A Note from the CAMERA on Campus Team
At CAMERA on Campus, we believe in honoring those who have shown great courage and dedication in their efforts in the fight against antisemitism, including anti-Zionist attacks and anti-Zionist rhetoric. In recognition of this, we are honoring twelve student activists leading this battle. They are steadfast, vigilant, and resilient, in the face of adversity, apathy, and injustice. We honor them all equally as leaders in their communities.
In 2022, college students in the United States confronted 796 reported incidents of antisemitism. Students outside of the US have also experienced considerable antisemitism. A 2023 report by Community Security Trust (CST), an organization dedicated to combating antisemitism in the United Kingdom, indicated 150 antisemitic incidents, a 22% increase over the previous year.
While comparable studies on campus antisemitism in Israel have yet to be conducted at the time of publishing this list, CAMERA Fellows have documented antisemitic incidents at major Israeli universities for years, including at two prominent institutions this year alone. Nevertheless, the diligent efforts of these twelve students cannot be honored enough.
Editors’ note: It is recommended that you view our list on the official landing page published at studentactivists.zionism.me. However, a non-interactive version of the list is included below for your convenience.
Our List
Adam Hoffman, Princeton University, Class of 2023
An executive committee member of Princeton’s undergraduate student government (USG), Adam Hoffman led the fight against a BDS referendum last spring. Thanks to Hoffman’s efforts, 56% of voters chose not to support the measure, voting “no” or abstaining. Last fall, Hoffman proposed a referendum for the USG to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. A modified version of the IHRA definition was passed as a “Resolution to Condemn and Combat Antisemitism.” Hoffman united the Jewish community at Princeton, the majority of whom endorsed the IHRA definition.
Adiel Cohen, Tel Aviv University, Class of 2024
Adiel Cohen is a social media influencer with over 53,000 followers on TikTok and 23,000 followers on Instagram. As @adielofisrael, Cohen routinely confronts antisemitism, debunks anti-Israel propaganda, and encourages Israelis and Jews everywhere to be outspoken and unapologetic about their Zionism. In 2022, Adiel was hired to lead ‘ISRAELis,’ an influencer training program. He was also selected to take part in the ‘team of influencers’ project of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Alex Adhoot, Duke University, Class of 2025
In Spring 2022, Alexandra Ahdoot spearheaded a campaign against the student government sponsorship of an event featuring Mohammed El-Kurd, a speaker with a history of virulent antisemitism. Additionally, Adhoot published an article exposing El-Kurd in the Duke Chronicle that made waves on campus, evoking a response from the speaker himself. An ardent and fearless activist, Alexandra serves as a CAMERA Fellow and is the president of the Students Supporting Israel chapter at Duke University.
Amir Grunhaus, University of California, Berkeley, Class of 2023
In spite of an uphill battle, namely that UC Berkeley is well-known for harboring prominent anti-Zionists, Amir has thrived as an educator, activist and community organizer.
Grunhaus has served an essential role in combating the anti-Zionist narrative on campus; releasing public statements, publishing op-eds and organizing educational events. In October 2022, Amir coordinated with members of Tikvah to speak out against a anti-Zionist measure adopted by nine groups at UC Berkeley School of Law that effectively banned Jewish students from club activities. Amir is a CAMERA Fellow alumnus and the president of Tikvah: Students for Israel, a member group of the CAMERA on Campus Coalition.
Barbara Schiffer, DePaul University, Class of 2023
Barbara Schiffer, a fourth-year student at DePaul University. Barbara exposed rampant antisemitism at DePaul University including within its Undergraduate Student Government (USG). In 2022, her unwillingness to yield, inspired others to speak out. An anonymous letter detailing a student’s experience with antisemitism at the university lead the USG to hold its first public discussion on the antisemitic incidents. In November 2022, USG issued a statement condemning, “ the continued, systemic, and dramatic escalation of anti-Jewish acts and rhetoric, including incidents of antisemitism on campus.”
Begzat Mirayev, City, University of London, Class of 2023
In coordination with UK Lawyers for Israel and StandWithUs UK, Mirayev, successfully stopped a City University’s Student Union (CSU) motion to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. Begzat proved that support for a political campaign, namely BDS, not advance CSU’s charitable objectives of “advancing the education of students at City University,” He also successfully argued to the Charity Commission that his complaint to CSU’s Trustees wasn’t considered objectively, noting that the current president of CSU at the time, Shaima Dallali, had publicly called for the destruction of Israel in several tweets. Mirayev, previously served as the president of City University Israel Society.
Jonah Fried, McGill University, Class of 2023
In Spring 2022, Fried led the ‘No Campaign’, an effort to educate students at McGill about an antisemitic and misleading referendum presented to SSMU (student government) by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, an anti-Zionist student group at McGill. While campaigning against the referendum, he discovered lapses in student government processes and campaigned for the university and student government to take action. Fried became a CAMERA Fellow in 2021, serving in the role for two consecutive academic years combating the spread of anti-Israel propaganda.
Naomi, Class of 2022
After the University of Delaware’s Chabad House was burned down by arsonists in 2020, Naomi took to social media to show her support and to inspire Jewish pride. Over the 52,000 followers, Naomi’s page @jewishpridealways encourages young Jews with uplifting messages, while also exposing and correcting libelous propaganda spread about Jews, Zionism and the State of Israel.
Natalie Kahn, Harvard University, Class of 2023
After The Harvard Crimson editorial board published an article in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, Natalie Kahn, an associate news editor for the paper, was one of the first to publish a response. In her op-ed, Kahn lambasted the editorial board for joining the trend of singling out Jews. When co-founder of BDS, Omar Barghouti, retorted in The Harvard Crimson, Kahn stood her ground, exposing the hypocrisy of the BDS campaign and anti-Israel organizations at Harvard University.
Sabrina Soffer, George Washington University, Class of 2025
Sabrina Soffer is a sophomore at George Washington University (GW) is the current commissioner of the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism at GW. Last year, Soffer published numerous articles in Times of Israel blogs and the GW Hatchet, the official campus paper, bringing widespread attention to the “systemic ignorance of Judaism, Zionism and antisemitism at GW”. In her new role as the head of the antisemitism task force, Soffer hopes to make a lasting impact at George Washington University and on other campuses where Jewish students are confronting similar issues.
Tzvia Waronker, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Class of 2023
Tzvia Waronker is a graduate of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a CAMERA Fellowship alumna. Waronker published several articles in the John Jay Sentinel, was an active member of student government and most recently testified before the New York City Council on the severity of the antisemitism in the CUNY system.
Tamara Listenberg, American University, Class of 2024
A proud Israeli and Zionist, Tamara and her friends were instrumental in protesting the university sponsorship of an event featuring Mohammed El-Kurd. Tamara circulated a letter among AU students calling for university departments to rescind their sponsorships. As a result of Tamara’s diligent efforts, American University departments took action, dropping their support for the event. AU’s Sunrise Movement chapter also dropped its sponsorship and its members published a statement stating “We strongly condemn invalidations of Jewish trauma, including the comments made by the event’s speaker, Mohammed El-Kurd”. Tamara Listenberg is president of the Students Supporting Israel chapter at American University.
Media Contact
Douglas Sandoval, Managing Editor for CAMERA on Campus
douglas@camera.org
