As the academic year begins, many are justifiably nervous about an anti-Israel onslaught launched by an unholy alliance of the far left with “far gone” Islamist extremists. The anti-Israel fanatics who support Hamas and seek to destroy the Jewish state will use these radical “useful idiots” as enablers. They will hijack human rights rhetoric to perpetuate human wrongs against the Jewish People. 

And while most students will ignore these campus histrionics, impressionable Jewish students who want to be liked and to be hip, and are sincerely troubled by some of the tough decisions Israel is forced to make, will be swept into this anti-Israel whirlwind. Moreover, for some, kicking the Jewish state becomes a way to flout their parents.

In response, many pro-Israel Jews will fall into the advocacy trap, making every conversation about Israel defensive, tense and about the Palestinians. Why we are so willing to fight on their terms, to help them define Israel only by its problems, astounds me. And that we allow them to set the agenda, without understanding that we need to build a deeper, more positive, multi-dimensional connection to Israel, depresses me.

Here are some positive ways to engage Israel on campus. First, for those who are political – go broad. We need a left-to-right coalition affirming Israel’s right to exist. Liberal peaceniks should be infuriated by “apartheid weeks” and the rhetoric of so-called “moderates” accusing Israel of “genocide” – when the Palestinian population grows every year.

Each false, extreme accusation injects more poison into the air, embedding one more obstacle in the path of any trust, compromise or progress toward peace.  Accusations of “apartheid” caricature a national conflict as a racial conflict. Accusations of genocide ignore the fact that while we mourn each life lost, a thousand civilian casualties (and another thousand military casualties) reflect Israel’s remarkable military discipline.

Students should talk about Existential Israel, explaining why the Jewish state exists – because Jews are a people not just a community of faith, because that people has deep, lasting ties to one particular homeland, and because the history of oppression against Jews proves what happens when our rights are ignored and we lack a state.

Students should teach about Fraternal Israel, a sister democracy to the United States and Canada. Note: these are siblings not twins. Each democracy strikes its own balance between universalism and particularism, the individual and the group, an ethnic-religious base and a more cosmopolitan foundation.

Students should contemplate Spiritual Israel, the magical place that spawned Judaism, Christianity – and, in a way, western civilization itself – and continues to stretch and enrich the soul.

Students should celebrate Inspirational Israel, the modern state built on the hills and plains of the sacred Land of Israel. This ancient-modern Altneuland is one of the wonders of the world, functioning as a democracy in a harsh neighbourhood, saving lives with miracle inventions and thriving as a dynamic, growing society.

Students should emphasize Aspirational Israel, the fact that the Zionist movement first focused on founding the state and is now tasked with perfecting it. As a form of liberal democratic nationalism, Zionism has a mission to challenge, to stretch, to help Israel serve as a light unto the nations, fixing flaws and building on strengths.

And, finally, Jewish students should enjoy Familial Israel, the fact that Israel is today’s greatest collective Jewish project. As Jews, we have this historic opportunity to contribute our sweat, our souls, our ideas and actions, our support and critiques, to preserve and perfect our Jewish state.

I do not fear debates about the rights and wrongs of what Israel should do regarding the Palestinians. But I reject Yasser Arafat’s conceit, which was to make everything about Israel be about him – and them. It’s time for us to have our conversation, on our terms, about our remarkable Jewish state, asking what it does and can mean to us – and to others – seeking inspiration and helping it fulfil its loftiest aspirations.