Congratulations to Eric Schorr, 2011-2012 LionPAC President, for winning AIPAC’s Campus Advocate of the Year Award at Policy Conference 2012!  Eric has been an integral piece of the LionPAC board for many years, serving as Director of Public Relations, Director of Political Affairs, Vice President, and now President. We thank him for his hard work during his four years at Columbia in both advocating for Israel and fostering new leaders within LionPAC.

Sincerely,

The LionPAC Board

In preparation for Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine’s ‘Israeli Apartheid Week,’ below is the text for the Columbia/Barnard Hillel Israel Va’ad fact sheet. Click here for the flyer image file.

Sustained Security

• Since construction of the security barrier began in 2003, the number of terrorist attacks in Israel has declined by 97%.
• The purpose of the barrier is to establish security, not to create a social divide. It is not the permanent solution.

Economic Progress

• The Palestine Investment Conference is actively working on new and innovative ideas to advance the Palestinian economy. One project is the planned city of Rawabi, which is in its early stages, and once it is fully built, it will be the first planned Palestinian city.¹
• Ramallah, the largest city in the West Bank, has been undergoing a construction boom, and the large increases in property development are indicators of strong economic growth.²
• There have also been positive joint economic ventures, such as the burgeoning relationship between the Palestinian city of Jenin and the Israeli area of Gilboa. The two cities have worked to create joint business enterprises and are planning an industrial zone to connect the two cities.³

Working Towards Democracy

• Since the Oslo Peace Accords, 96% of Palestinians live under full Palestinian civil administration, of which 55% live under Palestinian security control as well.
• The Palestinian Authority has instituted its own criminal justice system and court structure to try Palestinian people according to their own legal system.
• The prospect of a viable Palestinian state is moving towards becoming a reality. This state will govern its own people by passing and enforcing its own laws. Israel, judged by its repeated offers to the Palestinians to create a Palestinian state, wants such a state to be created; Israel does not want Palestinians to continue to live under its authority.

Civil Equality

• All Israelis, including Arabs, have equal rights.
• Arabs have been elected to every Knesset (Israeli Parliament) since Israel’s founding. At present Arabs hold 14 of 120 seats.
• Palestinians living in the West Bank can bring cases to the Israeli Supreme Court if they feel that the security barrier causes them excessive harm. In the past, the Court has ruled in favor of Palestinians and ordered the route of the barrier to be moved.⁴

¹http://huff.to/89gSkd

²http://reut.rs/g1j213

³http://www.jpost.com/LocalIsrael/Article.aspx?id=157631

⁴http://www.jpost.com/topic/Alfei_Menashe

Next Friday night, we are honored to have Dr. Daniel Gordis return to his alma mater once again and spend Shabbat with the Hillel community. Please join us at dinner Friday night (catered by Carlos and Gabby’s!), followed by a keynote address delivered by Dr. Gordis. Saturday afternoon Dr. Gordis will be leading a shiur (study session) before afternoon services at Hillel.

To sign up for dinner on Friday night, find any LionPAC board member or pay on PayPal. The $5 is definitely worth it for this amazing dinner!

If you have any questions about the weekend, please email lionpac@hillel.columbia.edu

On Sunday, October 16th, Alan Dershowitz came to the Kraft Center for Jewish Life at Columbia University to speak:

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most controversial topics in the media today. How do journalists balance this contentious issue to produce an even-handed portrayal of the conflict? This event will feature three distinguished panelists with extensive experience in journalism and reporting on Israel. Ethan Bronner is the Jerusalem bureau chief for the New York Times and Yaakov Katz is the military correspondent and defense analyst for The Jerusalem Post. Ari Goldman is a professor at the Columbia Journalism School who worked for many years at the New York Times. Their combined insight will help illuminate the media’s treatment of Israel and will present a method for understanding Israel independent of how the media portrays the country.

For more information, check our Facebook event.