BDS Ain’t New: The Arab League Boycott Gets a Makeover

Source: The Huffington Post This piece was co-written by Adam Milstein and Marc A. Greendorfer. In recent years, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement has gained increasing traction at universities, academic associations, municipalities, churches, unions, pension funds, and investment portfolios in America and around the globe. The pro-Israel community is now waking up to the seriousness of the danger that this movement poses to the Jewish state, the Jewish people, the American people and the U.S. Yet, as we mobilize our community to action, it’s important to recognize that BDS is nothing new. Those behind this campaign have simply put  Read More…

A CAMPUS ALLIES ALUMNUS SHARES HIS STORY

This post was originally on Times of Israel The Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation is proud to support AIPAC’s Campus Allies Mission, which brings non-Jewish, pro-Israel political activists to Israel for the first time. Participants learn about the importance of the relationship between the United States and Israel and gain a deeper understanding of Israel’s strategic, social, and security issues, right in the heart of the Holy Land. An alumnus of our Campus Allies — Brett Neilsen — has shared how the Campus Allies Mission has impacted his life. You can read his post below.  In 2007, I was working on my undergraduate degree in Political  Read More…

Students Supporting Israel: A Milstein Family Foundation Partner Shares Its Story

This post was originally on Times of Israel The Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation is proud to partner with Students Supporting Israel (SSI), a grassroots pro-Israel campus movement. It has many chapters across the United States and Canada, and is committed to promoting a better understanding of Israel as a member of the family of nations, with a fundamental right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, within secure borders. The Director of SSI — Valeria Chazin — shares how the partnership between the Milstein Family Foundation and SSI has changed lives. You can read her post below. The  Read More…

Israeli-Americans Can Strengthen the Jewish People in the U.S. and Lead the Fight Against BDS

For the original post: HuffingtonPost.com   For decades, those of Israeli descent living in America kept our suitcases packed. Despite U.S. passports, English-speaking families, and American homes and businesses, we always thought that we would return to Israel one day. Since we didn’t feel rooted in the United States, we saw little need to cultivate community — and generally remained disconnected from synagogues, Jewish education and Jewish community organizations. This mindset did not serve our community well. Oftentimes, our children sought to distance themselves from our foreign culture, and quickly began assimilating, in many cases leaving both their Jewish and  Read More…

Why BDS threatens Israel, America and Western Society

Source: Times of Israel WHY BDS THREATENS ISRAEL, AMERICA AND WESTERN SOCIETY I share the conviction held by many that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement poses a strategic threat to the State of Israel. Simply put, BDS seeks to destroy the world’s one and only Jewish State – and we must take them at their word. However, those that believe this is just an issue for Israel or the Jewish people are sorely mistaken. BDS endangers the future of America – and all of Western society. Like a wildfire spreading out of control, BDS is a menace that must be  Read More…

The Israeli American Council – Building Bridges; Strengthening Jewish Identity

For Israelis living in America for an extended period of time, locating an embracing community and creating a national identity can be a conundrum for many. Am I an Israeli? Am I an American? How does Judaism play a role in my life? How can I support Israel while living here?  These are just a smattering of questions that ruminate in the minds of Israeli-Americans as they grapple with themselves and their contemporaries for cogent answers. Enter Adam Milstein, a native born Israeli who arrived in the United States in 1981. Today, this man of boundless energy, passion and commitment  Read More…

Israel Video Network launches “Inspired by Israel” video contest

(JNS.org) The Israel Video Network, in partnership with the Milstein Family Foundation, has launched a new global video contest that seeks to showcase how people are inspired by Israel. According to the “Inspired by Israel” contest rules, each video can be up to four minutes long and be submitted by anyone. Participants must register no later than Jan. 15th and submit their videos a month later by Feb. 15th. The winning videos will be selected by a panel of hand-picked judges who will choose the top two videos from the top ten vote totals. The grand prize will be $7,500, with the  Read More…

Championing Israel in the 21st Century: A New Tool for the Digital Age

TalkIsrael, a revolutionary new app recently released by the Israeli- Council (IAC), American is the first of its kind to make finding, reading, and sharing pro-Israel content as easy as playing CandyCrush. Users create customized news feeds on the app, choosing from topics about Israel like “science,” “culture,” “Iran,” “food,” or “sports.” The system then measures each user’s level of engagement with each piece of content so that, over time, the app automatically populates the feed with articles that are most appealing. To determine what a user really likes, content is broken down and analyzed into approximately 50 components, including  Read More…

It’s not just about Israel. BDS threatens us all.

This article was originally posted on The Huffington Post A campaign of hate is sweeping across our country. The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement – advancing an agenda to demonize the Jewish people and destroy the State of Israel – is moving from the fringes of our society and into the mainstream. Churches, labor unions, and associations have voted to divest from Israeli companies. In the past year alone, more than 30 student governments at American universities have considered resolutions calling for divestment from the State of Israel. More than a dozen academic trade associations have followed suit, voting  Read More…

Persuasive Philanthropy: the Adam Milstein Model

How do you galvanize a community that has forgotten its heritage? As Adam Milstein realized 15 years ago, it takes passionate determination and tireless effort. Milstein emigrated from Israel with his wife and daughters in the early 1980s, became an American citizen in 1986, and built a thriving real estate development business. Around the year 2000, his daughters started dating young men who weren’t Jewish. He told his daughters he hoped they’d marry Jewish husbands. They asked him why. Faced with this question from his daughters, Milstein realized he didn’t have an answer. As an Israeli, he’d spent his time  Read More…