FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 12, 2018

STANDWITHUS CONGRATULATES STUDENTS AT UIUC FOR DEFEATING DISCRIMINATORY REFERENDUM MARCH 12, 2018

(Champaign, IL - March 12, 2018) -- StandWithUs congratulates students at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for defeating a discriminatory referendum calling for divestment from companies doing business with Israel. The proposal was rejected with 3133 votes against and 1700 votes for.

Like the 2017 campaign, anti-Israel activists at UIUC attempted to hide the anti-Israel bias of the referendum by keeping the language vague. "Ultimately, students at UIUC saw through the propaganda and realized that tearing down Israelis is not the same as supporting Palestinians or upholding human rights,” commented StandWithUs Midwest Campus Coordinator Liora Bachrach.

"I am so proud today of our community for defeating BDS on campus for the second year in a row. This win reaffirms that the University of Illinois is a pro-Israel campus and a place welcoming to Jewish and Israeli students. We had so many volunteers motivated by our cause and who supported us throughout the campaign. Students truly came together when it came to defeating divestment. I look forward to continuing our pro-Israel efforts and using this momentum to do amazing work on campus," commented co-president of Illini Public Affairs Committee, Elan Karoll.

We congratulate Illini Hillel, IlliniPAC, Students Supporting Israel, Illini Chabad, SAMI (Sigma Alpha Mu house), ZBT, SDT, AEPhi and all the UIUC students who came together to create the United Illini campaign. We look forward to working with JUF, ICC, Hillel International, AEPi, and all our partners to empower pro-Israel student activism at UIUC.

About StandWithUs

StandWithUs (SWU) is a sixteen-year-old, international, non-profit Israel education organization. Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films, and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their campuses and communities about Israel.

Based in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters throughout the U.S., in Israel, the UK and Canada.

www.standwithus.com

www.standwithus.co.il

www.facebook.com/StandWithUs

www.twitter.com/StandWithUs