Ilan Sinelnikov. Photo: Courtesy.

Ilan Sinelnikov

Founder and President of Students Supporting Israel

As the founder and president of Students Supporting Israel, Ilan Sinelnikov has helped to offset the troubling BDS movement on college campuses.

His group is a fast-growing pro-Israel student movement, with 43 chapters and 250 activists across universities in North America and Europe. SSI, which he created while a student at the University of Minnesota, was given the first-ever Bridge Award by the Israeli Consulate to the Midwest for pro-Israel activism, as well as other awards and recognitions for its work.

In 2015, SSI held its first-ever national conference, which was attended by 50 pro-Israel leaders from 28 college campuses.

In the past, Sinelnikov worked for U.S Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) and the Republican Party of Minnesota.