Jewish Federation Hosts BDS Education and Training Session
About 30 people participated May 3 in a boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) training session conducted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia at the Jewish Community Services Building.
Stephanie Hausner, deputy director of the Israel Action Network, described the rise of BDS and its goals, while Jewish Federation Public Relations Manager Laura Frank detailed how to respond to a BDS protest.
Hausner noted that although no universities have divested from Israel, the number of young Jews who either support some aspects of BDS or are not Zionists is increasing.
“We didn’t hear that in older generations,” she said, calling 10 percent of the population, with a heavy concentration of younger adults and college students, “vulnerable” to BDS supporters.
Proactive efforts against BDS are having a positive impact, however, as Hausner said anti-BDS legislation has been approved in about 25 states.
Frank suggested Jewish organizations keep an eye on social media and search for their organization’s name on websites such as socialmention.com to find out about possible protests. She also offered advice on how to prepare for protests — including letting police know, reviewing building security and having a statement prepared — and suggested not engaging protesters on a one-on-one basis.
Former College Head Sandra Featherman Dies at 84
Sandra Featherman, who was president of the University of New England between 1995 and 2006 and was heavily involved in Philadelphia’s higher education community prior to that, died April 26. She was 84.
Featherman received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, along with her Ph.D. From the late 1970s into the early 1990s, she was a frequent political and election analyst for Philadelphia-area television stations.
Her local positions and academic affiliations included a stint from 1984-86 as chair of the Community College of Philadelphia Board of Trustees, election as the Faculty Senate president of Temple University in 1985-86, a term as director of Temple’s Center for Public Policy and three years as president of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Association of University Women.
Featherman was honored in 2004 by Gov. Ed Rendell as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. She also received a City of Philadelphia Community Service Award and the Brooks Graves Award from the Pennsylvania Political Science Association.
FlockU Sold to Brand Management Agency
Digital media company FlockU announced that it has been acquired for an undisclosed amount by Becker LLC, a global consulting, licensing, strategic marketing, intellectual property and brand management agency.
FlockU launched in 2016 as a digital and social hub for college students. Its platform allowed “Flockers” on 1,110 college campuses to create unfiltered, personal stories and create and post videos.
“We launched FlockU to connect students across campuses and give people a place to share their honest and unvarnished stories. Great brands then became part of those conversations,” CEO Josh Verne said.
Becker LLC has licensed more than 800 children’s products, selling nearly $2 billion, including Gumby & Pokey,
Barrel of Monkeys, Othello, Nerf Ping Pong and Battle Dome.
