Israel’s defenders speak out

With ‘Our Soldiers Speak,’ the real story of Israel is told in college campuses, Washington’s corridors of power and in the country itself

By NOA AMOUYAL
BENJAMIN ANTHONY, founder and director, Our Soldiers Speak (photo credit: COURTESY OUR SOLDIERS SPEAK)
BENJAMIN ANTHONY, founder and director, Our Soldiers Speak
(photo credit: COURTESY OUR SOLDIERS SPEAK)
At 26 years old, Benjamin Anthony began the transition from soldier to de facto ambassador of Israel.
As an English-speaking lone soldier who served in the Second Lebanon War, Anthony’s commander asked him to interview with a reporter for The Times of London. That conversation was the beginning of a transformative journey.
“I realized very clearly that there was nobody speaking to reporters from an experiential point of view, without politics and without the consideration of the politicization of the discussion about what was transpiring on the front lines. I realized there was a real need for an organization that provided this to the international community, and that’s how Our Soldiers Speak came about,” Anthony told The Jerusalem Post.
Launched in 2006, Our Soldiers Speak (OSS) brings the story of the battleground into college classrooms and to the halls of Senate and Congress. The non-profit organization works closely with the IDF, Israel Police and Justice Ministry to bring firsthand testimony to the Left, Right and Center of change-makers of today and leaders of tomorrow.
The organization has brought top-brass Israeli officials to more than 450 campuses across the English-speaking world – in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Africa. Examples of recent speakers include Marlene Mazel, an expert in counter-terrorism and foreign litigation; Brig.-Gen. Dr. Tarif Bader, surgeon-general of the IDF; and Maj.-Gen. Avshalom Peled, commander of the Israeli National Police Academy and counter-terrorism expert.
On campuses, OSS specifically engages with students in law, international relations and media. This is a strategic decision made by OSS to maximize its impact.
“If you look at the elected officials in the US, the vast majority emanate from a legal background. If you want to find a future legislator or president, that person is probably sitting in a law school right now. If you then want to find someone who will advise that future legislator or president – those individuals who will whisper counsel to leadership – they are probably enrolled in an international relations program at the moment. And if you want to engage the people who will then disseminate the words of those leaders, they are probably pursuing a career in the media at the moment. So these are future influences,” he explained.
The goal of OSS, though, is not only to influence, but also to ensure that students and political officials hear an accurate, policy-driven take on the facts on the ground in Israel. The hope is that these future leaders will remember and appreciate what they’ve heard and take this into account when making important decisions throughout their current and future careers.
“Students want to hear not only about diplomacy and policy, but also the experiences of experts, because they look at these people as mentors,” he said. “We have had situations, I’m very pleased to say, where people came to the lectures with a specific, adversarial point of view and they have altered those opinions. I can’t say they have all been converted into lovers of Israel, but they at least have their minds changed to the point that they are willing to listen.”
OSS requires that these talks are given in a “neutral” location on campus – not a Chabad or synagogue, for example – so that all attendees feel welcome. As such, audience members of all political stripes are encouraged to attend, debate and engage with the speaker. They are careful to draw attendance from the pro-, the anti- and the undecided elements of the student and faculty community alike.
Some audience members are invited to take their curiosity about Israel to the next level, to embark on a comprehensive tour of the country under OSS auspices. OSS is the sole organization globally through which cadets at West Point Military Academy visit the State of Israel for a strategy and defense tour of the country, for example.
“There is nowhere else on earth I could take my students, who will be leaders in the US Army in a matter of months, to give them a better understanding of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East,” West Point Academy assistant professor Lt.-Col. Christopher (no surnames for serving officers) said of his recent trip to Israel, where he led a delegation of cadets visiting the country for the first time.
“Each student broadened his or her understanding of Israel’s security challenges, the Syrian civil war, the complexities of the West Bank and Gaza, and the very real threat of Iran on Israel’s doorsteps. The experiential knowledge we gained in two short weeks in Israel could not be duplicated by any amount of classroom instruction. There is simply no substitute for being there,” he added.
Lorraine Marie Simonis, who recently graduated from University of Virgina Law School, had a similar experience after visiting Israel through the organization’s Law and Policy Lens tour, which brings delegations of exceptional graduate and doctoral students to Israel from across the globe.
“As someone who travels a lot and listens to the news, I wanted to gain a better understanding of what was going on,” she said. “This was a high-quality trip inspired by people who are really passionate about what they do.”
During her trip, which she embarked on last year, she was surrounded by not only law students, but also public policy students, young professionals, an Obama administration staff member, UN officials and even a freelance media consultant based in Turkey.
“These were clearly people who were going to be doing substantive things in the future, who are motivated and also provided great networking potential,” she said.
During her visit, which took her across the country, she heard from experts like Knesset member and former ambassador Michael Oren, who provided the group with a nuanced fact-based perspective of the situation here.
So impressed was she by her experience that she worked closely with Anthony to have an OSS event in Hamburg, Germany, during a recent study abroad stint.
“I’ve been to Israel three times now. This trip has definitely made me more interested and sympathetic to what they are grappling with. It’s also helped me see how the relationship with Israel is important to the American people,” she said.
OSS president Rozita Pnini states, “The follow-up element of our work is a key differentiator. We send the top experts to campus, bring the top students to Israel, and send our top tour alumni to Capitol Hill, educating them to understand that they too can be leaders and policy makers on matters of global importance. When you work with students of this caliber, it is your duty to remain engaged with them. That is how you scale influence.”
In an age where that unbreakable bond is under so much scrutiny and criticism, each sympathetic ear counts.
“We are determined to continue to educate the leaders of today and tomorrow – now! And we’re just getting started,” said Anthony.
For more information, visit www.oursoldiersspeak.org.
This article was written in cooperation with Our Soldiers Speak.


Related Tags
hasbara