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Friday April 20, 2007

Stanford senior attributes Israel, Jewish pride to college experience

by stacey palevsky
staff writer

The phrase “I’m Jewish, too” makes Sari Bourne’s blue eyes sparkle.

She beams, she said. She loves the instant connection she feels to other Jews. If it were socially acceptable to greet strangers with a hug instead a handshake, the 22-year-old would embrace every Jew she meets.

So it was particularly disturbing when, in January, during her final year at Stanford, student groups started a divestment campaign, and anti-Israel sentiment walked onto campus. She felt threatened and hurt.

So she did what many would think about but few would actually do. She set up a meeting with the university president, who listened patiently to the student’s concerns and agreed the campus needed more dialogue about mideast affairs.

“If no one will fight, who else but me?” she said, paraphrasing Rabbi Hillel’s famous quote.

“She made it her prerogative to speak out,” said friend Lyuba Wolf, also a senior, who said she’s inspired by Bourne’s enthusiasm and assertive attitude.

“She just took it into her hands to let them know exactly how she felt, to say, ‘I’m a student here, and me and my community deserve to have a safer and more respectful community on campus,’” Wolf added.

Bourne wasn’t always a Jewish activist. She spent her adolescence in a primarily Jewish New Jersey town, and thus felt no need to get involved in a Jewish community, since it was all around.

But Stanford’s student body is about 12 percent Jewish; Bourne felt like a minority for the first time. And it inspired her to get involved in the university’s Jewish community, ranging from Hillel to the American Union of Jewish Students to the Stanford Israel Alliance.

“Here, I’ve just bloomed,” she said.

The finale to Bourne’s involvement in Stanford’s Jewish community comes this month and next, as she plans her last pro-Israel rally — Monday, April 23 — and completes her psychology thesis, which she found a way to link to the development of students’ Jewish identity.

Her thesis is based upon the psychological theory that finds people with stronger ethnic identities have higher self-esteem, and people with higher self-esteem are less likely to denigrate others. Therefore, she hypothesizes, Jewish women with strong Jewish identity are less likely to criticize other faiths and ethnicities.

She enlisted 80 women to participate in her study. It’s due in May. She’s worried she might not finish it in time because recently she’s spent all her time planning the upcoming Israel rally.

Bourne’s curious personality and commitment to equality urges her to seek out multiple perspectives on every issue. She believes it’s the only way to promote an argument effectively. So when the divisive professor Norman Finkelstein spoke at Stanford, Bourne went, much to the astonishment of her Jewish friends. She wanted to hear what “nutty” things he had to say.

“You need to understand both sides to advance peace and human rights,” she said.

She’s optimistic that the April 23 rally will bring together and inspire Stanford’s and the Bay Area’s Jewish community to embrace Israel. She’s arranged for Israeli food, dancing and music (an Israeli rap outfit, for a twist this year).

“I want to see White Plaza totally full. I don’t want people to eat falafel and go,” she said. “I want them to stay. There is power in numbers.”

On the brink of graduation from Stanford, the bubbly student wants simply to connect and empower the Jewish community, perhaps through service learning or social action. It’s the centerpiece of her job search.

Luckily, four years at Stanford gave Bourne a strong foundation from which to move beyond.

“I would feel so lost without my Jewish identity.”

Stanford’s Pro-Israel Rally will take place from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, April 23 at White Plaza on the Stanford campus. Attendees are encouraged to wear blue and white clothing. For directions to White Plaza, visit www.stanford.edu/search/maps.

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