IDF soldier standing guard. Photo: wiki commons.

JNS.org – A new initiative is enlisting Israel Defense Forces lone soldiers (those without immediate family members in the country) as volunteers to combat the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in North America and Europe.

The Gideon Project — headed by the Reservists on Duty organization and the Lone Soldier Center — is self-described as a “challenging and unique Zionist mission, on the front lines of the fight against hate organizations.”

Within the project’s framework, the lone soldiers will deliver lectures on college campuses, in which they will underscore the Palestinian Authority’s human rights violations against its own people. The soldiers plan to confront audiences with the argument that supporting the PA encourages oppression, abuse and acts of retaliation against Palestinian civilians.

“We have to take an active approach and work to persuade others through a conviction in the justness of our path,” said Amit Deri, chairman of Reservists on Duty. “We need to constantly strive toward meeting directly with the public of American and European students, and less with the Jewish audience, which is a captive audience.”