Israel is 'center of diaspora' for small NY women's college

Each month, approximately 15 American women in Jerusalem read the same agreed-upon book, and meet to discuss it. Their reading material is eclectic; recent choices have included Meir Shalev's "The Blue Mountain," Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Steven Pinker's "The Language Instinct," and Yoram Hazony's "The Jewish State." The women, too, represent diverse political ideologies, ages, economic circumstances, and religious observances.

What the women have in common is that they all graduated from Barnard, a small women's college in New York affiliated with Columbia University. According to a spokesman for the school, 317 Barnard alumnae (including this reporter) are recorded as living in Israel, representing almost 2 percent of the college's living graduates; the concentration of "Barnard women" in Israel is greater than that in any other country outside the United States (England is next with 219). The group includes MK Naomi Chazan (Meretz), and author Loolwa Khazzoom. During a visit to Israel in October of 2000, Barnard President Judith Shapiro called Israel "the center of the Barnard diaspora."

In contrast, Brandeis University, which functions under Jewish auspices, has only 240 alumni from its undergraduate division living in Israel, according to its spokesman.

Perhaps because of their numbers, or perhaps because of the enthusiasm they overwhelmingly expressed about their college experience, Barnard alumnae here, while active in Israeli life, also maintain deep ties to the school and to each other. Graduates have established Barnard clubs in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv; periodic events for alumnae in various areas of the country; and the Barnard Book Club of Jerusalem. Several graduates said they have invited young women to their homes for Shabbat solely on the basis of their common alma mater. When Shapiro visited the capital, almost two-thirds of the Israeli residents in Barnard's database came to greet her at a reception.

IDF volunteer

"I have two great loves in my life, Barnard and Israel," said Flo Low, 23, who is voluntarily serving in the IDF in the Galil but goes to Barnard events in Jerusalem when she can. "[Barnard graduates] share ambition and commitment and dedication. There's a closeness, it's a community. Graduating from Barnard you enter into that community."

The Jerusalem book group began almost three years ago, when alumnae at a Barnard Club lecture series decided they wanted to continue discussing ideas together on a regular basis. Members noted the paradox inherent in the eligibility requirement for membership. On one hand, only Barnard graduates may join the meetings; not even women who attended Columbia College, which shares a Hillel House with Barnard, may attend. On the other hand, any Barnard alumna is welcome, regardless of age or religious or political affiliation.

The diversity of the women's backgrounds is one reason that Rivka Matitya, class of 1989, is attracted to the book club. "The common denominator ... is a sincere intellectual curiosity about a diverse range of subjects, both fact and fiction, the ability to discuss things freely and openly even when we disagree," she said.

Dede Toledano-Efromson, Class of 1969, said the open exchange of ideas is "how we did things at Barnard, and it's refreshing to have a place where we can do it [in Jerusalem]." Toledano-Efromson, an English teacher at Michlelet Ort in Givat Ram, said she appreciates the restrictive membership requirement because "Barnard teaches excellence ... by limiting the membership to Barnard women, it ensures that a certain atmosphere will prevail."

The women also said their experience at Barnard informed or influenced their involvement in Israeli society. Matitya, who majored in political science, said, "My studies about passive resistance and my commitment to non-violence and passive resistance ... as a force for political change has majorly influenced my political involvement in Israel."

Low, who graduated last May and had received a fellowship from Barnard to conduct research for her senior thesis in Israel, told Anglo File that it was the "sense of responsibility" she gained in college that led her to volunteer for the IDF. Barnard, she said, instilled "an understanding of my potential and obligation [to] work toward a better future and leave a mark." Although she does not yet know how she will do it, she said "I feel obligated to be involved in building this country. Through my education at Barnard, and the leadership at Barnard, I gained the skills, the sense of responsibility, and the confidence to fulfill that mission, however it expresses itself."

Tensions on campus

Despite their fond memories of college life, a few Barnard graduates in Israel have a sometimes tenuous relationship with their alma mater. Though the school does not track alumnae donations on the basis of geographic location, several women told Anglo File they wonder how committed to their interests the school could be, given that immigrants to Israel tend not to be in a financial position to make large gifts.

In a response, the college stated: "It would be wrong for the college to come out with any position other than that no Barnard student should feel her opinion is not valued ...There is no Barnard College position on Israel, nor could there be."

The graduates' question is underscored by the recent rise of anti-Israel activities and tensions on the Columbia and Barnard campuses, similar to those on many university campuses across the United States. In the last few years, some Columbia professors have cancelled classes to encourage their students to stage sit-ins protesting Israel's policies; numerous groups and clubs have sponsored organized protests; several Barnard faculty members signed a petition by Columbia students urging the university to divest from companies supplying war materials to Israel; and feminist Phyllis Chesler published an account at FrontPageMag.com of her address to a feminist conference, sponsored by an organization of female artists and held on Barnard's campus, at which she was cornered into addressing Palestinian-Israeli relations and physically accosted after refusing to "denounce Ariel Sharon - but not Yasser Arafat - as a murderer."

The Chesler incident led Shapiro to issue a statement - also published at FrontPageMag - to the effect that " This event has led administrators to re-examine Barnard guidelines for events by outside groups and their responsibility to honor the college's basic framework for free and fair discussion."

Prof. Marcia Gelpe, who graduated from Barnard in 1965 and is now the head of the Center for Environmental Law at Netanya Academic College, said she was "disappointed in the [college's] response to the divestment petition [to sanction Israel for its actions toward the Palestian people by divesting from companies supplying war materials to Israel]." The petition was ultimately turned down and a statement released by College President Shapiro expressed her opposition to a divestment demand "that singled out one country in an insupportable way." However, her statement went on to say that the petition "reflects the exercise of free speech that is one of the central tenets of [Barnard]."

Prof. Gelpe feels the school should have taken things one step further and denounced the petition as anti-Semitic. A spokeswoman for Barnard College said in response: "I think the fact that the petition was overwhelmingly voted down speaks for itself about the prevailing sentiments on campus."

All the alumnae interviewed separated their concern about rising tensions on campus from the gratitude they expressed for the personal growth they experienced in their classes and in the residence halls.

Gelpe said that, were she in a position to donate to the school, she would continue to do so, since "I got a wonderful education, and I'm grateful for that, and my daughter [who also attended Barnard] got a wonderful education."

Cultivating courage

The high Jewish population is probably the simplest explanation of why so many Barnard graduates have chosen to move to Israel. As a women's college in New York City, Barnard has historically attracted a disproportionate number of Jewish applicants. According to Admissions Dean Jennifer Fondiller, 10 percent of the current student body attended a Jewish day school, and each year approximately 40-60 students defer their matriculation to spend a post-high school year in one of Israel's seminary programs. Barnard also maintains an option to spend junior year abroad in Israel, though participation has dropped since the recent intifada.

But Prof. Gelpe, believes there is something inherent in Barnard's character which makes graduates more likely to immigrate. The school, she said "attracts independent, searching women who do not seek known frameworks - the same kind of people who will be attracted to going to live in another society, or will have the nerve to try it."

Matitya concurs that the Barnard education itself accounts for the high percentage of graduates living in Israel. Barnard "cultivates in women courage in their own convictions, confidence in their own abilities," she said. "Someone who leaves behind everything America has to offer is doing so for ideological reasons and has to be able to go for their dreams. Those qualities are true of anyone who makes aliyah [immigrates]. Barnard very much encourages their students and graduates to pursue their dreams. I don't mind sounding like a brochure. I loved Barnard."

	Graduates of Barnard College in a discussion at their book club in Jerusalem.
	Photo by: Lior Mizrahi / BauBa