Founded in 2002 the Israel Peace Initiative IPI is the only organization with “feet on the ground” in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to providing students with financial support, advice, community, education, connections and outreach support so they have the proper tools to take a pro-active stance in unapologetically advocating the case for Israel on the college campuses.

No other organizations have our unique capabilities.

• We are former student activists
  We were once student activists ourselves so we understand the issues and campus dynamics that our students face on a regular basis.

• We operate in Northern California only
  This focus lets us develop a strong understanding of the personalities and unique nuances which distinguish each campus. We get to know first hand the student, faculty and administration so we can best aid our student groups. It also lets us ensure continuity from year to year.

• We respect student independence
  We strongly believe that the student groups we assist be independent. We provide advise but do not “tell” them what to do. We have found that this atmosphere of independence nurtures a strong sense of commitment and responsibility for actions. We stand by to assist should they encounter problems. If they don't need our help we just provide $'s.

• We teach leadership skills
  Based on our experience and training we work with the students in showing them how to organize effectively, recruit volunteers, train new leadership, plan events, lead meetings, etc. We believe that these skills will not only make them more effective on the campus but will distinguish them later as they contribute back to the Jewish Community.

• We are volunteers
  All our Board members volunteer their time as this is what we expect of the students in the groups we support. In this way we keep our overhead costs to an absolute minimum and lead by example. We do recruit and hire campus coordinators when we find properly qualified people.

• We leverage existing resources
  We do not duplicate existing resources in the community. We create our own educational materials only when absolutely necessary. Instead we direct the students to the large wealth of quality information published by such organizations as StandWithUs, CAMERA, David Project, Israel Hasbara, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others. As needed we either provide speakers or direct the students to other groups that can.

• We keep our “Feet on the ground”
  We frequently attend meetings and events of our sponsored organizations. This greatly assists in fully understanding the difficulties and campus dynamics which these student groups face. This makes it easy for us to provide advise and see early signs of impending issues. If Israel advocacy groups are non-existent on a campus we work to assist in the formation of one.

• We are neutral regarding Israeli Government Policies
  We take no political stance regarding what the Israeli government should do or how it should behave. Our membership spans the political spectrum. Likewise we encourage the groups we sponsor to refrain from taking any position vis-à-vis Israeli policies. We encourage the students to discuss their differences amongst themselves.

• We work with Faculty
  To create the proper pro-Israel environment on campuses we recognize that it is vital to establish both student and faculty run groups. Towards this end we work closely with the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East SPME, assisting with access to community wide resources. We coordinate activities with the SPME aligning resources with the student groups when needed.