This year’s CAMERA Student Leadership Conference (video above) was a great success. 80 students from 13 different countries came together in Boston to learn from CAMERA’s top-tier researchers and campus staff for six intensive days of training. CAMERA Fellows were treated to an exclusive Shabbaton event, where they delved deep into media bias issues with workshops led by Campus Directors Aviva Slomich and Gilad Skolnick.
Conference sessions allowed students to hear from CAMERA researchers, including Ahed Al-Hendi, the editor of our new Arabic Media Department; and firsthand student accounts from campuses in the US and abroad, where anti-Israel hostility is a challenge on a daily basis. Following the conference, 96% of students in attendance said the conference met or exceeded their expectations.
None of this would have been possible without your support. Thank You!
To meet the increasing student demand for CAMERA’s extraordinary Student Leadership Conference, we have to begin planning for the 2018 conference today. In 2018, our goal is to not turn a single student away due to space constraints in our usual venue. Can you help us fund a larger venue for next year’s conference?
Campus Associate Khulan Davaajav:
CAMERA’s Support in the UK is Unprecedented
At this year’s conference, we were fortunate to have our recently expanded CAMERA on Campus UK department staff give firsthand accounts of their experiences as pro-Israel students in London.
“People often don’t realize how violent the BDS activists on campus can get,” said Khulan Davaajav, CAMERA on Campus UK Associate and University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies student, whose ethnic background is Mongolian. “When I became vocal on campus about my support for Israel, the BDS activists questioned my right to debate and take part in a discussion on Israel because of my ethnic origin. I was slurred with racist language in which they cruelly mocked my Asian heritage,” she says.
“After hearing about CAMERA from my peers at other schools in the UK, I chose to get involved knowing it is doing the most to disseminate accurate information to students and combat lies about Israel on campus.”
The UK is an increasingly hostile environment for students working to promote the truth about Israel. CAMERA is concerned about UK students and seeks to bolster its support for them.
Thanks to your generous support, we hosted another outstanding conference, with students from a multitude of experiences and backgrounds. Our diverse group of attendees came from countries around the world, including the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, Israel, Hungary, Venezuela, Columbia, Papua New Guinea, France, Ukraine and Mongolia. Pictured: some of the international students with CAMERA on Campus Directors Aviva Slomich (far left) and Gilad Skolnick (far right).
CAMERA on Campus is CAMERA’s fastest growing department!
This is testament to CAMERA’s overall effectiveness, and to the intensifying need of pro-Israel students to receive practical support as well as clarity about the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Anti-Semitism and overall anti-Israel activity on campuses across the world are at an all-time high. CAMERA’s staff work around the clock to mentor, support, and counsel students when they encounter hostility – some of it violent. As students head back to college, CAMERA is gearing up for increased demand for our services for more students on more campuses than ever before.
Your donation will make a difference in how much support we can offer students. Here are ways you can help:
A financial contribution is the most immediate and direct way you can support our efforts.
Telling others about our program and encouraging them to support CAMERA.
Hosting a small CAMERA on Campus event at your home or office, where your friends and colleagues can learn about our program, and determine if they want to support CAMERA students. This can offer the most far-reaching, lasting support.
For its part, CAMERA on Campus is increasing its efforts to fundraise and is formalizing a membership program. We welcome you to join CAMERA on Campus as a founding member. With a contribution of $250 or more, you will directly assist a student on one of our campuses. In your CAMERA on Campus Founding Member packet, we will send you an exclusive, oversized CAMERA mug, which we hope you will use and display proudly as an indication to others of your support for our outstanding work. Throughout the year, you will receive periodic updates on this year’s campus efforts, as well as notable student efforts.
Please tell others about this exciting opportunity, and together we can make a difference for our students, for Israel, and for our future.
