Tufts Friends of Israel

Hi Everyone! Check out this article from Israel Campus Beat about Tufts’ success this year. Be sure to look for the quotes from Daniel and Erica. Just paste the URL below into your browser to start reading.

http://israelcampusbeat.com/home/news/11-04-13/Honoring_New_England_s_Outstanding_Advocates.aspx

Come help us celebrate Israel’s 63rd Birthday.

11:30 am- 1:30 pm. Friday April 15th. Mayer Campus Center.

Live Band. Free Food. Free Shirts. Free Giveaways!

Israel is one of the first of 45 countries to offer aid to Japan in the aftermath of the strongest quake ever to hit Japan.

IsraAID-first has sent out a search and rescue mission to Japan, and will be reaching Japan by way of South Korea.

Many other Jewish groups around the world including the Jewish Federations of North America and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee expressed expressed solidarity with the people of Japan in their time of crisis.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=211885

Check out coverage of Tufts FOI Peace Week in the online publication, Israel Campus Beat!

http://israelcampusbeat.com/home/news/11-03-07/The_Growth_of_Israel_Peace_Week.aspx

Come join us as we celebrate IPW 2011.

See "Upcoming Programs" for more details!

In a weeklong, Valentine’s Day−themed fundraising campaign that concluded Friday, Tufts Friends of Israel (FOI) raised over $1,400 for an international pediatric health nonprofit.
FOI’s campaign benefited Save A Child’s Heart (SACH), an Israeli nonprofit organization that provides care to children with heart disease in developing countries around the world, according to FOI President Daniel Bleiberg, a sophomore. Through collaboration with other campus organizations, the group was able to exceed its original goal of $1,000.
“The aim is to improve [care] where there are no cardiac surgeons by sending medical personnel out to find the children and then bringing them and their families to the organization for free,” FOI Communications Chair Erica Feldman, a freshman, said.
During a trip to Israel over winter break, several FOI board members, including Feldman, spent a day at the house where SACH patients stay and were inspired to bring the organization’s work to Tufts, Feldman said.
“Part of the program involved spending one day at the house of the organization, where we got to meet a lot of kids,” she said.
Upon returning to the Hill, the FOI members who went on the trip decided to launch a philanthropy initiative on behalf of SACH with the goals of spreading awareness of the organization and raising funds, according to Feldman.
“We really wanted to do something this semester for the Friends of Israel, and this seemed like a cause that the campus could unite on,” Feldman said.
Although run by FOI, the campaign was a collaborative effort, according to FOI Cultural Chair Sharonne Holtzman, a sophomore.
“The program is sponsored by Friends of Israel, but we’ve had help from many non−affiliated organizations,” Holtzman said. “It bridges people together and leads to all different kinds of communications.”
Feldman agreed that the collaborative effort allowed the campaign to appeal to a wider group of students.
“We’ve had girls from Chi Omega running our tables, and Zeta Psi was very helpful in helping us to achieve our goal by throwing us our kickoff party,” Feldman said. “We really feel like we’re reaching out to the wider Tufts community with this awareness campaign.”
The fundraising campaign included a Valentine’s Day candy−delivery service, a cookie−decorating table in the Mayer Campus Center, information tables in the Dewick−MacPhie Dining Center and a Valentine’s Day−themed ticketed party held by the Zeta Psi fraternity.
“SACH has a national Valentine’s Day week awareness campaign, so we’re trying to start a tradition here,” Holtzman said. “People were really receptive to it, which is very exciting.”
The campaign, Holtzman believed, has raised FOI’s profile among the student body and allowed the organization to become more involved with other campus groups, including several Greek chapters.
Bleiberg said the group initially planned for a smaller campaign, wanting to gauge student response.
“Originally, we were realistic in our goals and wanted to focus on awareness, but people showed initiative and really stepped up,” Bleiberg said.
The success of this week’s initiative has spurred interest among members of FOI in holding the campaign on an annual basis, Bleiberg said.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about making this a yearly tradition,” Bleiberg said. “It’s been overwhelmingly successful and has really exceeded our expectations.”

At a time such as now — when the Middle East is particularly tumultuous, and the futures of many Middle Eastern countries, such as that of America’s longtime ally, Egypt, are uncertain — the strength and ensured continuity of the U.S.-Israel relationship is paramount. As the only established democratic state in the Middle East, Israel is an invaluable and strategic partner that shares mutual foreign policy and development goals with the United States. Israel’s dependability is critical to the U.S.-Israel relationship. The United States has reaped many benefits from this strong relationship, ranging from security assistance to collaboration on military and technological advancements. Recent developments in such areas have been critical to U.S. national interests and security.

Unparalleled security cooperation between the United States and Israel enhances U.S. national interests. Israel has tremendous expertise in homeland security due to its constant need to address dangerous threats, which has benefited the United States through joint homeland security drills. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Guard have traveled to Israel to participate in such drills. In January 2010, Israel conducted a large-scale bio-terrorism drill simulating a smallpox outbreak caused by a terrorist attack. Since then, FEMA and the Israeli National Emergency Authority have signed formal agreements to conduct more joint-training drills. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has described the U.S.-Israel defense relationship as “stronger than ever, to the mutual benefit of both nations”.

In his fiscal year 2011 budget submission to Congress, Obama requested $3 billion in security assistance to Israel. This is part of a 10-year security agreement, the U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding, which was established in 2007 and pledges $30 billion in security aid to Israel. The agreement is vital, as Israel faces multiple security threats, including threats from a nuclear Iran and missile attacks by internationally recognized terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The growing arsenals of these terrorist groups, especially the expanding power of Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the imminent and pressing danger of Iran, demonstrate how essential it is to preserve Israel’s regional strategic security in a turbulent area.

Almost all of U.S. foreign aid given to Israel is spent on American-made items. More specifically, about 75% of foreign aid received by Israel is spent on U.S.-made military products. Aid also contributes to the overall growth of Israel’s economy, thereby putting Israel in a better position to purchase American and other international goods, which benefits the world economy as a whole. Spending on U.S. products positively contributes to significant job creation and growth at home. Recent calls to eliminate foreign aid to Israel due to the high deficit would harm both Israeli and U.S. interests in the long run.

Foreign aid is an essential part of the U.S. national security strategy that advances economic development and political stability across the globe. A large foreign aid budget reflects values we share with Israel, as foreign aid contributes to humanitarian efforts abroad that focus on reducing poverty and disease and promoting economic and social development.

Israel exhibited its commitment to humanitarian aid during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was one of the first humanitarian forces to arrive in Haiti. Israel’s experience with treating mass injuries due to damage inflicted by missiles and bombs made the IDF an ideal source for disaster response and assistance. Israel has dispatched crisis response teams when needed to areas around the world.

Israeli-developed technology has played a major part in assisting hardworking American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Such technologies include unmanned drones that can be used for intelligence purposes without placing the lives of U.S. soldiers in danger. In contrast, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused the deaths of more than 2,000 troops. Additionally, Israeli-innovated vehicle armor tiles protect U.S. soldiers in armored personnel carriers.

One major innovation, the Emergency Bandage, pioneered by IDF, has recently played a major role in saving American lives in the recent Tucson shooting on Jan. 8. Sheriff deputies, who arrived to the scene before paramedics, used a $99 first-aid kit developed by a Tucson SWAT team medic, David Kleinman. The kit included the Emergency Bandage. Kleinman described how deputies reached for the Israeli-designed bandage “over and over at the scene.”

Israeli research technology has also produced solutions to problems concerning water and food contamination and cyber warfare. Israel’s Green movement has seen success in numerous environmental projects including reforestation, desalination of water and improving crop yields. Israel and the United States are also two of 15 nations working together to reduce the threat of attacks on computer networks, thus keeping each nation’s online infrastructures safe and secure. The United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, whose funding has in part  sponsored the research of 37 Nobel Prize winners, demonstrates the collaboration between these two countries.

In addition to creating vital technology, Israel has demonstrated innovation through the development of its robust economy, made possible by an entrepreneurial and inventive spirit. In 2009, Israel was among the United States’ 10 largest export markets for goods per capita — ahead of countries such as Mexico, Japan, and Germany.

As General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, stated, “Israel has been, is and will be an important strategic ally of the United States.” In a volatile region often plagued by instability, the ability of the United States to rely on Israel is something that should not be taken for granted. The depth and importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship should be recognized and fostered, as Israel has proved itself to be, and remains, a highly instrumental and strategic ally to the United States.

–

Elissa Miller is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. She is a member of Tufts Friends of Israel.

We have just finished off our SACH campaign. It was an incredibly successful week consisting of a kick-off party, selling Valentine’s day candy bags, cookie decorating and tabling through out the week. We have surpassed our fundraising goal of $1000. We would like to thank the Boston CJP, Hagshama, Hasbara Fellowships, Zeta Psi, and Tufts Hillel for their incredible support.

THIS SATURDAY, 10 PM. Come have fun while supporting this incredible cause!

Come in your finest red, white, or pink attire and celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend at Zeta Psi. We are co-sponsoring this party; donations are strongly encouraged at the door.

150 “automatic entry” tickets will be sold for only $2 at the campus center Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 1-4pm. Anyone with a ticket will cut the line and enter first.

Save A Child’s Heart (SACH) is an Israeli based international humanitarian project, whose mission is to improve pediatric care for children in developing countries who suffer from heart disease.

SACH works to provide life-saving cardiac surgeries, to launch training programs for medical personnel, and to create competent care centers in various countries. The organization brings in children from all over the world, including places such as China, Nigeria, Jordan, Iraq, Romania, Haiti and the Palestinian Territories to receive care and medical treatment for free, upholding the idea that every child deserves the best medical treatment available.

In light of Valentine’s Day, FOI has decided to dedicate this upcoming week to SACH in order to raise money and awareness for this organization we have fallen in love with.