More than 1,000 pro-Israel students, professors and young professionals gathered in Washington this week for the Israel on Campus Coalition’s (ICC) annual National Leadership Summit, amid what ICC CEO Jacob Baime described as an increasingly difficult environment for Jewish and pro-Israel students on American college campuses.

“Even though the challenges are rising very quickly, we're seeing unprecedented interest among Jewish and pro-Israel students,” Baime told The Jerusalem Post.

The level of interest was so high that the conference had a waiting list, he said, adding that ICC could have doubled its attendance if it had the capacity.

“It was the most inspiring three days that we've had in a year,” Baime said.

The three-day gathering at Washington’s Grand Hyatt brought together more than 1,200 people when staff, speakers and other participants were included, according to Baime. More than 800 of the participants were undergraduate students, while roughly 75 were pro-Israel faculty members from campuses across the United States.

Another 75 to 100 philanthropists and other stakeholders also attended, while a significant number of recent graduates and young professionals participated through ICC’s Geller International Fellowship.

Baime said the summit had two central goals: helping students confront antisemitism on their campuses and developing the next generation of bipartisan pro-Israel leaders in the United States.

The summit was deliberately organized around the theme “American Zionist Proud,” a message Baime said was intended to counter the growing hostility toward Israel and Zionism on American campuses.

“The problems are rising very significantly. The trajectory is difficult,” Baime said. “But even though the problems are rising, the right place to start is to say, ‘This is who we are, this is what we believe, and we're not going anywhere.’”

The gathering was designed to bring together what Baime described as the core leaders of the pro-Israel campus movement, while providing them with training, community, and the tools needed to organize on their campuses.