Naor Reuven Bitton is an Israeli political activist and community leader. He is a Fulbright Scholar [1] and was one of the founders of the international advocacy organization Students Supporting Israel (SSI), [2] that has dozens of pro-Israel groups across US and Canadian campuses. Bitton published numerous op-eds concerning the State of Israel in American and Israeli news outlets.
Naor Bitton was born and raised in Ashdod. After finishing his mandatory military service in the Israeli Defense Forces, he founded an activists youth group called "Ashdod Mitoreret" (Ashdod Wakes-up). After being elected to chair the group, Bitton initiated and led Ashdod's demonstrations, calling for a more affordable cost of living for young Israelis. Those demonstrations were part of the 2011 Israeli social justice protests . During the protests, thousands of Ashdod's residents marched throughout the city while Bitton and two fellow activists created a "tent city" in one of the city's park. [3]
Following the protests, Bitton went on to study a master's degree in Public Policy in the US, during which, he interned as an adviser for Congressman Jared Polis (D) of Colorado. In addition, he interned as a Cabinet Adviser to the Governor of Minnesota - Mark Dayton. [4]
Following his graduation, Bitton interned and later worked for Israel's Mission to United Nations as an adviser to Ambassador Ron Prosor. He also represented Israel in General Assembly discussions and UN deliberations. [5]
Bitton wrote multiple op-eds about Israel in leading news sites and papers, including: the Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Star Tribune, Ynetnews, etc. [6] [7] [8] [9]
He comes from a family of well-known art and Intellectual figures. Bitton is related to the poet and Israel Prize winner Erez Bitton, and his uncle is the Israeli comedian Israel Katorza.
During his studies at the University of Minnesota, Bitton co-founded Students Supporting Israel (SSI) together with Ilan Sinelnikov and Valeria Chazin. SSI is a network of pro-Israel groups that came under one name and one leadership, for the first time. [10] The organization is focused on fighting the BDS (Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions) campaign against Israel. Using a grassroots approach SSI was able to pass multiple pro-Israel resolutions in student governments. [11] [12]
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is a left-wing activist organization in the United States that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel. Its critics say it musters Jewish opposition to and works to undermine public support for Israel.
StandWithUs is an American right-wing pro-Israel advocacy organization. Known for working closely with the Israeli government, the organization focuses on education and is active on American campuses. SWU supports Israeli settlements and does not believe the West Bank is occupied.
The Israel on Campus Coalition is a United States pro-Israel umbrella organization founded in 2002 under the auspices of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
The Zionist Freedom Alliance (ZFA) is a Zionist movement that advocates Israel's moral, legal and historic rights for the Jewish people to the entire Land of Israel, which they consider to include the territory captured during the 1967 Six-Day War. It was established in 1999 by Magshimey Herut activists in response to what they perceived to be growing anti-Israel sentiment among young people throughout the world. ZFA claims that their narrative has not been presented since before the start of the Oslo peace process and that this has resulted in the world's ignorance of Israel's claim to all territory between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River. ZFA views Zionism as a revolutionary struggle and itself as the voice of Jewish national liberation. Its members are both religious and non-religious Jews.
The Israel lobby in the United Kingdom comprises those individuals and groups which seek to influence the foreign policy of the United Kingdom in favour of bilateral ties with Israel, Zionism, Israel, or the policies of the Israeli government. Such individuals and groups may seek to influence politicians and political parties, the media, the general public or specific groups or sectors.
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an annual series of university lectures and rallies. The series is held in February or March. According to the organization, "the aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement." Since IAW began in Toronto in 2005, it has since spread to at least 55 cities around the world including locations in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Botswana, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Palestine, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. IAW Week has garnered much controversy since its inception and has been criticized by some as anti-Semitic.
The Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy is an Israeli government ministry headed by Michael Biton, and responsible for leading the campaign against the BDS movement.
The following is a chronological summary of the major events that have been taking place during the 2011 Israeli social justice protests.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) is a nonprofit organization founded by Kenneth L. Marcus in 2012 to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people, to promote justice for all, and to advocate for Israel. LDB is active on American campuses, where it, according to the organization, combats anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism.
Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel is a New York-based organization that campaigns for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. “Adalah” is the Arabic word for “justice.”
The AMCHA Initiative is an American campus group and an anti-Semitism watchdog group that combats BDS activities on campuses. AMCHA was founded in 2012 by University of California Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and University of California Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Leila Beckwith. The term Amcha is Hebrew for "your people" or "your nation."
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations.
Students Supporting Israel is a pro-Israel international student activist movement that supports Israel as a Jewish Democratic nation-state. As of April 2015, SSI has more than 45 chapters across campuses in the United States, Canada and Austria. SSI was founded in 2012 in Minnesota and its national offices are in Minneapolis. The founders of the organizations are Ilan Sinelnikov, Valeria Chazin and Naor Bitton.
Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus is a 2015 film which documents how a growing number of anti-Israel demonstrations on U.S. campuses also include anti-Semitic messaging. The filmmakers interviewed pro-Israel college students, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who say that they feel increasingly intimidated to express their support for Israel on campus.
Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refer to the views of international actors on the BDS movement.
Canary Mission is a website established in 2014 that compiles dossiers on student activists, professors, and organizations, focusing primarily on those at North American universities, which it considers be anti-Israel or antisemitic and has said that it will send the names of listed students to prospective employers. Canary Mission listings have been used by the Israeli government and border security officials to interrogate and deny entry to pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) US citizens, and by potential employers.
Anti-Zionism on Campus: The University, Free Speech, and BDS is a 2018 book edited by Andrew Pessin and Doron Ben-Atar about anti-Israel political activism and antisemitism on American university campuses. Writing in Commentary, Gil Troy says that it is the first university press book to delve into "systematic assaults against Israel—and by extension Jews". Judea Pearl, director of the Cognitive Systems Laboratory at UCLA, calls it an "important book.". David Mikics in his article about Anti-Zionism describe it as "new collection of essays by professors and students who have been victims of BDS."
Rudy IsraelRochman is an Israeli-Jewish rights activist.