Universities have long been one of the toughest environments for pro-Israel students. They have battled stilted curriculums when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more recently, grappled with on-campus pressure in the face of growing BDS activity. Combined with a general uptick in anti-Semitism, including the deadly shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway, many Jewish and pro-Israel students have increasingly felt under siege.
To that end, students from more than 80 campuses gathered in Boston in mid-August for a high-level training conference to gain support and learn the tools necessary to respond to the upsurge in campus anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activism.
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Hosted by the campus department of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), a media watchdog organization, students from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel took part in a four-day conference at Boston University's Hillel to learn more about Israel and how to stand up to anti-Israel campus groups – and also to know they are not alone.
"When people get involved in Israel advocacy, they don't know much and don't know where to start," McKenna Bates, a senior at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., told JNS.
"The first couple of days of the conference were very intensive and information-based. There was a lot of focus on helping us know what we are talking about – facts about the conflict and Israel, as well as organizations and tools for research and writing."
Bates, who characterized her university as "very anti-Israel," noting that she has been verbally attacked, has been threatened and even sent online death threats by anti-Israel figures, said that CAMERA has proven to be a strong resource for her.
"CAMERA has been trying to show us that they are the support system. They have the resources to prove or disprove things. They know how to connect you and defend you," she said.
Similarly, Josh Eibelman, a senior at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who is studying psychology and biology, told JNS that developing a pro-Israel network was important to him.
"The biggest takeaway for me is I get to connect to pro-Israel students across the country. Keep in touch, collaborate and share ideas," he said.
Practical programs for students included "how to talk about Israel in social situations;" "recruit, recruit, recruit;" and "Twitter is my only friend: utilizing social media to maximize outreach."
'They are being manipulated'
The conference also featured several pro-Israel speakers, such as Alyza Lewin, president and general counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law; Kasim Hafeez, a former radical anti-Israel extremist; Shai Deluca Tamasi, a North American TV personality; Itzik Yarkoni, a top public relations and marketing consultant; Joe Truzman, a Twitter sensation for his reporting on Gaza; and CAMERA research staff.
But one of the main goals was educating students on the anti-Israel groups that students may encounter on campus, specifically Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), but also other emerging ones. A new challenge is that ties between SJP and other vocal anti-Israel groups, such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow.
Aviva Rosenschein, international campus director for CAMERA, said "we are giving them very detailed information on the organizations that students may encounter on campus. From JVP to SJP and IfNotNow, what these organizations represent and their supposed missions are, and how they can react, respond or engage with them in general," she said.
"You have to remember that a lot of students who join these organizations are not inherently anti-Semitic; they are coming from a place that sounds like a peaceful organization, but they are being manipulated," she clarified.
Haber said that these Jewish anti-Israel groups work in tandem with SJP and can elevate not only anti-Israel actions but also anti-Semitism through the legitimacy provided by Jewish groups providing cover for SJP's attacks.
"I think we are going to see more issues on campus within our Jewish community. IfNotNow, J Street and JVP are going to be our main issues this year, and this only helps to elevate SJP. But I think our students are better prepared after this conference in learning about these groups and the history and mission."
Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism
At the end of 2018, Inside Higher Ed reported that prior to and after the fatal shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October of that year, "prejudicial displays have plagued college campuses, following a trend of anti-Semitism on the rise at colleges and universities – and around the country – since 2016."
Couple with the uptick in anti-Semitism has been a growing awareness of the connection between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Several Trump administration officials, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and anti-Semitism envoy Elan Carr have come out forcefully against both issues.
The connection between the two was also a major theme at the CAMERA conference.
Ben Newhouse, a junior at New York University, told JNS that one of the biggest takeaways from the conference was the realization that most of the anti-Israel actions he has seen on campus are actually anti-Semitic as well.
"One takeaway from the conference is that they are very clear in saying anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination, just like any other group of people does," he said.
Last year, the SJP affiliate at NYU was instrumental in pushing the student government to pass a resolution during the Hanukkah holiday to divest from Israel. In the spring, NYU's Social and Cultural Analysis Department further voted to boycott the school's own satellite campus in Tel Aviv.
Rosenschein said that this year, CAMERA is more prepared than ever. They now have fellows at some of the most challenging campuses, such as NYU, Columbia University, the University of California at Davis, Berkeley and San Diego, as well as Duke University.
"Our Israel activists are more emboldened and outspoken than ever. People understand they are on the right side of history and the truth. They will not be intimidated," she said.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
