American student leaders engage in a conversation with captivity survivor Ohad Ben Ami, a former Israeli soldier who was held hostage by Hamas.
Students Embark on Pro-Israel Activist Mission to Combat Campus Hate
A diverse delegation of student leaders from 24 major US universities recently embarked on a 10-day activist mission to Israel, organised by Hasbara Fellowships in partnership with IsraelAmbassadors.com [1]. The mission aimed to equip student activists with firsthand knowledge, strategic tools, and personal encounters to become more effective voices for Israel on campus.
The students visited sites impacted by the October 7th Hamas terror attacks, meeting with residents, soldiers, and terror survivors, and witnessed the aftermath of war in affected Israeli towns. The purpose was to provide participants with a deeper understanding of Israel's security needs and the human costs of terrorism and conflict [1][3].
During the trip, the students toured the site of the Nova Festival massacre, where hundreds of young people were slaughtered or abducted [2]. They also visited the city of Sderot, hearing from local residents and survivors, visiting the destroyed police station, and concluding the day at the Tkuma "car graveyard." In Kibbutz Be'eri, they met with former Hamas hostage Ohad Ben Ami, who was held for 491 days in Gaza [2].
The mission was not a sightseeing trip, but a hard-core pro-Israel activist mission, as stated by Michael Eglash, co-founder of IsraelAmbassadors.com [2]. The student leaders represent top academic institutions such as Ohio State, UCLA, Duke, UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and Brown University [1].
The trip was designed to combat hate on campus and to strengthen pro-Israel advocacy among influential student leaders from over 60 universities [1][2]. It aimed to create a network of informed pro-Israel activists by exposing them directly to the security challenges and human costs Israel faces. The impact included fostering a deeper understanding of Israel's security needs and enabling participants to more effectively counter misinformation, hate, and hostile narratives on US campuses [1][2].
The mission occurred during a period of continued conflict in the region, including the 12-day Iran war, further underscoring the fragile security situation Israel faces and reinforcing the urgency of advocacy efforts by US students aligned with Israel [1][2]. The mission thus functioned as a strategic educational and activist response to bolster support for Israel amid ongoing violence and regional instability.
- Despite the ongoing challenges in the realm of education-and-self-development, due to the influx of misinformation and hate on US campuses, student leaders from top academic institutions embarked on a war-and-conflicts focused mission to Israel.
- As politics and general-news continue to reflect turbulent times, particularly crime-and-justice issues in the Middle East, this pro-Israel activist mission aimed to strengthen student advocacy, arming participants with firsthand knowledge and personal encounters to combat anti-Israel sentiments on campus.
