Why We Flouted Hillel Rules To Hold Nakba Event at Brown University

On May 11, more than 70 students crowded into the Hillel meeting room at Brown University/Rhode Island School of Design for a screening of three short films produced by the Israeli NGO Zochrot, and for a discussion about the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the 1948 Palestinian expulsion), the politicization of memory, and the obstacles to constructing responsible narratives. We held the event in Hillel, unauthorized — without knowledge of the Hillel staff — after our Hillel withdrew its support.

By Will Tavlin, Forward, May 17, 2016

Defying official censorship orders, Brown and RISD students hold Nakba discussion inside Hillel

The following was sent to us by Sophie Kasakove, a student at Brown University, who along with two other Jewish students, Eital Schattner-Elmaleh and Ben Williams, organized an event to discuss the Nabka at the the Brown/RISD Hillel.

On Wednesday, May 11, in the midst of final exams, over 70 Brown University students in the Brown/RISD Hillel community gathered in the Hillel building to watch three short films about the Palestinian Nakba, produced by the Israeli NGO, Zochrot. As members of the Hillel community, we came together to watch these films on the eve of Yom HaAtzmaut, eager to make a space for Jewish students to learn about a history often excluded from mainstream Jewish discourse. In the post-screening discussion, students from diverse political backgrounds reflected on the thought-provoking films and unpacked their relationship to the Nakba as American Jews.

Mondoweiss Editors, May 12, 2016

Heavy Backlash Forces Brown University’s Hillel to Pull Sponsorship of ‘Nakba Day’ Event

Brown University’s Hillel has pulled its sponsorship of a Wednesday event commemorating the 1948 Palestinian Arab exodus from Israel — more commonly referred to as the “Nakba” — following heavy backlash, The Algemeiner has learned.

By Lea Speyer, The Algemeiner, MAY 11, 2016

Im Tirzu report exposes Israelis behind 'Apartheid Week'

Im Tirtzu: "The Israelis who take part in Israeli Apartheid Week are the ones who authorize, inflame and feed the boycott movement against Israel" • Numerous Israeli academics, filmmakers reportedly took part in the vehemently anti-Israel event.

Yair Altman, Israel Hayom, March 16, 2016