OpEd: UCSD Chapter of Students Supporting Israel (SSI) Improves Campus Climate

By Kerry Schlossberg

LA JOLLA, California — The pro-Palestine movement has proven itself to be highly organized, with many participants showing up frequently throughout San Diego (and especially at UCSD) after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Pro-Israel San Diegans have not been as visible over the past year, with many organizations opting for a different approach out of safety concerns and a focus on bringing Jews together during these troubling times. With seemingly endless anti-Israel events and even an encampment at UCSD after the Hamas massacre of Israelis, there has been a gap in the campus conversation that left many students, faculty and staff feeling unsupported. Fortunately, a new school year has just begun, and it is all going to change.

For the first time, UCSD has its own chapter of Students Supporting Israel (SSI), a nationwide organization founded in 2012 whose mission is “to be a clear and confident pro-Israel voice on college campuses and to support students in grassroots pro-Israel advocacy.” Two courageous UCSD students, Andrew Jeter and Ariella Blatt, are leading SSI’s UCSD chapter, with support from UCSD professors and staff, religious leaders, and community members. They share a vision in which students feel safe advocating for Israel on campus, with visibility and an open forum for dialogue about Israel. SSI is providing valuable funding and resources to make this happen.

SSI UCSD is recruiting student members and has already held an October 7th memorial event with elaborate displays and signage that received news coverage. SSI UCSD President Jeter commented, “Our October 7th Memorial Event successfully provided an open forum to not only remember those that lost their lives on October 7th, 2023, but those that have had to relive October 7th every single day since then, as prisoners in Hamas captivity. We aim to maintain our presence on UC San Diego campus to provide support to all students that wish to publicly support Israel’s right to exist.” UCSD provided ample security for the event, and SSI UCSD Vice President Blatt commented, “I’m very grateful that the peace and respect of the event was conserved. We engaged in civil conversations, raised Israeli flags high, and had a beautiful very first event for our new SSI chapter. Such a success!”

I encourage everyone to spread the word about SSI UCSD (as well as SSI’s SDSU chapter), and I hope that this vital initiative will help rebuild a pro-Israel activist base in San Diego that consistently shows up. Our community urgently needs a comprehensive effort like the San Diego Israel Coalition (SDIC), which had a membership list of 2,500 volunteers and hundreds of pro-Israel activists consistently showing up to counterprotest during the 2010-2011 timeframe before merging with StandWithUs. It is critical for pro-Israel/Jewish organizations to come together now to amplify messaging and achieve strength in numbers. A great place to start is at UCSD, where pro-Israel San Diegans have an opportunity to work with SSI to continue engaging in a dialogue with students who have often only heard the anti-Israel perspective, and to show the other side that vicious lies about Israel won’t go unanswered.

*
Kerry Schlossberg, Esq., is a freelance writer who focuses on San Diego’s response to Middle Eastern affairs.