If you knew Daniel Ethan Hochberg, you would know he’s an SMG junior studying finance and entrepreneurship, an expert pool player, a gullible and goofy friend, a huge Chicago sports fan and a passionate pro-Israel advocate.
Now going on his second term as president of Boston University Students for Israel (BUSI), Danny entered college knowing he wanted to be involved with Israel advocacy on campus. He knew there was a population at BU who didn’t like Israel for a variety of reasons, and found it important to stand up for something he believed in. He felt that if he didn’t do anything to educate and spread awareness, the BU community wouldn’t learn why Israel is so special and what it has to offer to the global community. Danny joined BUSI his freshman year with the goal to get more publicity for BUSI on campus and to extend the group’s reach. He wanted to be sure that BUSI, Israel supporters, and Jewish students had the ability to support Israel in a safe manner on campus.
Danny’s mission to support and grow the reach of the pro-Israel community at BU has met great success. During the BUSI’s biggest week of the year, Israel Peace Week, the club hosted five successful events, including the second annual International Food Festival. Danny wanted to show how Israel is just another country and believed the best non-political way to show this was through food—because who doesn’t love food? As part of Danny’s initiative to engage other clubs to show Israel as a positive entity, BUSI invited many cultural student groups to participate in the International Food Festival, totaling to approximately eight groups. This goal of outreach and collaboration to form relationships and make connections was beyond successful—over 200 students attended! Danny reflects that BUSI definitely has a greater presence at BU now, especially due to creating collaborative events that targeting different student populations.
Danny has also advocated for events that highlight what makes Israel special and also shows it as a legitimate nation. For example, BUSI hosted an event on the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and invited the ROTC program to educate attendees how the IDF is similar to the military of the United States and how it also protects its civilians. BUSI also hosted a international journalist to speak on Israel’s portrayal in the news media and invited COM students and journalism clubs.
But Danny’s campus influence extends beyond his involvement in BUSI. His passion for intra-campus collaboration shows through his position as senator on the BU Student Government. As one of the first three senators representing BU Hillel, he wants to connect more student groups and student perspectives to create a better BU. His goal is to make sure the Jewish and Israeli perspective is heard and to keep the interests of these groups in mind when voting on major issues. And here too, he’s always extending his network to bridge the gap between student groups and to build positive relationships for a more connected BU environment.
If you’re looking to find Danny on campus, he’ll probably be in Hillel obliterating an opponent in a game of pool, or studying in SMG. He definitely wishes everyone would reach out to him to talk about Israel or plan an event. Or maybe, you just want to have a casual chat with Danny because he’s one of the friendliest individuals you’ll ever meet. He loves sports, especially the Chicago Blackhawks, the Chicago Bulls and Chelsea Soccer Club. Right now, he’s betting on University of Wisconsin, Madison to win the entire NCAA tournament. However, you can’t really talk to him about tech and pop culture—last year he just learned that “control B” creates boldness and that John Mayer sings “Waiting on the World to Change.”