web analytics
May 25, 2013 /16 Sivan, 5773
At a Glance ▼
InDepth
Sponsored Post
The Tosfos Yomtov was convinced that the death of 300,000 –600,000 Jews during the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49 were because of improper Tefila. Communicated: Tefilla

Chillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.



Need an Israel Advocacy Idea? Ask Herzl

tell a friend
Ask Herzl

Visit http://israelcampusbeat.org for the latest Israel trends and events on campus

As campus Israel groups and leaders begin formulating their plans for next year, the search for innovative ways to achieve their goals commences. Where do they look for new and effective programming?

In past years, students turned to the people they knew for advice or strived to build creative plans on their own. While these approaches can yield strong results, imagine what could be achieved with a nationally networked resource that provides the best of all worlds — tested, proven programming ideas and step-by-step details of best practices for impacting the campus environment.

This year, it is no dream: Savvy campus leaders will be able to access the vast collected experiences of a nationwide movement of campus Israel supporters. It all comes down to two words: Ask Herzl.

When it launches next month, Ask Herzl will serve as a resource for Israel advocates who want “ready to run” programs for their campuses. The website, currently running in beta mode, offers links to program plans that address a wide and growing range of themes and topics. The site, initiated by the Israel on Campus Coalition, also provides a networking space where students and professionals can collaborate on mutual challenges and forge new initiatives.

Ask Herzl emerged in response to a need expressed by campus activists and professionals who wanted a resource that would remain constant even as student leaders graduated and staff people moved on. In the fast-paced campus environment, people felt they missed out on many good ideas simply because they didn’t notice them when they were offered, or the person who knew about them had graduated or moved on.

In light of constant turnover that occurs on campus — every four years the entire student population changes, and professionals come and go — students need a consistent address for ideas and answers. While the project aims to meet campus needs, the website can be used by anyone seeking to educate, engage, and advocate for Israel, including high school educators, college Israel-related professionals, Jewish communal professional and post-college professionals.

“We worked with students and professionals from around the country to make Ask Herzl a relevant, useful tool,” said Stephen Kuperberg, Executive Director of the Israel on Campus Coalition. “We believe this will provide an incredible resource to activists and a great forum for students and professionals to share experiences and best practices.”

ICC developed Ask Herzl in collaboration with a committee that includes students, professionals and programmers from campus and non-campus communities.

Penn State Hillel’s assistant director, Audrey Bloomberg, who is part of the advisory committee, is excited that the project will streamline programs.

“There are so many opportunities that come to our inboxes each year about Israel programming and resources,” she said, “I can’t wait to have all of that information in one easy location instead of searching through old files and emails!”

Shoshanna Howard, the World Zionist Organization’s national project manager, said she was happy to play a part in creating this new resource. “We want to ensure the best Israel and Zionist educational programs are accessible to students, community leaders and everyone in between,” she remarked, “and we see Ask Herzl as an avenue to achieve this.”

Tzvi Raviv, who directs the Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement and also helped develop the website, went even further, saying, “Ask Herzl has the potential to be a game-changer in Israel advocacy on campus by connecting the nodes of the pro-Israel network.”

The website’s interactive features include a tool for rating and critiquing speakers as well as a mechanism for rating programs recently run on college campuses. Awards, labeled The Theo Awards, offer incentive grants of up to $1,000 for top-notch submitted materials and cash prizes to individuals and campuses that demonstrate commitment to Israel advocacy programming through website engagement and submission of quality resources. Raviv noted that the grants make Ask Herzl particularly attractive to activists who need support in order to implement their ideas.

Sam Greenberg, who served as Hillel co-president and Israel chair at Yale University, had long thought about a site similar to Ask Herzl, so he was pleased to have an opportunity to help develop it.

“[When I first became active for Israel on campus] I knew very little about effective Israel programming, and having this kind of site would have been incredibly helpful in helping my learning curve.”

The opportunity for students across the country to learn from other students’ successes and failures when it comes to Israel programming is invaluable, Greenberg added. As the launch of Ask Herzl approaches, he and the other developers are eager to see its impact on campus Israel advocacy.

To submit a program to Ask Herzl, click here.

tell a friend

About the Author: Visit http://israelcampusbeat.org for the latest Israel trends and events on campus.


You might also be interested in:


no comments

You must log in to post a comment.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Current Top Story
David Arenberg lost many things during his nearly 12 years in prison, but he found a connection to Judaism.
A Jew Grows in Prison
Latest Indepth Stories
Al-Dura_Postage_Stamp
InDepth → Op-Eds

France 2 and Enderlin must have their press accreditation revoked and be thrown out of Israel.

Palestinian kindergarten children enacting a military operation.
InDepth → Op-Eds

Slaughter is a routine, widespread practice among many Moslem families.

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has said he will never recognize a Jewish state and there will be no Jews allowed in a Palestinian State.
InDepth → Op-Eds

parently an affront to J Street’s worldview, the focus of which appears to be the creation of a Palestinian State, whether or not that will bring peace.

Member of Knesset Moshe Feiglin (Likud).
InDepth → Columns → Moshe Feiglin

The importance of the caucus on organ harvesting in China, sponsored recently by the Liberal Lobby in the Knesset, cannot be exaggerated.

InDepth → Columns → Dov Shurin

My mother, the eldest daughter of Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky, zt”l, was niftar last month at the age of 92. She took her last breath in her home in Efrat, Israel, next door to the shul that was my father’s for 24 years before his passing in 2007.

InDepth → Columns → Louis Rene Beres

Following the Boston Marathon bombing, one crucial point will likely remain overlooked. The most loathsome aspect of this or any other terror bombing attack on civilians will always lie in the inexpressibility of physical pain. While all decent people will abhor the idea of bombs expressly directed at the innocent, whether here or in other countries, none will ever be able to process the very deepest horrors of what has been inflicted.

InDepth → Columns → Keeping Jerusalem

It’s only natural to see increasing evidence of Jerusalem’s glorious Jewish past being unearthed, quite literally, under modern Israeli sovereignty. The new archaeological finds are also very timely – as the Arab onslaught attempting to detach Jerusalem from its Jewish roots gains steam, the facts on the ground, or “under” the ground, show quite otherwise.

InDepth → Op-Eds

The Talmud (Berachot 26b) says, “tefillot avot tiknum” – “prayer was established by the avot.” The Talmud then uses the following verse (Bereshit 19:27) to prove how Avraham established prayer: “Vayaskem Avraham baboker el hamakom asher amad sham et pnei Hashem” – “And Avraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before God.”

InDepth → Op-Eds

Nearly 13 years ago, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak journeyed to Camp David to end the conflict with the Palestinians. With the approval of President Clinton, he offered Yasir Arafat an independent Palestinian state in almost all of the West Bank, Gaza and in part of Jerusalem. Arafat said no.

InDepth → Op-Eds

The news that the Internal Revenue Service unfairly targeted conservative groups has brought renewed spotlight on a 2010 lawsuit filed by the pro-Israel group Z Street, which alleges it was also singled out by the IRS when applying for tax-exempt status.

InDepth → Editorial

In an editorial last week (“Circling the Wagons”) we noted the efforts by the administration and its supporters to dismiss allegations that the government’s spin on the Benghazi attack was designed to shield the president and that the IRS was improperly used to stifle opposition to Mr. Obama’s reelection.

InDepth → Editorial

As the controversies besetting the Obama administration continue to grow in number and intensity, the prospect that President Obama would seriously consider military action against Iran, should that country continue its drive to become a nuclear power, becomes more and more remote. So we welcome the current enhancement of sanctions against Iran on the federal and New York State levels.

InDepth → Interviews and Profiles

To his parents’ friends, he was “Mrs. Greenberg’s disgrace,” but to sports fans he is one of the greatest – if not the greatest – Jewish baseball players of all time. Long before Sandy Koufax, Hank Greenberg excited Jewish sports fans with his prowess on the baseball diamond.

More Articles from Tamar Shmaryahu, Israel Campus Beat
Ask Herzl
InDepth → On Campus

In past years, students turned to the people they knew for advice or strived to build creative plans on their own. While these approaches can yield strong results, imagine what could be achieved with a nationally networked resource that provides the best of all worlds — tested, proven programming ideas and step-by-step details of best practices for impacting the campus environment.

IDF soldiers
News → On Campus

Dov Lerner, former ZOA president at the University of Maryland and current Lone Soldier in the IDF: “It is very different making the case for Israel on campuses than actually sitting on the border with a gun guarding the country,” Lerner said. “Having done both, I know that they are both extremely necessary.”

News → On Campus

About a dozen college campuses, including Brown University, Queens College, New York University, Columbia University, Yeshiva University and Cornell University, were represented by student delegations in the parade, which has been an annual fixture for the past 48 years.

    Latest Poll

    If you could only choose one of the following scenarios regarding Chareidi IDF service, which would you choose?





    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/on-campus-indepth/need-an-israel-advocacy-idea-ask-herzl/2012/08/07/

Scan this QR code to visit this page online:

Related posts:

  1. Staten Island
Close