Washington, D.C. – More than 700 college students from across the United States convened at the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) annual leadership summit in Washington, D.C. last week for training in dealing with antisemitism and defending Israel on campus.
The conference kicked off with the person who President Donald Trump selected to crack down on antisemitism at colleges – Leo Terrell, chairman of the Justice Department’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism; at the conference Terrell announced significant expansions of the task force’s work.
“[Antisemitic activity is] protected by faculty members in these elite schools and across the entire country. They have hijacked our colleges and universities – it’s okay to be antisemitic. Are you kidding me?” Terrell told the audience in the Capital Hilton ballroom, three blocks from the White House.
Terrell announced two ways the task force is intensifying efforts. First, he is facilitating more community engagement between his task force and students, including a renewed call to action to report antisemitism to his office.
“We need your involvement on campuses. Invite me to your school. We’re trying to expand the task force. We’re trying to make sure when you give us information, we react to it,” he said. “I should be getting a thousand emails, text messages, phone calls. And then one last thing, take this message to your friend, to your neighbor, to everyone beyond this room.”
Terrell also described his new push to get city governments to provide alternate security solutions so Jewish organizations can avoid the burden of additional security costs.
“Have you ever heard of the Jewish tax? Well, I hate it. I wrote a letter to the mayor [of Washington, D.C.]. For those who don’t know what the Jewish tax is – for you to have this convention, for you to walk your child to the synagogue down the street, you have to pay for extra security,” Terrell explained. “I find it offensive that it is being allowed throughout this country. And I’m doing everything I can to stop it.”
After the conference, Terrell confirmed to The Jewish Press that the task force’s mandate goes beyond the current focus on campuses.
“We’re not limited to colleges or universities. In fact, we have been outreaching to local cities on the issue of BDS. We’ve been reaching out to cities that impose what I call a Jewish tax,” he said in an interview.
‘Turning the Tide’
The ICC summit, July 27-29, is now the largest assembly of pro-Israel students – with over 700 student leaders and 50 faculty members representing more than 190 colleges and universities, which was double the attendance last year. Participants received advanced training in strategic communication, grassroots organizing, and policy advocacy, while also engaging with influential figures from politics, media, and the Jewish community. There was even a class on Krav Maga.
ICC is a coordinating collaborative entity for the major pro-Israel campus groups, which were represented at sign-up tables, including AIPAC, AEPi, CAMERA, AEN, Hasbara Fellowships, Stand with Us, AAJC, CUFI, IAC, JNF, and Hillel.
“ICC and our partners haven’t just met this moment; we’ve transformed it into an opportunity to empower the most prepared, connected, and determined pro-Israel student cohort in history,” Jacob Baime, CEO of ICC, said in a press release.
The ICC statement also said the theme of the event, “Turning the Tide,” reflected “the energy and urgency with which pro-Israel students are confronting campus antisemitism and fighting back with moral clarity and pride in who they are.”
PR War Challenge
One common theme in presentations throughout the three days of the conference was the need for Israel and pro-Israel groups to improve efforts in the public relations war, as mentioned in a plenary speech by former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett.
After his speech, The Jewish Press asked Bennet to elaborate on his remarks and what Israel should do next given the ceasefire talks have broken down.
“The main reason I’m here is because we’re fighting two wars, the war on the ground and the war of ideas. In the war of ideas, we don’t have an army, and I’m here to meet the Jews and non-Jews that support Israel and to have us together, fight for Israel,” he said. “We can’t let our arms down because if we lose in the battle of ideas, then we won’t be able to win in the battle on ground. “
ICC attendee Tessa Veksler, who graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara recently and works in public relations now, told The Jewish Press that the pro-Israel community can start winning the PR War if more people engage online.
“That’s how we’re losing the information war – there’s not enough of us that are sharing the correct information. So first of all, increase our numbers. And second of all, again, I think it’s about humanizing who we are,” she said. “I genuinely believe that the way that we get people to understand Israel and the Jewish people or to at least support our cause is when they understand who we are, truly who we are as a people.”
Non-Jewish Leaders
The summit also featured a number of high profile non-Jewish leaders speaking about their support for Israel, including Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Republican podcaster Meghan McCain, and commentator Douglas Murray.
“Why, in a choice between a democracy and a death cult, would you not side with a democracy?” Murray pondered in an interview on stage. “Why, in a choice between groups like paramilitary and terrorists and others who want to attack and destroy not just Israel but everything in our civilization, why would you find it hard to pick sides?”
Hostages & Hope
The audience was obviously moved by former hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel’s gripping description of brutal conditions in captivity – and the struggle to keep hope alive in the darkness. Aviva thought she was going to die in the tunnel but was released after 51 days. Her husband Keith was held by Hamas for 484 days.
“I say a psalm every day for the hostages,” she told the audience. “Does it work? You bet it does.”
Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z”l) who was killed by Hamas, urged the college students to be strong on campus.
“If your thing is to wear a yarmulke, or a Magen David, or a chai, or any other symbol that shows who you are and what you care about, do it,” Jon Polin said. “And be proud of it.”
Rachel Polin suggested that the students do at least one thing each day to help the remaining hostage – about 20 are believed to be alive.
“Some people wear a yellow ribbon. Some say a psalm. Some write to the White House. It doesn’t matter what it is, it matters that you’re doing something.” she said. “There is light ahead. Let’s all go toward that light.”
