Dozens of students, academics and activists from the United States, Canada and Australia took part this week in the launch of what organizers described as the first “International Academy for Judea and Samaria,” a new initiative aimed at shaping global discourse about the territory known internationally as "the West Bank."
The program is a joint project of Ariel University and the advocacy group American Friends of Judea and Samaria (AFJS), led by Yigal Dilmoni and Rafi Lazerowitz.
2 View gallery
From left: Social media personality SaharTV, the late Ariel University Vice President Gaby Haroeh, AFJS CEO Yigal Dilmoni, Nate Buzz and 'Kosher Guru' Gabriel Boxer during a meeting last year
(Photo: AFJS)
Organizers say the initiative, dedicated to the memory of former Ariel University vice president Gaby Haroeh, seeks to counter disinformation and gaps in knowledge about the territory by providing participants with academic and historical materials. The inaugural session was held online as part of a planned webinar series.
Among those scheduled to lecture in the coming semester are Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Amir Avivi and Prof. Yonatan Adler, along with other researchers and policy experts focusing on the West Bank.
The webinar series is hosted by Gabriel Boxer, a U.S.-based social media personality known as the “Kosher Guru,” who has built a large following around kosher cuisine and Jewish lifestyle content. Boxer recently visited Israel on a trip organized by AFJS, according to the group.
2 View gallery
From left: AFJS CEO Yigal Dilmoni, the late Ariel University Vice President Gaby Haroeh and 'Kosher Guru' Gabriel Boxer
(Photo: AFJS)
Yigal Dilmoni, AFJS’s founder and chief executive, described the project as a “quiet revolution of academic sovereignty.”
“Our central challenge in the battle for international public opinion is the absolute lack of knowledge regarding the facts on the ground,” Dilmoni said in a statement. “By bringing dozens of academics and opinion leaders from around the world to study Judea and Samaria in depth, we are building ambassadors equipped with the truth. This is the most powerful strategic tool we can possess.”
Supporters say the academy aims to place Judea and Samaria — the biblical term for the West Bank — at the center of international academic discussion as part of Jewish and Zionist history.