Grinspoon-Morningstar Internship
Originally created in 2002, the Grinspoon-Morningstar Internship is an outstanding opportunity for student leaders to have a profound impact on their campus communities. The interns develop and implement a creative, ongoing, strategic and collaborative long-term initiative designed to improve the perception of Israel on campus. In the last 11 years, 427 students on 109 diverse campuses have served as Grinspoon-Morningstar interns. On campus, Grinspoon-Morningstar interns are a central force in promoting a positive Israel agenda, building relationships with campus decision-makers, changing the campus Israel culture and empowering their peers to become articulate Israel activists.
The Internship experience makes interns attractive candidates for graduate schools and professional positions. Past interns have become successful in a variety of arenas including law, business, government, the non-profit world, the Jewish community and the pro-Israel community.
Thanks to the continued generosity of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Morningstar Foundation during the 2013-2014 academic year, the Israel on Campus Coalition will select 45 interns to effect real change on campuses across the United States.
If you have any questions or concerns, e-mail Nelson France at nfrance@israelcc.org. If you have any questions or concerns, e-mail
Nelson France
2nd Semester Incentive Award Recipients
Five Grinspoon-Morningstar Interns were selected for the 2012-2013 Grinspoon-Morningstar Internship Second Semester Incentive Award for excellence and exceeding standard performance in advocating for Israel on campus.
They are: Alisa Rudy (Baruch College), Debra Goss (University of Oklahoma), Galya Loeb (Northwestern University), Josh Gelfat (UC-Davis), and Shani Weiss (Drexel University). The ICC congratulates these and all interns on a great second semester; we look forward to the strides they will undoubtedly take in future years.
Alisa Rudy organized iLounge to see a plethora of students take an interest in Israel and advocate for her. The initiative helped Alisa to realize how much their campus still has to learn and grow and the many opportunities there are to do that. Through strategic outreach, Alisa was able to grow the pro-Israel community on campus.
Debra Goss created monthly dinner and discussions at Hillel. These experiences showed other students and faculty members that there is more to Israel than war and politics. Their experiences ranged from living there to studying abroad to technological advancements to Taglit-Birthright experiences. Debra wanted attendees to come away from the initiative with a more positive perspective about Israel and being able to expand their knowledge about Israel.
Galya Loeb orchestrated a Q&A event with 'Twilight' and 'Munich' Actor Guri Weinberg." Michael Simon, the Executive Director of Northwestern Hillel, said that “This event had the best content of any Israel-related even I have ever attended.” Galya was proud of herself for seeing an actor's name on the big screen and figuring out a way to make the idea of bringing him to campus to speak about Israel a reality.
Josh Gelfat developed a strategic relationship with student government leaders on his campus this year. He helped them to develop their knowledge of Israel related issues from completely apathetic and unaware, to interested, concerned, aware, and supportive.
Shani Weiss designed the Tikvah Fellowship to educate and engage student leaders from across campus about Israeli society. Through carefully planned classes, Shani was able to make a significant improvement in the perception of Israel on campus this year.