Sharansky and College Zionism

Yesterday, Alex taiman and I trailed Minister Natan Sharansky as he went on speaking tour to Princeton and Rutgers. Accompaning our trip was Tropical Storm Isabel - swirling menacingly above our heads.



First Sharansky enageged students in Princeton. The turnout was lackluster because for some reason, Princeton did not advertise the event. His message was that Israel was the champion of human rights and that the lack of Palestenian democracy was to blame for the situation. In the question and answer session, I asked him where American Aliyah fit into his priorities. His answer was that its a lot harder to break through the "Golden Curtain" than the "Iron Curtain."



At Rutgers, we were all in for a scare when an angry person threw a pie in Sharansky's face. Sharansky was evacuated and the man was violently expelled. Sharansky came back minutes later and he was ok. He gave the same speech as before, but more enthusiastically this time because the room was jam packed with hundreds of Jews. An elderly woman presented Sharansky with a bracelet she wore to support the "Let-My-People-Go" campaign for the release of Russian Jewry. His name was on the bracelet. He accepted it and embraced her, she welled up, and the crowd gave a standing ovation.



This time in the Q&A, I asked Sharansky how we can promote the joint destiny of all the Jewish people, especially Americans and Israelis. He said education was key and that programs such as Birthright must continue. He said that it was up to us to make a difference.



At the two events I handed out hundereds of pins and Alex made good connections with campus represenrtatives for the Jewish Agency's Israel Program Center (www.IsraelPrograms.org) It was really nice to see a whole auditorium wearing "I'm Making Aliyah" and Aliyah Revolution" pins, and it somehow tied everybody together. New Jersey feels more amenable to Zionism than other parts of the Jewish world, probably because of the heavy Modern-Orthodox influence.



All in all it was a great day. We met many beautiful Jews and spread good energy everywhere we went. I liked some of what Sharansky said and I hated some. I wish he had a more positive message and more pro-active leadership for us here in the Diaspora. However, he did speak well and made people feel good about Israel. The Rutgers Hillel, hosted Sharansky under the banner of their year long student led project called IsraelInspires (www.IsraelInspires.org) Now thats Zionsim!



Thank G-d for days like these. Am Yisrael Chai Vekayam!