The University of Haifa is stepping up its academic efforts to foster civic participation by equipping students with the knowledge and skills to respond to harmful and deliberately misleading information about Israel being spread by groups and organizations in cyberspace.
Ambassadors Online is Israel’s only accredited academic program in the field of Israel advocacy. Now in its sixth year, the program draws Israeli students from diverse national, religious and ethnic backgrounds.
“We signed up for Ambassadors Online to gain a more nuanced perspective on the conflict and promote the Israeli voice in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which often gets the short end of the stick in global media coverage and online forums” explained Mariana Herrera and Eli Hohozia. The two students could not be more different. Mariana is a doctoral student in education and a new immigrant from Chile, and Eli is a Haifa native majoring in political science and philosophy. Still, they share a common goal – to gain a better understanding of the complexity of the conflict and learn how to share their perspectives about Israel through words, ideas and images.
“Many Israelis don’t know how to respond when confronted with anti-Israel coverage and commentary,” explains Prof. Eli Avraham, who heads the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism and Racism, and serves as the Director of the Ambassadors Online Program. “In recent years, anti-Israel campaigns led primarily by the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement have employed popular social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and blogging to attack Israel. In many ways, the latest round in the Israeli conflict is being waged not only on the ground, but also in cyberspace.”
Prof. Eli Avraham (front row fifth from left) and Adi Levy (sixth from left)with Ambassadors Online’s sixth cohort.
“We are proud that year after year program participants fully reflect the diversity of our student body and Israeli society,” notes Adi Levy, a PhD student in International Relations who manages the Ambassadors Online program. “This year the program had a record number of applicants, among them Jews, Druze, new immigrants and Muslims,” adds Levy.
“As an Israeli Arab I felt obliged to sound this other voice – a voice that is generally erased from the conversation – and to present Israel in a more positive light,” explains Rayan Saleh, an undergraduate student of law and communications.
Recipients of the “Ambassadors Online Award for Israel Advocacy” for 2016, with dignitaries from the Druze community including Deputy Minister for Regional Cooperation, MK Ayoob Kara (center bottom row), and Dr. Reda Mansour, formerly Israeli Ambassador to Brazil (center top row).
Each year Ambassadors Online honors individuals for their outstanding work in Israel advocacy. In January, the program awarded five influential members of the Druze community with the “Ambassadors Online Israel Advocacy Award.” Recipients included members of the Israeli Druze Alliance, an organization that is promoting Israel through the eyes of non-Jewish citizens. “
Ambassadors Online takes in highly articulate students who are fluent in English, team players and willing to dedicate their time and energies to respond to misinformation and improve Israel’s global image online,” adds Prof. Avraham. “As part of the curriculum they study the historical roots of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from a number of perspectives.
The Comper Center and Ambassadors Online recently published a ‘handbook’ designed for students and academics who are traveling abroad, providing fact-based answers to common allegations voiced against Israel in the international arena. The advocacy handbook was distributed to universities in Israel, and shared with partner organizations in England, Spain, Germany and France.
Ambassadors Online works closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies. The program is championed by friends of the University including Prof. Mark Yudof, former President of the University of California, Berkeley and a member of the University of Haifa’s Board of Governors, and Honorary Doctorate recipients Irwin Cotler, international human rights activist, celebrated filmmaker Robert Lantos, and Prof. Charles Milgrom, a prominent physician and supporter of research at the University of Haifa.
For information about how you can support Ambassadors Online, please contact the Office of the Vice President for External Affairs and Resource Development.
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“The BDS movement seeks to hinder academic exchange and inquiry, which should be anathema to any institution of higher learning. Confronting and challenging these trends requires new, innovative approaches. I therefore want to congratulate the University of Haifa on the sixth year of its Ambassadors Online program and wish this dynamic group of students the best of luck in their worthy endeavor.”
-Prof. Mark Yudof