With the many concerns, fears and changes we are all working to adapt to and accept, we should make sure to embrace some of the good that has come out of this unprecedented event. Never before has the world been so unified.
As we work to find a cure and bring an end to our difficult new reality, we at CAMERA on Campus will continue to persevere. By utilizing new and impactful ways to connect with our community, we will continue to share the many beautiful and inspiring ideas created by our current students and alumni to spread unity, optimism and education.
CAMERA on Campus hosts Netflix Viewing Party across North America, the UK and Israel
Our viewing of “The Red Sea Diving Resort” coincided with the arrival of 72 Ethiopian immigrants hours before Ethiopia closed its borders to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
The Red Sea Diving Resort is a 2019 spy thriller film written and directed by Gideon Raff. The film stars Chris Evans as an Israeli Mossad agent who runs a covert operation that helps Ethiopian-Jewish refugees escape to safe haven in Israel.
The film is loosely based on the events of Operation Moses and Operation Joshua n 1984-1985, in which the Mossad covertly evacuated Jewish Ethiopian refugees to Israel.
As the coronavirus crisis envelops the global community, the flow of information becomes increasingly difficult to follow, especially in the age of social media. When it comes to Israel’s evolving situation, CAMERA hopes to provide some much-needed insight during this confusing time.
On Thursday, March 26th, CAMERA’s senior research analyst Sean Durns discussed the coronavirus and its impact on Israel while answering the following questions;
-What is Israel doing to combat spread of the disease?
-How has the media been addressing the topic?
-How are anti-Israel activists exploiting the crisis to demonize the country?
Please click here to view the presentation.
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“At a time of a global pandemic, Israel is taking drastic measures to prevent COVID-19 from potentially killing thousands of its citizens. But while the world is changing — and changing fast — Israel’s critics aren’t. At a time of crisis, the usual suspects are seeing an opportunity to single out the Jewish state for opprobrium.
Take, for example, the Global Opinion page in The Washington Post, and a March 19 op-ed by Gershom Gorenberg, entitled “With a pandemic as cover, Netanyahu is carrying out a coup in Israel.” And the inflammatory and sensationalized headline is only the beginning.”
Please click above to watch and follow York University CAMERA Fellow Alumnus, Eli Razimor Apter’s new YouTube Channel.
In celebrating the creativity of our current students and alumni, CAMERA on Campus will be highlighting some of the new projects by our CAMERA Fellows and leaders of CAMERA-supported Israel student organizations.
Eli Razimor, a graduate of York University, was recently hired to be a flight attendant for El Al. In the midst of this current crisis, Eli created his YouTube channel, “Life of Eli” to share behind the scenes stories of a flight attendant.
“Flight Attendants are in the most uncertainty they’ve ever been in. Here’s my take on coronavirus from the perspective of a flight attendant and my tips on how you can help reduce the spread of the virus, how to reduce anxiety, and how to remain optimistic during this unique time period!”
Help Latet Bring Needed Resources to Isolated, Elderly Israelis
As part of our contribution, CAMERA on Campus will be sharing various charities and service options to help support those in need during this trying time.
For the last 24 years, Latet, an Israeli NGO, has been combating poverty in Israel. Acting as an umbrella organization for 180 local associations in all sectors, Latet has extensive experience in providing assistance to distressed populations, the elderly and Holocaust survivors, in routine and emergency situations.
Latet has launched an emergency fund intended to assist isolated elderly people who lack accessibility to food and who are confined to their homes. They aim to minimize the number of casualties among the elderly by providing packages including food, personal hygiene products and entertainment items directly to the homes of the elderly, with the help of volunteers, to enable them to stay at home (approximate package cost: $90).
Upon hearing news about Israel’s first fatality to the coronavirus, SJP’s 2018-2019 president of its NYU chapter published the above tweet. It received over 2,000 likes. Her tweet has since been deleted.
We are thankful for the swift response by NYU. NYU spokesman, John Beckman wrote:
“With almost 500,000 alumni, NYU does not routinely respond to its graduates’ social media posts, but the reported Twitter post by a former NYU student about the first Israeli death from COVID-19 was shameful and callous. The death and disruption caused by this pandemic should be reason to draw us together in sympathy, not be fodder for divisiveness and indifference. NYU denounces such insensitivity; it is at odds with our campus’ values.”
These are the kinds of serious abuses faced by students. Zionist students don’t have rational people to dialogue with or to clarify questions, and are going head to head with some of the most hate-filled extremists on the grounds of our most prestigious campuses.
Not only are extreme and dangerous rhetoric against Israel present on the NYU campus, the university newspaper routinely provides a platform for such abuse, yet refuses to publish alternative viewpoints.
NYU CAMERA Fellow Ben Newhouse had to turn to JNS when the Washington Square News, NYU’s official university paper, wouldn’t respond to his request to write a rebuttal to a recently published radically anti-Israel article. This was his third attempt.
“In a Jan. 27 op-ed published in New York University’s student newspaper, Washington Square News, deputy opinion editor Asha Ramachandran makes the argument that U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Executive Order on Combating Antisemitism” does nothing to inhibit anti-Semitism on campus. Rather, she suggests that it only continues to silence Palestinian activists on campus. In reality, pro-Israel voices are silenced on campus, mainly due to intimidation and threats by student organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).”
Click here to hear about Daniel Yeluashvili’s experience as a CAMERA Fellow for San Francisco State University.
Even during this unprecedented time, it’s still clear that there is a need for strong, confident voices when it comes to defeating the biased and venomous rhetoric spread about Israel and her supporters.
The 2020-2021 CAMERA on Campus Fellowship applications are now open.
If you have friends and family members who believe in the need to convey the truth and are willing to actively work for their peers to receive an accurate and honest education about Israel and her neighbors, please make sure to apply to join and become a part of CAMERA’s cause.
CAMERA Fellows from across North America, the UK and Israel will receive a stipend for completing his/her responsibilities and will be brought to our annual four-day international leadership conference in Boston.
Palestine Child Soldiers Week
CAMERA joined with several other non-profit organizations to promote awareness of Palestinian child soldiers, hoping to end the abuse of Palestinian children at the hands of terrorist entities. This awareness campaign took form in various ways including social media calls for action, public events and rallies, and published articles meant to draw attention and provide more information about this serious issue to the general public.
Below are excerpts from two articles published by our CAMERA Fellows at John Jay College and George Mason University respectively.
“Children’s brains are not developed enough to understand the concept of danger, which is why parents often need to explain the severity of certain situations to their child. Their trusting nature is being taken advantage of to be manipulated for the sake of extreme ideologies, putting them in harm’s way, without them even realizing the depth of the situation. These children are being indoctrinated to believe that their physical well-being—their life—is not important. They are told that their worth is equal to how much death they can cause.
To continue reading Tzvia Warwonker’s article, please follow JNS.org.
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“Utilizing children as human shields and as bomb carriers is unethical and abhorrent, and yet this issue is rarely talked about or brought up, except in the effort to demonize Israel.
A Flash of Hope? Israeli Journalist Comes to Campus
“On February 24, 2020, UCL Friends of Israel welcomed Israeli photojournalist Gil Cohen Magen to speak about his 20-plus years’ experience reporting. The event was part of a speaking tour sponsored by CAMERA on Campus, the Jewish Agency and StandWithUS. UCL’s tradition of training some of the best and the brightest in journalism meant that the presence of another seasoned reporter on campus proved popular with students, and the event attracted a wide range of attendees keen to see the reality of life “behind the lens” in Israel.”
To read the full account of CAMERA’s tour of Gil Cohen Magen in cooperation with the Jewish Agency and StandWithUs by UK Campus Associate, Georgia Leathdale Gilholy, please click here.
#ThisIsWhatAZionistLooksLike
“Hey everyone! My name is Jeanne Cristello Friedlander and I’m from Harrisburg,PA currently living in Philly. I am a recent graduate of Temple University where I was on the executive board of the Jewish sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi. Also, I planned one of the first Poland trips open to both Jews and people of other or no religion for Hillel. I currently work in finance at a large corporate bank. My dream is to make #Aliyah and live in Tel Aviv. I am a #Zionist because Israel is our ancestral homeland and a safe place for an jewish person in the world to come and live. I love Israel’s diversity, collective culture, food and of course, Tel Aviv beaches. Israel also is good for the world with its numerous innovations in medicine, technology and more. I am from Harrisburg but Israel is where I feel truly at home.” — @jeannecristello #thisiswhatazionistlookslike#telaviv#zionism#israel
“This Is What A Zionist Looks Like” is a CAMERA on Campus Instagram project which aims to show the world that Zionists come from diverse backgrounds and have diverse interests. We showcase different Zionists, their stories, their interests, and their beliefs. If you are interested in being featured, please send an e-mail to To be featured in our #ThisIsWhatAZionistLooksLike campaign, please contact eitan@camera.org.
