UW-Madison has a new group where that aims to let pro-Israel students can discuss issues from a moderate, liberal perspective.
A new student organization, Kavanah, was created through Hillel, 621 Langdon St., in September.
\[Kavanah] is a religious idea from one of the religious sects in Judaism which says that if you have the right intention, then good things will follow,"" said co-founder and UW-Madison junior Michal Ziv-el.
Kavanah's founders said they saw a need for an organization where moderate voices could be heard on a campus where the Middle East advocates are typically either unconditionally supportive or against Israel.
""There's a big polarization between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups on campus and it's really alienating for students who don't want to take a side on the issues,"" said co-founder and UW-Madison graduate student Julie Weitz.
Ziv-el said UW-Madison needed an organization that represents a middle ground.
""You can be pro-Israel and still be a liberal,"" she said. ""If you are pro-Israel it doesn't mean that you support every single thing that Israel does.""
While the organization promotes dialogue among members and with groups of different perspectives, it is not strictly political.
""We are going to have some political activity but it's more to just offer a different perspective on what's going on,"" Ziv-el said.
According to co-founder and UW-Madison sophomore Tammy Shapiro, Kavanah successfully adheres to this purpose.
""We've heard a lot of different perspectives and ideas,"" she said.
Shapiro said students have reacted to Kavanah with enthusiasm since its first meeting.
""[The result of Kavanah] is more than I would have ever imagined could happen in a two and a half month period,"" she said.
According to Shapiro, one of the hardest decisions the organization faces is developing political views.
Currently, Kavanah supports ending terrorism, stopping building of settlements and limiting the use of violence. However, Kavanah's founders have not yet adopted any other specific political views for the organization, according to Shapiro.
""We want to be open to different ideas, but we also want to unite and be active,"" she said.
At the same time Kavanah was formed, a national organization called the Tikkun Campus Network was created with similar goals and a similar moderate perspective to those of Kavanah.
Shapiro attended the first national conference for the Tikkun Campus Network last month in New York City.
""At the founding conference for the Tikkun Campus Network, there were a lot of people from small liberal arts schools like Brown, Vassar, Oberlin and Wesleyan. From big schools there was mainly only UW-Madison and Berkeley,"" she said.
Shapiro said she hopes that Kavanah's national efforts will set an example for other large schools.
""It's important to have a national voice because it makes us so much stronger,"" she said.
Weitz said she agreed that national involvement will allow members of Kavanah to gain national attention to their point of view.
Yet the founders of Kavanah seek to maintain an individual voice as well so the students of Kavanah have the freedom to reject any of the Tikkun Campus Network's political views, Shapiro said.
Nov. 17 Kavanah will sponsor Arik Asherman, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights who will speak about economic justice in Israel and human rights during the Intifada. The presentation will take place at 8 p.m. at Memorial Union, TITU.
According to Ziv-el, there are at least 50 members in Kavanah and new members are welcome to attend meetings, which are held Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Hillel.
