February and March have been busy for many CAMERA-supported groups. Events sponsored by CAMERA on Campus had a variety of speakers and topics and were well attended!
Glasgow University Israel & Middle East Forum hosted their event, “Israel & Geopolitics with Eylon Levy”. Eylon Levy is an i24NEWS anchor and spoke to the group about Israel’s geopolitical situation. He was able to give insight and a discussion about the security and defense challenges that Israel faces, the Arab Spring, historical perspective on Israel’s shifting role in the Levant, the domestic problem posed by the conflict with the Palestinians, Israel’s economic and military strengths, the Shia-Sunni rivalry, and the influence of the United States. The event was very well attended and informative!
CAMERA-supported group YOFI, at Baruch College held their event, “I’m not Russian, I’m Ukrainian” with Actor Dean Miroshnikov. Dean is a famous Israeli-Ukrainian actor, known for The Eight (2005), Fullmoon (2017) and Combat Medics (2016). At a young age, Dean made aliyah from Ukraine. Adel Alaiev, sophomore, described the event as follows: “It was a pleasure hearing Dean speak. It’s always inspiring when people are expressive about their passion, and Dean really conveyed that throughout his entire presentation. His story was captivating – from aliyah to the flotilla and the IDF to being a Russian-Israeli-Jew – I learned so much and was mesmerized by his story.” The event had a great turnout and the group is looking forward to bringing similar events to campus!
CAMERA-supported group Bears for Israel at the University of California, Berkeley held the event, “Hummus not Hamas”. At the event, students were able to make (and eat!) their own hummus while learning about the known terrorist organization, Hamas. The group was able to analyze the Hamas charter and to learn further about the history and origins of the terrorist organization. The audience was very engaged and interested in the topic at hand.
CAMERA- supported group SKFI, at Rutgers University hosted Neil Lazarus for the event “Israel and the Middle East in the Age of Hashtag Diplomacy”. Neil Lazarus spoke to the group about Israel in the context of world affairs in an engaging and entertaining manner. Later in the event, students were able to ask questions and engage in a discussion. Many topics were covered, such as the current political situation in Israel as well as the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. The event went very well and the group received positive feedback!
CLIO at Columbia Law held the event “Israel 101 Info Session”. The group was able to discuss the basics of Israel. The attendees were very interested and seemed to learn a lot from their discussion!
Energy Studies Programme, School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University hosted the event, “Israeli minorities: an insight of Israeli Bedouin diplomat”. (also included: government efforts of integrating minorities into the Israeli economy.) The talk by Ishmael Khaldi, facilitated by CAMERA, was the first of its kind held in India. Khaldi spoke to the attendees about his experience, thoughts, and insights as a member of the minority community in Israel. He was also able to talk to the group about the Israeli government’s efforts to integrate the Arab minority into Israel’s economy. The event was very successful and there are hopes to continue to host similar events in the future!
UC Davis, Queens College, and Tulane University all hosted Hen Mazzig! Each group was able to hear Hen Mazzig’s story, his experience as an openly gay commander in the IDF and in the COGAT Unit, and his experiences as an Israel activist. “Hen’s story really reasonated with the LGBTQ students as well as the Israel proponents at SF State. He left us feeling really inspired and active in showing the community our narrative and our story, and to be proud of who we are and not afraid to tell it…” – Ben Gaster (iTeam) President. Each group was very engaged and eager to hear more about his story!
CAMERA- supported group Mustangs United for Israel, at Cal Poly SLO hosted Daniel Rubenstein this month. Rubenstein spoke about his experiences during his time as the point of contact for media relations in the IDF Spokesperson unit and his time working at AIPAC in their headquarters. The group was able to be engaged in a number of ways throughout his presentation, and seemed to really enjoy the event! “In my opinion I think Daniel was one of the best speakers if not the best CAMERA speaker we’ve had so far. He was such a great speaker, had so many interesting things to say, and people were interested from the moment he started until the moment he finished. Seriously loved having him at Cal Poly and I think he’s a really really great speaker to bring to other campuses at well. And thank you again CAMERA for sponsoring and providing the food for the event!…” – Aliza Herzberg (Vice President of Mustangs United for Israel)
Contributed by CAMERA on Campus staff.