The past academic year has been extremely active for HBS’ Jewish
Students Association, in particular regarding its Israel-related activities on
campus. Pro-Israel activities were
a focus of this year’s JSA as an integral part of the organization’s core
mission of developing and supporting vibrant Jewish life at HBS through a wide
range of activities. The JSA still
primarily provided a context for HBS Jewish students to interact on a social
level. In this spirit, events
included Shabbat dinners, Sunday bagel brunches, Kosher Deli nights, parties and
weekly classes on Judaism and Jewish philosophy.
The JSA also facilitated socializing with the greater Harvard Jewish
community through mixers and other affairs including a Yom Kippur break-the-fast
dinner for all of Harvard’s graduate schools that was attended by over 300
students. Furthermore, the JSA
continued to act as a resource for various types of assistance including
answering questions about Israel or Jewish life at Harvard and in Greater
Boston. Following the attacks last
September in New York and Washington, D.C., the JSA co-organized a community
gathering to show support.
The JSA’s pro-Israel activities began last spring when AIPAC was
invited to present on campus for Yom Ha’atzmaut, and 10 HBS students
subsequently attended AIPAC’s Annual Leadership Dinner.
During the extra-curricular activities fair at the beginning of the year,
information about Israel was distributed and students were encouraged to join
both the JSA and AIPAC. Over winter
break, the JSA coordinated an “Israel-trek” with the Wharton, NYU, and Columbia
business schools. The trip was so
successful and generated such good publicity that another “trek” is being
planned for next year.
In response to a pro-Palestinian rally in Harvard Square on a cold, rainy
February day, the JSA joined other Harvard groups in quickly organizing a
counter rally. JSA members
designed pro-Israel leaflets, hundreds of which were distributed to passers-by.
A few weeks before Spring break, HBS’ weekly student-run newspaper, the
Harbus, shocked the campus by publishing a venomous, misleading article against
Sharon and Israel. The JSA
immediately contacted the Harbus’ editors to formally protest the article and
the demeaning way in which it was written.
Multiple students, including a JSA president, published responses in the
next three issues. Regularly
throughout the year, the JSA engaged in campaigns urging people to write, call
and e-mail politicians including the President of the United States in support
of Israel. Last April, the JSA
joined a Harvard University delegation that went down at a moments notice to
participate in the largest pro-Israel rally to date in Washington D.C. Finally, for Yom Ha’azmaut, the JSA organized a
presentation on the history and culture of Israel led by Eytan Pisetzky
’03. This was followed by a
question and answer session moderated by four current Israeli students (Moti
Rafalin '02, Gady Lachman
’03,
Eytan
Pisetzky ’03
and Nitzan Shaer
'03).
As
the 2001-2002 academic year comes to a close, a new executive committee has been
elected to run the JSA. The
committee remains dedicated to continuing the organization’s strong ties to
Israel and pro-Israel activities on campus.
We wish the new executive committee success in their endeavors and look
forward to hearing about the JSA’s accomplishments and positive impact at HBS.
