OpenDor Media

Last updated

OpenDor Media, formerly Jerusalem U, is a non-profit organization dedicated to film-based Jewish and Israel education. OpenDor Media produces feature-length films, short videos, social media content and educational resources. [1] [2]

Contents

OpenDor Media’s content is distributed via the internet, social media, television, grassroots campaigns, live events and educational partnerships. Since its founding in 2009, OpenDor Media has partnered with approximately 1800 organizations, schools, camps, and campus groups including Jewish Federation chapters, Jewish Community Relations Councils, Jewish National Fund, Hillel chapters and others. [3]

Unpacked

Unpacked is a brand created by OpenDor Media for young people to address issues related to Israel and Judaism. [4] Publishing on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, it features videos and podcasts [5] on Jewish and Israeli history, antisemitism, and the Holocaust, explainers on a variety of topics. [6]

Unpacked for Educators is a website that features content created by Unpacked packaged for educators along with resources and materials. [7] [8] It runs a collaborative program for educators to network, develop skills, and gather material. [9] [10] OpenDor Media conducted a study in 2020 to research the impact that videos and social media have on Jewish education. [11]

Films

OpenDor Media has produced multiple critically acclaimed feature documentary films, Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference and Crossing the Line: The Intifada Comes to Campus. Israel Inside was seen by millions of people on PBS, Comcast on Demand, El Al flights and screened more than 400 times in 28 countries. [12]

History

Imagination Productions, Inc., which operates under OpenDor Media (formerly JerusalemU), is a US registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. [28] Founded in 2007, they have offices in Jerusalem, New York and Philadelphia. The organization is headed by founder and Executive Chairman Raphael Shore, CEO Andrew Savage, [29] [30] and EVP Noam Weissman. [31] Former leadership includes president, Amy Holtz and Executive Vice President Eli Ovits. [32]

Founder Raphael Shore, studied film at the University of Toronto. Shore produced the critically acclaimed PBS film, Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference, the 2010 documentary Crossing the Line: The Intifada Comes to Campus, [33] and Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front. [34]

As Jerusalem U, OpenDor Media produced five film mini-series: Israel Inside/Out, [35] [36] Habits of Happiness: Positive Psychology & Judaism, [37] [38] Judaism 101, [39] Cinema: The Jewish Lens [40] and The Israel Course. [41] They also created JU Max, which was a ten-week interactive, online course for college students. [42] [43]

Related Research Articles

Intifada is an Arabic word for a rebellion or uprising, or a resistance movement. It can be used to refer to an uprising against oppression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haredi Judaism</span> Branch of Judaism

Haredi Judaism consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict interpretation of religious sources and their accepted halakha and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating or modern values and practices. Its members are usually referred to as ultra-Orthodox in English; however, the term "ultra-Orthodox" is considered pejorative by many of its adherents, who prefer terms like strictly Orthodox or Haredi. Haredi Jews regard themselves as the most religiously authentic group of Jews, although other movements of Judaism disagree.

Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, also known as Hillel International, is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally. Hillel is represented at more than 850 colleges and communities throughout North America and globally, including 30 communities in the former Soviet Union, nine in Israel, and five in South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard H. Schwartz</span> American mathematician

Richard H. Schwartz is a professor emeritus of mathematics at the College of Staten Island; president emeritus of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA); and co-founder and coordinator of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV). He is best known as a Jewish vegetarian activist and advocate for animal rights in the United States and Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reuven Rivlin</span> 10th President of Israel

Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Rivlin was Minister of Communications from 2001 to 2003, and subsequently served as Speaker of the Knesset from 2003 to 2006 and 2009 to 2013. On 10 June 2014, he was elected President of Israel. His term ended on 7 July 2021.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is an American non-profit pro-Israel media-monitoring, research and membership organization. According to its website, CAMERA is "devoted to promoting accurate and balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East." The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to The Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general anti-Israel bias".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khaled Abu Toameh</span> Israeli Arab journalist and documentary filmmaker

Khaled Abu Toameh is an Israeli Arab journalist, lecturer and documentary filmmaker.

StandWithUs (SWU) is a nonprofit pro-Israel education and advocacy organization founded in Los Angeles in 2001 by Roz Rothstein, Jerry Rothstein, and Esther Renzer.

Antisemitism at universities has been reported and supported since the medieval period and, more recently, resisted and studied. Antisemitism has been manifested in various policies and practices, such as restricting the admission of Jewish students by a Jewish quota, or ostracism, intimidation, or violence against Jewish students, as well as in the hiring, retention and treatment of Jewish faculty and staff. In some instances, universities have been accused of condoning the development of antisemitic cultures on campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matisyahu</span> American musician

Matthew Paul Miller, known by his stage name Matisyahu, is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician.

Raphael Shore is a Canadian-Israeli film writer, producer, and rabbi. He is the founder of OpenDor Media, a Jewish educational organization, and Clarion Project, whose stated mission is "exposing the dangers of Islamist extremism".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Students for Justice in Palestine</span> Pro-Palestinian BDS activism organization

Students for Justice in Palestine 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. In 2011, The New York Times reported that "S.J.P., founded in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, has become the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anat Hoffman</span> Israeli feminist; founder of the Women of the Wall organization

Anat Hoffman is an Israeli activist and serves as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, also known as IRAC. She is the director and founding member of Nashot HaKotel, also known as Women of the Wall. Hoffman is a former member of the Jerusalem City Council. In 2013, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz named her "Person of the Year", noting the award reflected "the prominence that she has achieved across the Jewish world over the past 12 months". The Jerusalem Post listed her fifth, among its list of 50 Most Influential Jews, for forcefully and successfully bringing the issue of women's rights at the Kotel to the "forefront of the consciousness of world Jewry".

<i>Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus</i> 2015 American film

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oren Rosenfeld</span> Israeli documentary filmmaker and photojournalist (born 1976)

Oren Rosenfeld is an Multi-Emmy Award winning Israeli documentary filmmaker, photojournalist, and film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Mission</span> Website established in 2014

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) American citizens, and by potential employers.

The Lobby is a series of documentaries produced by Al Jazeera that investigate the influence of the Israel lobby in the United Kingdom and in the United States and their relationship to the BDS movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudy Rochman</span> Israeli activist

Rudy IsraelRochman is a Jewish-Israeli rights activist.

The Holocaust Museum of Oporto is a Holocaust museum founded in 2021.

Globalize the Intifada is a slogan that has been used for advocating for global activism in support of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation. The term intifada being derived from the Arabic word nafada meaning to "shake off", refers to Palestinian uprisings or resistance against Israeli control, and the call to "globalize" it suggests extending the spirit and actions of these uprisings beyond the regional context to a worldwide movement.

References

  1. "No small wonder". Jerusalem Post.
  2. "Ben-Shahar provides lessons on happiness". Sun Sentinel. 24 February 2014.
  3. "Partners". Jerusalem U. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  4. Rudee, Eliana (4 June 2019). "YouTube channel 'Unpacked' aims to teach younger generations about Israel and Judaism". JNS.org. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. Sachs, Sarah (16 August 2022). "The Best Jewish Podcasts Released This Year". Moment Magazine. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  6. Newsdesk, J.-Wire (21 September 2020). "Digital media and the Jewish future". J-Wire. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  7. "Unpacking Israel's complexities for today's Jewish youth". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  8. "Kehillah High included in new Israel education partnership". jhvonline.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  9. Palmer, Joanne. "Making community online". jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  10. "A winning way for schools to celebrate Israel's Independence Day - Sponsored Content | The Times of Israel". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  11. "Rewind and Watch It: The Impact of Video in Israel Education". Rosov Consulting, LLC. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  12. "Film presents 'much larger picture' of Israel". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  13. "No Small Wonder". Jerusalem Post. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  14. "11 Best Military Documentaries on Netflix Streaming in 2015". Insider Monkey. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  15. "Film reveals anti-Zionist threat faced by students". The Jewish Chronicle Online. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  16. "Campus Intifada - Crossing the Line". Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  17. "Film Shows Hummus Is More Than Just A Dip". Sky News. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  18. "Hummus! The Movie!". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  19. "Program 2017 – Jewish Motifs Intl. Film Festival" . Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  20. "Mekonen: An Ethiopian's Journey to becoming an IDF officer – CAMERA on Campus". cameraoncampus.org. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  21. "Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew". Ithaca Area United Jewish Community. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  22. "Sustainable Nation (2019) – CANA Film Festival" . Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  23. "Israel and the World: 'Sustainable Nation'". Asia Society. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  24. "Austin Jewish Film Festival discusses rise in antisemitism". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  25. "Začenja se festival Hiša strpnosti". Mladina.si. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  26. JNS.org. "'Unsafe Spaces': Explore the marginalization of Jewish students in a new film". JNS.org. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  27. Presents, Lappin Foundation. ""Unsafe Spaces: When Being Jewish Means You Don't Belong" Film Screening". JewishBoston. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  28. "Guide Star". GuideStar. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  29. Saul, Tema (20 July 2021). "OpenDor Media Announces Appointment of New CEO • OpenDor Media". OpenDor Media. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  30. "Andrew Savage - CEO at OpenDor Media". THE ORG. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  31. Staff, Ajn. "'Outstanding' speakers to inspire our teachers". www.australianjewishnews.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  32. "Jerusalem U". Jerusalem U. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  33. "Campus Intifada - Crossing the Line". Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  34. "Jerusalem U Staff". Jerusalem U. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  35. "'Jerusalem U' Links Students with Judaism". The Atlanta Jewish Times.
  36. "Israel Inside Out". Jerusalem U. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  37. "Ben-Shahar provides lessons on happiness". Sun Sentinel. 24 February 2014.
  38. "'Jerusalem U' Links Students with Judaism". The Atlanta Jewish Times.
  39. "'Jerusalem U' Links Students with Judaism". The Atlanta Jewish Times.
  40. "Cinema - The Jewish Lens". Jerusalem U. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  41. "Online University Confronts Anti-Israel Bias". CBN News. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  42. "JU Max". Jerusalem U. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  43. "'Jerusalem U' Links Students with Judaism". The Atlanta Jewish Times.