# Students Supporting Israel

Students Supporting Israel (also known as SSI) is a Zionist international student activist movement that supports Israel as a Jewish and democratic nation-state. "SSI mission is to be a clear and confident pro-Israel voice, and to support students in grassroots pro-israel advocay. As of March 2025, SSI has more than 140 chapters across campuses in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Australia.

## History

SSI was founded in 2012 in Minnesota, USA, in March of 2014 Indiana University and DePaul University students registered SSI chapters on their campuses turning SSI to a national movement. The first university to open an SSI club in Canada was the Toronto Metropolitan University (previously Ryerson University) on April of 2014. By October of 2014 and the new fall semester, SSI was approved as a 501c3 non-profit organization and operated on 27 campuses. From October 2023 until the end of the 2023/4 academic year, more than 50 schools started an SSI club on their campus.
SSI national offices are in Minneapolis. The founders of the organizations are Ilan Sinelnikov, Valeria Chazin, and Naor Bitton.

## Their mission

SSI's mission is to promote a better understand of Israel throughout all over the world "as a member of the family of nations, with a fundamental right to exist as a Jewish democratic state, within secure borders."
SSI wants to provide students on college campuses and universities with the opportunity to support the position of Israel in the Middle East, and to reassure students who oppose the demonization of the State of Israel on campus that they are not alone. "We are changing the anti-Israel climate many students encounter on campus. By being part of a united, strong and thriving international movement, students are empowered to express their views in support of Israel."

## Campaigns

* Palestinian Apartheid Week: Students Supporting Israel (SSI) highlights the apartheid policies of the Palestinian government - including the systemic ethnic discrimination against Jews in Palestinian-controlled territories - in a campaign called Palestinian Apartheid Week.
* UNDENIED: The “UNDENIED” project is a unique Holocaust memorial and awareness initiative where during International Holocaust Remembrance Day Students Supporting Israel chapters and activists hand out free books on the Holocaust on college campuses across North America.
* Lt. Col, Eyal Dror Reserves Tour: Chapters of Students Supporting Israel located on various California campuses hosted Lt. Col, Eyal Dror Reserves, the commanding officer of Israel's Operation Good Neighbor that treated thousands of Syrian civilians in hospitals along the border. He presented Israel’s humanitarian efforts, and the story of this important mission.
* "Never Forget" 09.11.2001: This campaign was established to show solidarity with the families of the victims and remember the attacks on America, Israel's greatest ally, on September 11, 2001, while simultaneously drawing the parallels of America's alliance with Israel against terrorism.

## Awards and achievements

* April 2024, Valeria Chazin was picked as Hadassah's 18 Zionist Women of the year.
* March 2024, SSI won the Simon Wiesenthal Center Medal of Valor Award.
* In 2017 SSI received the Myron Zimmerman Award for Outstanding Campus Activism across North America.
* In 2015, SSI won the Outstanding Outreach and Pro Israel Activism Award by Israel’s Consulate to the Midwest, and was recognized as the student group activists of the year at the AIPAC policy conferenceat at DePaul University.
* In 2014 SSI won the CAMERA David Bar Ilan awardor Outstanding Campus Activism for the academic year 2013-14 at the University of Minnesota, as well as the Zionist Organization of America Annual Award.
Students Supporting Israel (SSI) has experienced significant growth and achievements, they are present in many colleges and university campuses across all over the world. From North to South, and from East to West, SSI organizes over 500 campus events each academic year, they have more than 3500 active members and alumni involved across North America, and over 10,000,000 followers reached on their social media platforms combined, including Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn.
As a student group, it has demonstrated influence in student government bodies on several occasions including the Israeli Academic Cooperation position statement at the University of Minnesota, which paved the way for a similar Israeli Support Resolution at the University of Georgia followed shortly by Texas A&M University.