When Miri Kornfeld, the StandWithUs Executive Director of High School Affairs, graduated from a Jewish day school and entered her freshman year of college, she was shocked and unsure of how to respond when anti-Israel messages began appearing around her campus. After joining and later becoming president of a pro-Israel organization at her college where she learned and taught others about Israel, Kornfeld now works to train high school students how to defend and support Israel if they find themselves in a similar situation to her college experience.

On March 22, Kornfeld presented to CESJDS students during high school lunch. According to Kornfeld, the goal of her presentation was to introduce students to StandWithUs, an international Israel education organization.

As the Executive Director of High School Affairs, Kornfeld helps high school students learn about how to have educated conversations about Israel, inspire their peers, and make a difference both now and in the future.

“[Students] know what to do and they can start right away in their freshman year [of college] instead of having to educate themselves once they get to college,” Kornfeld said. “They already know, they can already start, they can take leadership positions for Israel and they can stand up for Israel on campus.”

Sophomore Shira Graubart contacted StandWithUs after she had a conversation with her tennis coach about the need for greater advocacy for Israel among students.

Graubart believes that many JDS students, including herself, feel emotionally connected to Israel and may have close friends or family members living in Israel. When confronted with anti-Israel comments, however, she said they often do not stand and speak up for Israel because they do not know how argue their opinions.

“Even though we are a Jewish school, there are steps that can be taken to enhance the Israel engagement that there is within the students,” Graubart said. “I know a lot of us support Israel, but we don’t really know how to articulate that support.”

StandWithUs was founded 15 years ago, during the Second Intifada to help teach people how to advocate for Israel. With 19 offices worldwide, StandWithUs works to prepare students how to respond in settings where they could encounter anti-Israel sentiment.

Kornfeld’s confrontation in college with anti-Israel messages was during Israel Apartheid Week, a week full of anti-Israel speakers and demonstrations. Events like Israel Apartheid Weeks and campaigns or movements like Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, a boycott Israel movement popular on many college campuses, are a growing concern for many college students. For these types of situations and any Israel-related problems college students have, Kornfeld said StandWithUs representatives on campuses act as a “Israel 911” to help students stand up for Israel.

“If you truly want to get involved and advocate for Israel now or on your college campus, you have to look for resources, you have to read, you have to really immerse yourself in the field,” Kornfeld said. “That’s where StandWithUs comes in: to be able to support you and provide you with those resources and answer your questions.”

Freshman Sophia Sadikman felt that attending Kornfeld’s presentation was beneficial. The presentation gave her helpful tips on how to respond to people who are uneducated about Israel, a situation she has struggled in before.

“I learned that there are people with these organizations who you can call in times of need who can guide you through everything, so you won’t be alone in trying to advocate for Israel,” Sadikman said. “I think it would really be a great thing to show uneducated people what Israel stands for and what most Jews stand for.”

Graubart hopes that after listening to the presentation students will feel more confident when they speak about Israel. According to Kornfeld, speaking confidently about and involving oneself with Israel stems from education.

“The first cardinal rule of wanting to get more involved is you need to make yourself knowledgeable about what’s going on,” Kornfeld said. “You can’t advocate for something before you’re educated about it.”