
It’s very possible that prior to the Sklar Brothers taking the stage at the Power Center tonight, I was the last Conservative Jew to perform at the venue (Yom Kippur 2004).
Close to 400 people were in attendance including members of the high school senior class from Nosh ‘n’ Drash at Adat Shalom Synagogue led by Warren Frankford (1); Hillel student leaders Perry Teicher, Monica Woll, Dina Pittel, Michelle Gorman & Sarah Kirschenbaum (2); Dr. David & Rebecca Salama (3); Jordan Sherman & Matt Orley from ZBT (4); and, my brother Jake & his posse (5).
University of Michigan Student Government Votes against Divestment in Israel
March 21, 2005
The Michigan Student Assembly (MSA), the student government at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, soundly defeated a proposal last week that would have created a committee to examine university investments in companies that do business with Israel. The 25-11 vote against divestment was heralded as a huge success for the pro-Israel community on campus.
“This is all about the students – they rose to the occasion,” said University of Michigan Hillel Assistant Director Rabbi Jason Miller. “They are so proud of themselves, and we couldn’t be prouder of them.”
“It was really nice to see that student activism exists on campus and people really care,” said Perry Teicher, a member of both University of Michigan Hillel’s governing board and the MSA. “It was incredible how many Jewish and non-Jewish supporters came to the meeting.”
The MSA meeting on Tuesday, March 15 had already been moved to a larger room due to an estimated high attendance, according to Miller, but when it quickly became apparent that the crowd far exceeded the room’s 150-person capacity, the meeting was moved to a ballroom where, ironically, a [former] white supremacist had spoken earlier in the evening [at an event sponsored by Hillel’s Conference on the Holocaust].
Speakers both for and against the resolution voiced their opinions during the meeting, which lasted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The resolution attacked the Israeli military’s practices toward the Palestinians as “reprehensible” and “unjustifiable” in 14 paragraphs leading up to its conclusion, which “put the verdict before the trial,” according to MSA President Jason Mironov.
“That’s not how we do things in the MSA, and that’s not how we do things in America,” Mironov said.
Even with a motion to strike 11 of the 14 clauses from the resolution, which would have eliminated any direct condemnation of Israel, the measure still failed. Hillel student leaders credit the large contingent of Jewish students – including Jewish members of the Greek system, birthright israel participants and activists in the campus pro-Israel group American Movement for Israel – who attended the meeting to demonstrate their opposition to the resolution for ensuring the victory.
“These people, who largely wouldn’t show up to a Jewish event even if you paid them, showed up in blue and white. It was incredible,” said Monica Woll, chair of University of Michigan Hillel’s governing board.
“Members of the Jewish community should be commended for their articulate speech and their respect for the issue and the people involved,” added Mironov, who made the unusual move of coming out against the resolution before the vote.
A Tuesday morning article in the Michigan Daily, the campus student newspaper, that predicted the resolution had a “reasonable” chance of passing also boosted attendance at the meeting, Miller said.
“It was a thinly veiled attempt at vilifying Israel, and it’s especially sensitive to me, as it attacked my own people and a country I believe has a very strong right to exist,” said Mironov, who is also active in Hillel and chair of its Half-Shekel Campaign.
Though excited about the vote’s outcome, Jewish student leaders know their work is far from over. Dialogue with those who supported the resolution is an essential part of creating a welcoming environment for all students on campus, Woll said.
“There needs to be a system of education and a place where groups can talk and see where the other side is coming from,” Woll added.
Both Mironov and Teicher said they felt comfortable with their dual leadership roles in Hillel and the MSA.
“Being president of MSA is my responsibility. Representing the Jewish community is my duty,” Mironov said. “I was elected partially because of my commitment to the campus community and partially because of my beliefs.”
See the best clips of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) at this site: http://showme.ahost4free.com/dailyshow.cgi
Comedian Dan Ahdoot performed tonight at the Michigan Union for Hillel students. Dan was a finalist on Last Comic Standing and he also writes for Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers.
Students Mobilize to Defeat Anti-Israel Resolution at University of Michigan
On March 15th, the University of Michigan Student Assembly soundly voted down (25-11) a proposal to create a committee to investigate the university’s investments in companies doing business with Israel. Kudos go to Alana Kuhn and Jessie Risch, co-chairs of the American Movement for Israel, as well as UM Hillel student Governing Board President Monica Woll, Governing Board rep Michelle Gorman and Andrew Yahkind, who mobilized the campus to stand with Israel and against the unfair, inaccurate misinformation being disseminated by the anti-Israel activists.
The 7:30pm meeting had to be moved twice to accommodate the crowd of students who wanted to show support for their side. They finally ended up filling the 500 seat ballroom, with many students standing in the back and aisles as well. The meeting lasted until 1am with students from both sides taking turns to passionately voice their opinions.
According to Alexis Frankel, program director for the Univ. of Michigan Hillel, the student daily paper, The Michigan Daily, may have inadvertently motivated increased attendance by pro-Israel students by predicting in a large front page article the day of the vote that the anti-Israel proposal would likely pass. Students who normally don’t get involved in such issues were so concerned to read of the “likely” success of the proposal that they showed up in huge numbers, demonstrating their pro-Israel support by wearing blue sticky tape all over their shirts and pants, on their foreheads or as armbands. Many students also sported blue streamers in their hair and T-shirts made by the American Movement for Israel (AMI) that said, “It’s not JUST a committee.”
Frankel noted, “The shirts made by AMI were homemade and spray painted with the slogan in blue….it had a great grassroots look which really strengthened the visual impact of their message.” The pro-resolution supporters wore black shirts with the Palestinian flag that said: “Divest from Israeli Apartheid.”
According to Frankel, “The Israeli Student Organization was also present and one of their members, Arik Cheshin, who served in the territories with the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), spoke passionately to the assembly about Israelis’ commitment to peace and about the one-sided wording of the resolution that neither placed accusations of human rights abuses in their proper context (such as the reason roadblocks are erected in the first place), nor made any mention of the vast suffering inflicted on Israeli civilians by Palestinian groups.”
UM Hillel is the umbrella group for over 33 Jewish student groups on the University of Michigan campus, including AMI and the Israeli Student Organization. Hillel staff offered logistical and moral support to the students throughout their organizing efforts. “While we were there to offer students support in whatever capacity they needed, it was the students themselves who took the initiative and lead in organizing this tremendous response. It was very empowering for them and inspiring for us as staff to witness” said Frankel.
Frankel commented that the successful defeat of the anti-Israel proposal was also greatly aided by the fact that many of the student representatives in the assembly came to the debate already well informed about Israel, and so were not easily swayed by inaccurate, misleading anti-Israel propaganda. Student body president Jason Mironov spoke eloquently against the resolution and MSA rep. Stu Wagner was also key in organizing opposition to the resolution. This underscores the importance of pro-Israel activists getting involved in student government so that fair, informed people are in positions of power to vote on important issues.
12 people turn into 13 people!
Count the people, wait until they shift, and then count them again.
Hmmm… I wonder if this trick would work when we only have 9 for a minyan?
Nothing like some good old fashioned anti-Semitism to start the day!
From Today’s Michigan Daily newspaper:
Ethnic remarks stir MSA elections
By Donn M. Fresard, Daily News Editor
March 17, 2005
Students reacted with varying degrees of concern after the campaign manager of a party running in next week’s Michigan Student Assembly elections questioned whether it is appropriate that the leading presidential candidates for MSA and LSA Student Government are both Jewish.
Carl Pogoncheff, campaign manager for the Maize Rage Party, brought up as a concern during an endorsement interview on Monday with The Michigan Daily’s editorial board that Jesse Levine and Andrew Yahkind, the Students 4 Michigan Party presidential candidates for MSA and LSA-SG respectively, were “from the same fraternity and ethnic background.”
When asked to clarify, Pogoncheff said Levine and Yahkind are both “white and Jewish.”
All six of the Maize Rage Party’s candidates for MSA are white.
The Maize Rage Party is an offshoot of the Maize Rage basketball fan group, composed of some of the fan group’s members but not directly controlled by its leadership.
Ryan Shinska, head of the Maize Rage fan group, said he does not support Pogoncheff’s comments but continues to support the Maize Rage Party’s campaign.“Carl shouldn’t have said that,” Shinska said. “He let his emotions get the best of him in that situation, and obviously I don’t support that, but I support Carl, and I support what the guy does and what kind of person he is.”
“Obviously I don’t agree that what he said was a classy and dignified thing to say, but people make mistakes,” Shinska added.
Monica Woll, chair of Hillel’s governing board, called Pogoncheff’s comments “absurd.”“If the two presidential candidates were of any other background, I don’t know if questions would arise,” Woll said.
Levine took issue with Pogoncheff’s comments.“Making judgments about people solely based on their ethnic backgrounds shows a lack of understanding and character, and insults the entire University of Michigan campus,” Levine said.
Brian Chrzanowski, MSA presidential candidate for the Maize Rage Party, said Pogoncheff did not intend to specifically target Levine and Yahkind for their religion.
Defend Affirmative Action Party MSA presidential candidate Kate Stenvig could not be reached for comment.Although the Athletic Department has ties with the Maize Rage fan group — students receive free Maize Rage T-shirts when they buy men’s basketball season tickets — the department does not support any political party in student elections, said Athletic Department spokesman Bruce Madej.
“This is the first I’ve even heard that they have a political group,” Madej said.
By Jeremy Davidson, Daily Staff Reporter
March 16, 2005
Hundreds of anxious students and local community members filled an emotionally charged Michigan Union Ballroom last night, when the Michigan Student Assembly soundly defeated a proposal advocating the creation of a committee to examine University investments in companies that do business with Israel.
The overwhelming margin against the resolution — 11 representatives voted in favor, while 25 voted no — came as a surprise to many MSA officials and observers, who had said in the lead up to the vote that they expected a close outcome.
“I felt good with the outcome of the resolution especially given the recent developments in the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” said MSA General Counsel Jesse Levine
Although MSA expected a high turnout, scheduling the meeting in the Kuenzel Room of the Union instead of MSA chambers, the turnout was so high that the meeting had to be relocated a second time to the larger ballroom and began an hour and half late.
The animosity and nervous energy in the room was palpable, leading to spontaneous altercations throughout the ballroom and cramped hallways of the Union and causing the Department of Public Safety to remove a heckler during an address by former MSA Vice President Jennifer Nathan. Raucous cheers and applause, as well as numerous parliamentary questions, punctuated the meeting, making it difficult at times for MSA President Jason Mironov to control the large crowd.
Proceedings involved a speaker’s list, with advocates of both sides taking turns voicing their opinion. Speakers included students, University professors and community members.
If passed, the resolution would have instructed the MSA External Relations Committee to send a letter urging the University Board of Regents to create an advisory committee to investigate the moral and ethical implications of the University’s investments in companies that directly support the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Opponents of the resolution argued that its effect and intent went beyond merely forming a committee, instead targeting Israel and ultimately seeking divestment from the country. They cited language in the proposal that condemned the state of Israel and pointed to human rights abuses and violations of international law.
After hearing these concerns from Mironov and other members of MSA, MSA representative Matt Hollerbach and other authors of the resolution made a motion to strike every clause but the last three from the resolution, in hopes to find more support for the formation of a committee. With this move, the resolution was eliminated of any direct condemnation of Israel and called for an “advisory committee consisting of members of the University Senate, students, administration and alumni.”
Students Allied for Freedom and Equality president Carmel Salhi emphasized that the resolution called for the formation of a committee to investigate University investments.
“There are investments that many students on this campus find morally and ethnically questionable,” Salhi said.
RC junior Ashwini Hardikar explained that the resolution was not to encourage the University to immediately divest from Israel, but called for an investigation into potential human rights violations.
“It’s not an issue of whether or not you’re pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. It’s a question of whether or not human rights violations have been committed,” Hardikar said.
Other proponents of the resolution echoed these sentiments.
“This resolution is about academic freedom, and the right to know whether the businesses that the University invests in realize international human rights principles and business ethics,” said Nadine Naber, professor of American Culture and Women’s Studies.
But Mironov said that the language of the resolution proposed a verdict before the trial.
“If it were simply a resolution to create a committee, it wouldn’t have 14 clauses condemning the state of Israel,” Mironov said prior to the elimination of 12 clauses.
Opponents of the resolution also complained that it unfairly singled out Israel for condemnation.
While the audience seemed evenly split between both sides, opponents of the resolution were noticeably not sporting their “Stand with Israel” T-shirts, which have generated some controversy. In addition, supporters of the resolution asked Blaine Coleman, a sharp critic of the state of Israel, not to attend the meeting out of a fear that his strong opinions could damage their chances of success.
The result of the vote invoked even more emotion from both supporters and opponents of the resolution.
“You can’t silence this issue any more. We know that this occupation is immoral and unethical, and we won’t be silenced any longer,” said LSA freshman and member of Amnesty International Nafisah Ula.
Vice-chair and co founder of the Israeli Students Organization Ziv Ragowski said he hoped the debates would open up talk between Palestinians and Israelis.
“People are recognizing the (desire) of both nations to move towards peace and to end the bloodshed,” Ragowski said.
Divestment resolution likely to pass
By Donn M. Fresard and Justin Miller, Daily Staff Reporters
March 15, 2005
A resolution supporting divestment from Israel appears to havea reasonable chance of passing in tonight’s Michigan Student Assembly meeting, several top MSA officials said yesterday.
The resolution, which attacks the Israeli military’s practices toward the Palestinians as “reprehensible” and “unjustifiable” in 14 paragraphs leading up to its conclusion, would urge the University Board of Regents to create an “advisory committee to investigate the moral and ethical implications” of the University’s $11,000,000 worth of investments in companies that do business with Israel.
As of 3 a.m. this morning, a vote count by The Michigan Daily found that MSA representatives who knew how they would vote were almost evenly divided between supporting and opposing the resolution. MSA officials said a similar late-night tally, conducted by assembly officials, yielded roughly the same results.
The student government at the University’s Dearborn campus passed a similar resolution last month, and the student government at the Flint campus is also expected to take up the issue tomorrow.
In an unusual move last night, MSA President Jason Mironov came out against the resolution before the vote. While its supporters claim the resolution merely suggests that a committee explore the issue, Mironov condemned it as disingenuous, saying it presents only the anti-Israel side of the argument.
“Ninety-five percent of the document condemns the state of Israel, and 5 percent calls for the creation of a committee,” Mironov said. “The resolution puts the verdict before the trial.”
Jesse Levine, student general counsel of MSA and the Students 4 Michigan presidential candidate for next week’s MSA elections, echoed Mironov’s statements, saying the timing of the resolution ignores the recent progress made in the peace process and that such a resolution “doesn’t necessarily make sense right now.”
Today’s vote is expected to draw the largest turnout of MSA representatives and constituents of any MSA meeting this year. The meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., has been relocated from the MSA chambers to the Michigan Union’s Kuenzel Room to accommodate the anticipated crowd.
A resolution supporting divestment from Israel was last brought before MSA in April 2003, but that resolution was pulled by its sponsors before it could be voted on because of an apparent lack of support in the general assembly.
Students Allied for Freedom and Equality President Carmel Salhi said the resolution to be presented today will have a better chance of success.
“If the proper information is given and the resolution is presented in its true light, I think it has a very good chance at succeeding,” Salhi said.
Rachel Snyder, co-chair of American Movement for Israel, said the resolution would damage the relationship between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups on campus.
“I’m hoping it doesn’t pass, and I know there’s a big constituency of students that hope it won’t pass,” Snyder said. “Right now the peace process is going really well, and I know there’s a great amount of support for Israel and Palestine to reach a peaceful resolution on campus. This is not the time to bring up a resolution that brings down one side of the conflict.”
The resolution is supported by SAFE, Muslim Students’ Association, Pakistani Students’ Association, Native American Student Association and several other student groups and faculty members.