CAMERA on Campus completed its inaugural semester of exclusive webinars for the CAMERA Fellows. The graphic above details the esteemed guests with whom the Fellows were privy to have intimate conversations. The guest speakers touched upon various relevant topics from continuing to exhibit pride for being a Zionist to international topics surrounding the protests in Lebanon against Hezbollah and the Abraham Accords and how these actions will impact Israel and the Palestinians. We will continue to provide exclusive webinars for the CAMERA Fellows as the second semester begins shortly for the majority of the students, allowing them to engage in in-depth conversations with some of the most renowned scholars on Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Cancel culture and its attack on free speech within universities has had grave impacts on Zionists and in some cases, outwardly Jewish students. CAMERA students have addressed this topic via publication in their university newspapers and national outlets. Over the last couple of years, the issue has only become more severe.
Bar -Ilan University CAMERA Fellow, Tehilla Katz, organized a panel to highlight some of the more concerning examples. The panel included CAMERA Fellow alumnus of the University of Nottingham, Daniel Marcus, who published an article within the Jewish News on how co-sponsoring an event on Israeli elections was deemed too controversial even for the political society. Noah Lew, a recent graduate of McGill University, shared his harrowing experience of not being voted into a position within student government due to his Jewish identity. Blake Flayton, of George Washington University, discussed similar challenges addressed in his New York Times article on the progressive circles on college campuses and their seemingly unanimous opinion to consider Zionists as outsiders of the progressive community.
The panelists were joined by the keynote speaker, Member of Israeli Knesset, Michal Cotler-Wunsh who is completing a doctorate on free speech within academic and provided compelling research on the negative effects of cancel culture.
Click here to watch the full webinar.
#MizrahiStories Campaign
“On May 4, 2019 speaker’s panel, “Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech and the Battle for Palestinian Rights,” sponsored by eight UMass Amherst academic departments (including Sut Jhally’s Communications Department) Linda Sarsour declared that Israelis “got a lotta resource, but what they don’t have is morals. They don’t have principles.” As Marc Lamont Hill began a drawn-out tirade regarding the illegitimacy of the “occupation” and said that it was difficult for him to renounce Hamas, someone in the audience yelled that such talk was dehumanizing people. She was met with hoots of disdain from the crowd. When someone shouted out “Am Yisrael Chai” in protest, the crowd began a chant of “remove them!”
Sut Jhally’s second conference didn’t shy away from aggressive anti-Israel speech/bordering on antisemitic rhetoric, though a few noticeable items were present. Not one academic department sponsored Sut Jhally’s November panel entitled, “The Attack on BDS and pro-Palestinian Speech.” Thanks to CAMERA’s Christian Research Analyst Dexter Van Zile’s exposure of Sut Jally activism and manipulation in the classroom, UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy issued a strong letter against the most recent event stating that, “It is troubling that such a one-dimensional, polarizing event should take place on our campus.”
Most recently, Van Zile spoke in front of the UMASS Board of Trustees about Sut Jhally’s abuse of the classroom.
PFLP Terrorists and their Western Student Supporters
From fringe, extremists organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace to academic departments, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization and some of its infamous leaders and members such as Ghassan Kalafani, Leila Khaled, and Rasmea Odeh, have garned support and accolades from western society, specifically university students. CAMERA on Campus staff and Fellows have written numerous articles within the university, local, national and international newspapers, and shared educational materials (as seen above) via the campus quad and social media in order to help the general public grasp the seriousness of PFLP’s popularity amongst western, anti-Israel student activists.
Below are two articles by CAMERA Fellows that were published in influential university student newspapers and directly exposed SJP for their support for the violent, PFLP terrorists.
ASUC should Condemn Bears for Palestine’s Display by CAMERA Fellow, Maya Reuven, originally published in UC Berkeley’s, Daily Californian.
When Will Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine Stop Endorsing a Terror Organization? by CAMERA Fellow, Josh Eibelman, originally published in Cornell University’s, The Cornell Daily Sun.
CAMERA Hosts Online International Student Leadership Conference
Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, CAMERA held this year’s student conference via Zoom, teaching students how to effectively combat anti-Israel and biased propaganda on college campuses and online. Unable to attend the typical five-day, in-person training session in Boston, more than 100 students from 66 universities in North America, the United Kingdom and Israel joined together virtually last month, CAMERA’s largest training conference to date. Read More
Watch: Israel Clubs from 14 Universities across UK, North America and Israel co-Sponsor Webinar with Ambassador Mark Regev
One positive item that CAMERA observed early was the ability to hold events and connect students to each other with ease. At the onset of Covid-19 and the closure of universities, students were eager to continue to carry on as normal as possible, enjoying the ability to still reach their peers via Zoom webinars and since everyone was online, were thrilled to work together to hold successful educational events with prominent, such as the likes of Ambassador Mark Regev.
CAMERA was also quick to notice that the anti-Israel activists were also more inclined to work more together across countries. CAMERA on Campus’ Managing Editor discovered that the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) was working closely with the National Students for Justice in Palestine and published this expose. Since then, it’s common to see SJP chapters, as well as Palestinian Societies within the UK, publish inciting propaganda from the PYM.
Though demonstrations in support of freeing all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, including convicted terrorists with blood on their hands, were seen on Israeli universities in conjunction with the Israeli NGO, Adalah Justice Project, support for this campaign was quickly shared across the UK and North America. The CAMERA on Campus team published an article about it in JNS.
Hebrew University’s Hadash Chapter Published Video Inciting Against Israeli Students
In support of “Nakba Day” the student led chapter at Hebrew University of the political party in Israel, Hadash, published a video accusing Hebrew University of being, “A partner in the Palestinian Nakba.”
Hadash students were accused of putting the soldiers’ safety at risk by showing their faces in the video. Following complaints to the university’s administration, the Hadash students published the same video with the faces of the soldiers blurred out, accompanied with a defiant statement:
“You can erase their faces, but not the truth and their crimes…”Click here to read CAMERA Presspectiva Senior Research Analyst, Shlomi Ben-Meir thorough response to Hadash’s false claims.
Before Covid-19: Israeli Journalist Shared Stories of “Life Behind the Lens” with UK Students
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.
Follow this link to read more about photo-journalist, Gil Cohen Magen’s UK tour with CAMERA before the pandemic hit.
CAMERA Staff Attend JCPA Roundtable Discussion on Israelophobia
In late February, the Jewish Center for Public Affairs held an invitation-only roundtable discussion on Israelophobia addressing the challenge to Israel and the Diaspora in the legal, political and social contexts.
CAMERA’s International Campus Director, Aviva Rosenschein, was honored to attend and participate in the round table discussion with some of the most authoritative minds on the subject.
A Fellowship Made for You
In 2020, CAMERA on Campus launched its rebooted Fellowship program, including 7 different unique tracks offering students a variety of ways to get involved with CAMERA. Despite the pandemic, CAMERA had its largest contingent of CAMERA Fellows over this current academic year!
Whether you love to write, host events. create social media campaigns or want to focus on educating a specific community, you can find your place at CAMERA.
Applications for the 2021-2022 Fellowship are now open. Please follow this link to apply.
As the new year begins, CAMERA plans to hire for two open positions, one within our Jerusalem office and one within our Boston office. Follow this link to learn about the positions in more detail.
Social Media Manager
CAMERA seeks a Social Media Manager who can enhance our brand and build strong online communities through our various social media platforms. The Social Media Manager will be responsible for developing and administering social media content that is designed to engage users and create an interactive relationship between our followers and CAMERA. The successful candidate will also be required to collect and review social media data to develop more effective campaigns. The position will be based in our Jerusalem, Israel office.
Send resume, cover letter, and examples of graphic designs to Eitan@camera.org. No phone calls, please.
Campus Advisor
CAMERA seeks a full-time Campus Advisor to join its growing team of young professionals providing support and guidance to students interested in Israel activism. The Advisor will oversee CAMERA Fellows, CAMERA-supported Israel organizations, and help develop and implement effective measures to meet challenges facing Zionist students. The position will be based in our Boston office.
Send resume, cover letter, and a writing sample to hali@camera.org. No phone calls, please
