The fight against the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign on UK university campuses is about to get a boost, with a prominent Israel education organisation announcing the UK launch of its fellowship programme.
StandWithUs’s year-long UK Emerson fellowship, modelled on their American fellowship, aims to select student leaders and “empower each of them to teach their peers about Israel and combat anti- Israel rhetoric”.
The American fellowship, which has been operating since 2007, has grown to around 100 students a year.
For the first UK programme, 22 students from 20 universities, including Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle and UCL, will be taking part, including members of both the Conservative and Labour parties.
The year-long programme begins this week in London, and will include a trip to StandWithUs’s international conference in Los Angeles next March, when UK students will have the opportunity to meet their US counterparts.
Jonathan Farrell, the organisation’s UK director for student affairs, said: “Since its inception in 2010, the SWU UK office has been effectively helping students share Israel’s story and also counter the delegitimisation of Israel on campuses.
“The UK Emerson Fellowship formalises the programme and accelerates the potential for student leaders to excel as educators, not just on campus, but in every forum where Israel education should be presented.”
One participant, Maya Sterrie, a student at the University of Leeds, said she was “super excited to be able to facilitate more Israel education and discussion on my campus”.
She added: “Having been an NUS delegate, I would also like to encourage students from other universities to attend events to experience a greater understanding about Israel within the movement.”
