Our goal was to empower students to be change-makers and to provide them with a toolbox for engaged, open, and civil discourse.
Our strength was in the ability to create safe places in which hard issues can be addressed in collaboration with a wide spectrum of organizational partners.
ASF received a generous grant from the Max & Anna Baran, Ben & Sarah Baran and Milton Baran Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles. This grant will enable ASF to continue to build a world that Avi would have built for us.
Penn Dialogue Forum:Confronting Penn’s Unhealthy Discourse, a guest column written by Besan Abu-Joudeh, Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz, Elie Peltz, Humna Bhojani.
ASF Director Yoav Schaefer’s article “Abandon Talking Points, and Embody the Right Values” was featured in a group of articles in conjunction with Israel Apartheid Week on college campuses across the country.
This year, campuses across the country remembered Avi by hosting an Avi Shabbat. Of the dozens of campuses joining this initiative, 36 campuses received mirco-grants from ASF with the specified purpose of creating events to engage in an interfaith Shabbat experience with Muslim students, as well as students from other faith traditions.
We are happy to announce that the second annual Jerusalem Symposium was a stunning success, far exceeding our expectations. The symposium, titled “The Z-Word: Re-imagining Zionism,” brought together a crowd of over 300 students, professionals representing over 20 Jewish and Israeli organizations, and government representatives, to grapple with the meaning and enduring relevance of Zionism.
The Avi Schaefer Fund is proud to announce that the inaugural Intercollegiate Ivy League Colloquium on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, held over President’s Day Weekend at Brown University, was a tremendous success. This first ever Colloquium in Memory of Avi Schaefer brought together a diverse group of pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian student leaders from all eight Ivy League schools, three fabulous facilitators, and dynamic, informative speakers representing a variety of institutions at the forefront of peace building efforts.
Schaefer ’13 conference offers perspective on Middle East, written by Eli Okun.
Jerusalem Symposium, January 22, 2012
The 2012 symposium will provide a unique opportunity for young adults spending time in Israel to learn about and debate Zionism’s enduring relevance in the very state it helped to create. During the symposium, taking place this year at Hadassah College in Jerusalem, participants will confront tough questions such as, “Is Zionism relevant in our time?” and “Why be a Zionist today?” The program will include break out sessions led by academic, professional and organizational experts. Attendants can choose from a list of sessions such as, “Contemporary expressions of Innovation: A new form of Zionism” and “Who do we include in the Zionist tent? Being Zionist and critiquing Israel.” The design of the Symposium will ultimately challenge participants on both a philosophicaland a practical level by hearing various accounts of the state of Zionism in the 21st century and explore contemporary expressions of Zionism.
We are strengthened and touched by the ever-growing community that has embraced our efforts to honor Avi’s memory through the Avi Schaefer Fund.
Look for the Laurie Gross Studios booth (429) at the URJ Biennial in Washington, DC, December 14 to 18.
We will display information about ASF and proceeds of our Blessings Abound sales at the Biennial will be donated to the fund.
