Be-True Scores a Touchdown

Students across the globe are participating in Jews for Judaism’s Be-True initiative, with students participating through events such as a live video web seminar held with students at the State University of NY at Oswego. Recently, more than 65 high school students, college students and young professionals gathered in Los Angeles for the 2nd Annual Be-True Student Leadership Conference. Guest speakers came from as far as Toronto and Miami to share their personal experiences with deceptive proselytizing
and to promote Jewish identity.

Be-True was created in response to new trends in targeting Jewish students for conversion. There has been a shift away from the traditional highly visible street missionaries to more effective and covert tactics, including peer-to-peer proselytizing, where evangelical students are trained to witness to their friends on campus and to use the Internet to share their faith with Jewish students within the privacy of their homes and dormitory rooms. These methods account for the shocking statistic that 85% of Jewish students report that they have been confronted by someone who tried to convert them to another religion. It’s not surprising when you consider that there are 70 million evangelical Christians in America who spend $250 million each year targeting
Jews for conversion.

Because assimilation and challenges to Jewish identity on campus continue to rise, Be-True is promoting critical thinking, pride, and knowledge to strengthen the identity of Jewish students of all backgrounds. The annual Be-True conference is a major component in this endeavor.

Students representing twenty high schools in the Greater Los Angeles Area participated in the day-long conference along with college students from UCLA, USC, CSUN, SMC, Marymount College, Lincoln Law School, Moorpark College, Valley and Pierce Colleges, Touro College and UC Riverside, and from as far away as UC Davis and the University of Arizona.

Most students were recruited for this conference by friends who are leaders in Be-True’s Campus Rep Program. Additionally, our newly designed Be-True website and many collaborating Jewish agencies are actively promoting Be-True. These include Hillel, BBYO, JSU, LA Hebrew High, Young Judea, Chabad on Campus and the Shalom Institute.

The conference program included presentations by three highly respected experts in the counter-missionary field as well as students and professionals whose experiences with other religions have ultimately led to a rediscovery of Jewish pride and identity.

The keynote speaker’s story exemplified Be-True’s message. Jesse Cooper, former football captain of Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, had the courage to maintain his Jewish identity in front of his peers by refraining from kneeling and reciting the Lord’s Prayer during prayer circles prior to each game. Jesse, who graduated from Truman State in 2008, spoke about the challenges of playing football and staying Jewish on a Midwest college with only 20 Jews out of a population of 6000. His inspiring words were enhanced by a PowerPoint presentation that included a clip of the final football game of his career. He encouraged students to Be Strong, Be Proud and Be-True to their Jewish identity.(See Faith on the 40 Yard Line, page 4.)

Breakout session highlights included renowned professionals such as Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, whose interactive program “The Power of Persuasion: What do Cults, Tele-marketers and Terrorists have in Common?” promotes critical thinking and is popular at schools, organizations and synagogues in Southern California and around the world. Mr. Lee Weissman, a specialist in Eastern religions, spoke about his time with Buddhism and his rediscovery of Judaism; and Rabbi Michael Skobac, a worldrenowned expert in the differences between Judaism and Christianity, taught students about responding to missionary “proof-texts” and the historical roots of Christianity.

Jews for Judaism’s education director, Rabbi Zalman Kravitz, and education and program coordinator, Talya Messeri facilitated a Be-True Campus Rep Program workshop. The Campus Rep Program enables students to earn incentives – including $500 scholarships towards Jewish enrichment – by becoming resident “experts and activists” regarding peer-to-peer proselytizing on their individual campuses.

The conference closed with a personal Jewish identity session led by Be-True Campus Rep, Shayna Sorrentino, and a panel discussion with the guest speakers. The atmosphere was one of excitement, exuberance, and enjoyment of learning and of being able to openly share thoughts and ideas with professionals and peers. One student felt that the conference was incredible because “the overall unity of the group felt like one team with one goal.”

Another student commented, “I am so thankful I was invited and I leave feeling empowered and grounded with my Jewish roots. I know NOW how to effectively confront someone of another faith who tries to get me involved.”

Another said, “The difficult thing was picking one session over another to go to! I can’t wait to visit the media section of the Be-True website to see the videos and photos of the sessions I missed.”

Be-True is sponsored by the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, the Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund and the Goldrich Family Foundation. Its mission is to strengthen Jewish identity and arm students with tools to hold their own against the challenges they encounter on campus.

Learn more by visiting the Be-True.org