Ironically, whilst we are in the midst of a calmer interlude by the standards of Israel’s engagements with its neighbours in the wake of Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the debate over Israel rages ever more furiously on college campuses across the globe. As the brave soldiers of the IDF defend Israel – the culmination of the...
“Jewish Voice for Peace” (JVP): What the Media is Concealing
The anti-Zionist group “Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)” has been described in the mainstream media, at various times, as “an anti-discrimination group”(Boston Globe, Aug. 7, 2015); “an American Jewish group” that has been “critical of Israeli treatment of Palestinians” (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 8, 2018 and Sept. 9, 2015); a...
Challenging the Narrative on West Bank Housing
Last November, I had the unique experience of attending an event titled “exploring the Israeli occupation”. The event was hosted at the University of the West of England, and invited a speaker from a Christian organisation called ‘Ecumenical Accomplishment Programme in Palestine and Israel’. The speaker, a man called Jamie...
The IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism: Were We Asking Too Much?
On Monday 21st January, over 300 students gathered in Logan Hall for what promised to be an historic vote which could transform the lives of the Jewish student contingent at UCL for years to come. It was a motion encouraging the Students’ Union to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism and...
Masking Hatred With Kindness
When the news of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting appeared, like most Jews, I was disheartened. Once again, vile hatred towards us has become so serious that it’s led to real violence. However, the news came as no surprise. When times are tough, when things go wrong, the caricature of the...
Analysts Warn of Anti-Israel, ‘Negative Feedback Loop’ in American High Schools, Colleges
Anti-Israel lesson plans are fast becoming a problem in high schools across the country and even in unlikely places like the heavily Jewish populated town of Newton, Mass. Anti-Israel lesson plans are fast becoming a problem in high schools across the country and even in unlikely places like the heavily...
Biased Education and the Perpetuation of Conflict
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a subjective discussion in our universities. These academic inconsistencies have posed a significant danger to young minds, as inaccuracies seem to be abundant in our classrooms. These conscious or unconscious attempts to distort the historical component of the conflict have certainly perpetuated anti-Zionism in some...
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s New Offensive on British Jewish Students
At my own institution, there has been a continuous anti-Israel presence on campus this term. Jewish students returned to their campuses this autumn to an intellectual battlefield far more divisive than we’ve seen for some time. Just as Jewish and Zionist student leaders attended conferences and training across the world...
