2015 marks the 6th StandWithUs’ “Israeli Soldiers Tour” (Formerly “Israel Soldiers’ Stories”.) This project is one of the most significant counter-attacks of the notorious “Israeli Apartheid Week,” where false information about Israel is being spread by haters across North America college campuses.
In this tour, organized by the pro-Israeli nonprofit organization, StandWithUs, 14 reserve duty Israeli soldier-students travel the United States and speak on campuses, Christian and Jewish high schools, synagogues, churches, etc. They recount their personal experiences of serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) upholding its strict moral code while fighting an enemy that hides behind its civilians.
They also present their backgrounds, life in Israel and answer questions. StandWithUs “Israeli Soldiers Tour,” puts a human face to the IDF uniform, thus trying to combat the demonization of Israel and Israelis led by anti-Israeli movements, such as the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions.) Their in-front-of-the-lines-and-behind-the-headlines stories, which have never been heard before, try to depict the more accurate, more balanced, reality in Israel.
Yehuda and Keren (Last names are withheld for security purposes) participated in the StandWithUs' 6th “Israeli Soldiers Tour,” and agreed to share their experiences, the good and the bad, with us.
Yehuda, 26, was born and raised in Ethiopia and moved to Israel in 2009 due to his love for Jerusalem. As a volunteer in the IDF, Yehuda served in a border police unit where he served at checkpoints and in Hebron and Jerusalem guarding religious holy sites. He completed his service in 2012 and is currently studying political science and communications at Hadassah College in Jerusalem. An alumnus of StandWithUs` 2014 Israel Fellowship, Yehuda now resides in a quiet neighborhood in Jerusalem.
. Another is to show that we are ordinary citizens just like them, with the same interests and concerns, and looking forward to an education and a future. We also want to educate about the complexities of the situation we live in for people who have not experienced it.</p>
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KEREN: Audiences read and hear about the IDF, yet there is no comparison to actually meeting one and learning their story first-hand. It's critical to show the real human side of the people who are actually on the front lines and to present their personal point-of-view. Students are bombarded with anti-Israel misrepresentations and outright lies. They have to deal with Divestment campaigns and its imperative to provide them with tools and facts to combat this. IST is an antidote to BDS. </p>
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<strong>You are you aiming for? Who is the target audience you want to reach?</strong></p>
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YEHUDA: My target audiences are interested in learning about our lives as IDF soldiers, about life in Israel and who are open to the information, without reservation and want to gain a perspective of the situation they may not have had. </p>
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KEREN: One of our goals is to bolster the pro-Israel community that is on the front lines in the States trying to fight anti-Israel bias. Learning about the IDF first-hand from people who live it fortifies them with facts they can utilize in the battle.</p>
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<strong>In light of the constantly-rising anti-Semitism on campus, side by side with the anti-Israel incitement courtesy of the BDS movement, do you think your talks with students can make a difference?</strong></p>
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YEHUDA: I think that groups that support anti-Semitism and BDS do so because of a lack of knowledge, and are influenced by misleading information. I can see that our talks made significant differences and ones that the students and the audience will carry into their conversations with friends and family. </p>
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KEREN: Our tour was during Holocaust Remembrance Day. This was very fitting as we were worried as we witness anti-Semitism rise and BDS grow, and only 70 years after the Holocaust ended. But, it also motivated us to work for a change and to at least, make people doubt the anti-Israel rhetoric they hear. I hope that we inspired them to turn towards more historical and fact-based resources. Thankfully, Yom Ha'aztmaout also happened during our tour!</p>
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<strong>What are the reactions you receive? Do people decide to support Israel? Are people protesting against you? How do you reply?</strong></p>
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YEHUDA: The reactions varied, and the majority were positive. Most people never met an Israeli soldier, so this was already significant. I believe that after hearing us, people will be less likely to believe criticism about Israel, and more ready to defend it. My co-soldier on the tour, Gal, and I were protested at the University of Florida; anti-Israel people stood up in the middle of my speech with slogans and tried to interrupt. I responded by asking them to stay and dialogue, as it is the only way to attempt to achieve reconciliation. However, they were unwilling, and staged a walk-out.</p>
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KEREN: We get both but most of the reactions are very supportive and heartwarming. We are gratified that audiences who criticize Israel and the IDF, are also open to lean ring about it. For example, we faced some tough questions from the pro-Israel students at California State University – Long Beach.</p>
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The previous week, the anti-Israel students brought the “Apartheid Wall” to campus, replete with exaggerations and half-truths. These students wanted to understand the other side, so they asked about checkpoints, the security barrier; is it true that the IDF harasses Palestinians for no reason and they get away with it? They wanted to know more about the BDS movement. They asked from a position of wanting to learn, which is one of the reasons the reason soldiers and reservists asked StandWithUs to create the tour and why I wanted to join it.</p>
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<strong>What is the most unforgettable moment from your recent tour?</strong></p>
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YEHUDA: This was my first visit to the US, so everything was a new experience for me. But, the most unforgettable is how many people we were able to reach in the two-week tour – more than 2000. Then, add to this the unlimited number we reached with conventional and social media.</p>
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KEREN: Every year in Israel, I spend Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day,) the same way – I hold my friends close and we attend a ceremony at my college or high school. But this year was different in that I spoke at a church for the first time. I was so surprised and gratified to experience the amazing love and support for Israel from the Christian community. I was so impressed by how much they care and the many smart questions they had because they wanted to know what's really going on in Israel.</p>
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<strong>This year, the soldiers participating in this project experienced four disruptions: Rice University in Texas, University of Florida (Yehuda), at Washington University in St. Louis, Ohio and University of California Santa Cruz. These are walk-outs and general insults (killers, apartheid, occupiers) from Students for Justice in Palestine. The St. Louis one was from “Jewish Voices for Peace.” Is there a difference between seeing videos of on-campus incitement online and seeing it live, in front of you? Did you react differently than the way you thought you'd react?</strong></p>
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YEHUDA: When we went on this tour, we expected such protests, and I was prepared for such interactions. I also knew from previous tours, what's coming our way, and knew I will need to handle protesters. It felt pretty bad, seeing the hatred and misinformation. </p>
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KEREN: The videos make us feel that the world is against us. It is true and upsetting that there is so much anti-Israel activity and sentiment, but there is also a great deal of support and concern. At a high school, it was distressing to hear a student ask if the IDF is based on “Zionist” values, and basically compared Zionism and anti-Semitism. It is sad that people get their information from such erroneous sources. Yet it is one of the reasons I came on the tour. We were able to correct her impression of “Zionism” and to educate the rest of the class. So yes, there’s a lot of hatred, but also a lot of ignorance. The outcome is words unpleasant to the ear, but it also strengthens the need of a mission such as ours. </p>
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