Over 1,000 students from more than 200 college campuses joined a conference call Monday night arranged by Chabad on Campus International, to unite in prayer for Israel and learn how they can advocate for Israel on their campus.
Rabbi Yossy Gordon, Executive Vice President, Chabad on Campus International opened the call. "Right now, our brothers and sisters in Israel are being attacked from within their very own borders. Those on the ground, in Israel, need to do what they have to do.
"We, the Jewish people, and especially on campus, where the battle of ideas is being relentlessly waged every day. We need to stand up and engage, each person using our own unique skills and our own unique opportunities."
Rabbi Yossi Witkes, director of IsraeLinks, Chabad on Campus's premier educational trip to Israel, conceived the event late Sunday night in response to the wave of terror in Jerusalem where he lives with his family. 230 Chabad on Campus centers quickly got the word out through social media. The event was announced at 9 a.m. on Monday, and by the time it began at 7 pm, 1000 students participated.
Rabbi Dov Greenberg, director of the Rohr Chabad House at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California said a Torah thought and urged the students to educate their peers about the realities of what’s going on in Israel,
"You have a power in your social sphere, you have people you influence in your classes and social circles ... if you stand up and think wisely and strategically, you have to know that you will win, and you will make a massive difference, each one of you."
Dovid Efune, editor of The Algemeiner, spoke about the shift in how people get their news: “The days when the flow of information is in the hands of a just a few media organizations are over. Every person today is the Editor in Chief of their social media account. Each one of you has an average readership of 1000 people. If 20 percent of my friends share this status, or a status of mine with accurate reporting from Israel and 20 percent of their friends see it that is a reach of more than 50,000 people.”
Rabbi Zalman Bluming, director of the Rohr Chabad of Durham/Chapel Hill and Duke University in Chapel Hill, N.C., closed the call with words of inspiration “the nation of Israel is compared to a lion that rests- yet when its awaken, boy does she roar. You are leaders standing at the front lines and today – is our own draft – when we are called to stand proud and strong for our brothers and sisters in Israel”.