When the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) launched its offensive, Operation Protection Edge, their country filled with a constant stream of sirens only lulled by temporary ceasefires from a fusillade of rockets. The mission, whose aim is to neutralize terror threats from Hamas and prevent the barrage of rockets coming from the Gaza Strip, began a lengthy battle between the Sunni militant group and the country Yeshiva University students call their homeland.
The conflict began after tensions intensified between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. This related to a series of events including failed peace talks earlier this year after the announcement of a Palestinian unity government with Hamas and Fatah; the kidnapping and murders of three Israeli boys, Naftali Fraenkel, Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar; the subsequent murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian teen; and the arrests of numerous Hamas leadership members in the West Bank.
As Yeshiva University announced its solidarity with Israel, both in a press release and in statements made by the administration, it furthered its support at a pro-Israel rally attended by over 15,000 people. President Richard Joel voiced Yeshiva’s support for Israel at the event that was organized by the UJA-Federation and Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. “We must be strong and resolute so we can continue to be a light onto the nations,” he said and, proceeding to echo the words that permeated the rally, continued, “We must stand with Israel.”
But the event was not just the voice of the school administration. Hundreds of Yeshiva students and alumni attended to declare their solidarity. Shai Berman, YC ’15, who took his lunch break early from a legal internship to attend said, “With Israel coming under fire left and right in the arena of public opinion, I thought it was very important to show my support for our homeland.”
Berman, who is Yeshiva College Student Association president for the upcoming school year, is not alone in his efforts to act on his beliefs about the conflict. With friends, family—and for many students, their Jewish identity—endangered across the ocean, there is no shortage of Yeshiva undergraduates who found their own ways to get involved.
Sarah Mandelbaum, a Stern senior who participated in the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program’s “Art and Revolution in Paris” course this summer, used social media to make her own difference. “It kind of just happened,” she said of her “Letters for IDF” project, of which participants have sent over a thousand cards or emails that will be delivered to soldiers. “We have a disconnect where we’re here and they’re there,” said the Literature major, “And so I thought, what can we do to have those worlds collide and show we support them?”
Mandelbaum also helped raise money for American Friends of the IDF Rabbinate through a Soul Cycle class in her hometown Los Angeles. The organization, which is part of the National Council of Young Israel, is currently fundraising for “Project Go Green,” which works to provide tzitzit garments for the IDF made of a material better suited to army duty.
A plethora of Yeshiva students found other ways to address the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over their summer break. Many used their social media accounts to post about the war and pass on articles they found informative, alarming or noteworthy; a few made certain to post about both sides of the conflict, particularly regarding the humanitarian crisis and high number of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip. A myriad of others called on their followers and friends to pray, get involved or stand in solidarity with Israel throughout the enduring operation.
No matter their location or their summer jobs and internships, Syms, Stern and Yeshiva College students took time to act. They attended rallies in their hometowns such as Chicago and Seattle; many volunteered and helped fundraise. Members of the school’s Tefilah Club used the school’s mass e-mailing system to encourage students to pray for Israel and provide them with corresponding prayers to say.
Junior Rivka Hia wanted to engage herself as much as she could. “As someone who feels a part of the nation,” she said of her May arrival in Israel, “I thought I’m technically a tourist, but I’m here now so I should help.” Hia then raised money to buy flashlights and water backpacks for a friend’s unit, baked cookies and made cards for soldiers with her peers.
She also worked as a counselor as part of the Center for the Jewish Future’s Counterpoint program that was last minute transferred to Dimona. “We lived every siren with them,” she said of being in southern Israel during the war. While she admitted it was difficult, with many of the community members and campers’ family in the army, she said, “I owe so much to YU for putting me there in the first place and sticking it out the whole summer…it shows how much they believe in what they do that they’re willing to take the necessary precautions but also actualize and follow through on what they claim to do.”
With the fall semester approaching, these students’ efforts show no signs of stopping. Many hope to propel their summer experience to volunteer and make a difference even after what they hope will be an imminent resolution for the ongoing crisis. Some have developed new plans to emigrate to Israel.
Sy Syms student Daniella Leser, who is working with the school to coordinate a branch of the worldwide Shabbos Project that will unite Jews across New York for a weekend, is inspired by the endeavors of her fellow students. “Each student realizes it’s their individual role in making a difference,” she reflected, citing her friends’ and community’s responses to the kidnapping of the three boys and the current conflict with Hamas, “YU instilled in us how important it is to act and I’m just incredibly proud to be a student here.”