Connie Hackbarth | AIC | 17 May 2011 | An invitation to an information meeting about “pro-Israel” student delegations was sent by the secretariat of Tel Aviv University’s Department of….
Connie Hackbarth | AIC | 17 May 2011 |
An invitation to an information meeting about “pro-Israel” student delegations was sent by the secretariat of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Political Communications to all of its graduates on Monday (16 May).
The invitation, sent from an official Tel Aviv University email account, invites recipients who may be “interested in taking part in this important work” to attend a meeting about a new Israeli student initiative, “What is Rael”, “which aspires to act for the good of the branding and public diplomacy of Israel on university campuses abroad, which are strongholds of anti-Israeli actions.”
The meeting will be led by Tel Aviv University student Alon Kimchi, who initiated a March 2011 delegation of 24 Israeli students which toured 6 British universities to promote Israel during Israel Apartheid Week. A review of this delegation’s work will be conducted during the meeting, in addition to discussions about future delegations.
According to the Political Communications Secretariat of Tel Aviv University, the March 2011 action “focused on campuses on which tens of thousands of students are exposed to negative and biased information about Israel in general and about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Tel Aviv University is not alone in promoting these delegations. According to the email, “In order to ensure success of the delegations, the organizers are cooperating with numerous organizations in Israel and abroad, including the Jewish Student Union, Ben Gurion and Bar Ilan Universities, the Weizmann Institute, the Student Union of Hebrew University and the Jewish National Fund in England.”
The information meeting is planned for 18 May at 5pm, and the email notes that additional information may be obtained here: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WhatIsRAEL
This is but the most recent action by Tel Aviv University in support of Israeli policies. In late 2010, the university joined forces with Israel’s Ministry of Defence to conduct a seminar for 500 high school students under the title Science and Technology in the Service of Security. The seminar goal was to “promote and and bring youth closer to topics of science and technology in their security aspects.”
In addition to the meeting contact details noted above, the Development and Public Affairs Division of Tel Aviv University may be contacted here.