Jump to content

Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) is an Israeli-funded American non-profit organization that produces academic research, seminars, and conferences to study antisemitism.

Harvard professors Alan Dershowitz and Ruth Wisse were co-chairs of ISGAP's international board. The executive committee of its International Academic Board of Advisors included former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler and historian Irving Abella.[1] ISGAP's chairman is Natan Sharansky.[2] Its managing director is Sima Vaknin-Gil, lieutenant colonel and former chief censor of the Israeli Defense Forces.[3]

History

[edit]

ISGAP was founded in 2004 by Charles Asher Small from Tel Aviv University[4] as a non-profit organization to produce and support academic research, seminars, and conferences to study antisemitism.[1]

In 2006, Small and ISGAP founded the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA), the first university-based institute dedicated to the study of antisemitism in North America, at Yale University.[5]

In August 2020, ISGAP suspended its operations for 48 hours in solidarity with African Americans during the George Floyd protests.[2]

Activities

[edit]

ISGAP's flagship program is a two-week conference of more than 80 scholars of antisemitism, approximately 80% of whom are not Jewish. In 2019, the conference was held at Oxford University.[1]

In November 2023, ISGAP and the Network Contagion Research Institute published a study entitled "The Corruption of the American Mind." The study alleged $13 billion in undisclosed foreign funding from Qatar and other authoritarian countries to over 100 American universities to a 300% increase in antisemitism on campuses.[6][7][8]

In 2024, ISGAP met regularly with leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties to urge investigations of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in American universities.[3]

Funding

[edit]

In 2019, the ISGAP received a grant of US$1.3 million, to be distributed over three years, from the Israeli government.[1] In 2020, The Forward reported that almost 80% of the ISGAP's funding in 2018, totaling $445,000, had come from the government of Israel, income which the think tank did not divulge.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Lungen, Paul (2019-06-20). "NGO looks to combat anti-Semitism through academia". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Levine, Cody (August 29, 2020). "Antisemitism institute halts activities in support of African-Americans". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Fang, Lee; Poulson, Jack (2024-08-17). "Israel feared legal trouble over US advocacy efforts, leaked files suggest". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  4. ^ "Charles Asher Small: Contemporary Global Antisemitism as Rejection of the Other". College of the Holy Cross. September 20, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Yale Creates Institute to Study Anti-Semitism". Chronicle of Higher Education. 2006-09-19. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  6. ^ The Corruption of the American Mind (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ^ Klein, Zvika (2023-11-23). "$13b. in hidden foreign funds linked to 300% antisemitism rise in US universities". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ^ Bernard, Andrew (2023-11-08). "Report: Concealed foreign funding of US colleges linked to antisemitism". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  9. ^ Pink, Aiden (31 August 2020). "Think tank failed to disclose six-figure grant from Israeli government". The Forward. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Institute_for_the_Study_of_Global_Antisemitism_and_Policy&oldid=1241412594"