Israeli Students Combating Antisemitism

Israeli Students Combating Antisemitism (ISCA) was an Israeli student initiative created in 2011 by the National Union of Israeli Students to address antisemitism, Holocaust denial, racism, and xenophobia on the internet. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial brand, it functioned as a structured educational and civic program in which students received training and carried out online monitoring, reporting, and public-information work. Participants could receive academic credit or a scholarship in exchange for their work. The program recruited students from multiple Israeli academic institutions. Its activities extended across a range of social media and question-and-answer platforms, with work conducted in more than ten languages. Students monitored material that they considered antisemitic or related to Holocaust denial, reported content to platform operators, responded to public questions concerning Jewish history and the Holocaust, and promoted more informed discussion about antisemitism and racism. The program divided its activity into three principal teams: monitoring, Yahoo Answers, and new media. The monitoring team reviewed content and accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and VKontakte, seeking the removal of material that violated platform rules or promoted antisemitic themes. The Yahoo Answers team responded to users' questions about the Jewish people, Jewish history, and the Holocaust, while also reporting questions judged to be antisemitic. The new-media team maintained or supervised activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, including English-, French-, and Portuguese-language outreach. ISCA described itself as one of the largest initiatives of its kind and collaborated with a network of Jewish organizations, Holocaust-education institutions, human-rights groups, and organizations focused on online hate. Mentioned partners and associated organizations included Yad Vashem, the Anti-Defamation League, the Kantor Center, the International Network Against Cyber Hate, the World Jewish Congress, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. The initiative also took part in policy and educational forums, including an OSCE youth conference in Spain in 2017 and the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem in 2018. In 2014, an academic track was established at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya to connect the initiative's activities more closely with higher education. That program reportedly involved approximately 30 students each year, academic credit, two semesters of training and activity, and personal projects intended to counter online hate. ISCA reported substantial monitoring and engagement totals, including more than 21,000 Facebook cases, over 17,000 Twitter accounts, more than 6,000 YouTube videos, over 8,000 Instagram accounts or images, and more than 3,000 answers on Yahoo Answers and Quora. Reported removal rates varied by platform and were not independently verified in the available material. The program ended in November 2018. Tomer Aldubi was identified as its last program director. Because the initiative was closed and no successor organization, current website, or continuing corporate structure is identified in the available sources, it is best treated as a defunct student and civil-society program rather than an active consumer-facing brand.

ISCA emerged in 2011 under the National Union of Israeli Students as an organized response to the growth of antisemitic and Holocaust-denying material on the internet. Its model placed trained students at the center of the work. Students from different Israeli higher-education institutions monitored online services, reported material, answered questions, and produced social-media content. Participation was linked to academic incentives, including university credit and scholarships, giving the initiative both a civic-advocacy and an educational function. The program's operational structure consisted of three teams. The monitoring team reviewed Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and VKontakte in more than ten languages and submitted reports concerning antisemitic content. The Yahoo Answers team addressed public questions about Jewish identity, Jewish history, and the Holocaust, and reported questions that appeared antisemitic. The new-media team managed the initiative's continuing public presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, with content in English, French, and Portuguese as well as other languages used by the wider monitoring operation. ISCA developed relationships with organizations involved in Holocaust remembrance, antisemitism research, online-hate prevention, and Jewish communal advocacy. The available reference material names Yad Vashem, the Anti-Defamation League, the Kantor Center, the International Network Against Cyber Hate, the World Jewish Congress, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and other groups among its partners or cooperating organizations. Representatives also participated in policy and public forums. In 2017, they attended an OSCE youth conference in Spain, and in 2018 they presented or exchanged experience at the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem. A significant institutional development came in 2014, when an academic program was established at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. The academic track reportedly gave about 30 students per year credit for training and two semesters of activity. It also encouraged Jewish and non-Jewish students to design individual projects aimed at reducing online hatred, extending the initiative beyond content reporting into structured research, education, and public engagement. The initiative publicized large volumes of activity. Its reported figures included monitoring more than 21,000 antisemitic or Holocaust-denying cases on Facebook, more than 17,000 Twitter accounts, over 6,000 YouTube videos, and more than 8,000 Instagram accounts or images. It also reported answering more than 3,000 questions on Yahoo Answers and Quora. The stated average removal rates were 44 percent on Facebook, 60 percent on Twitter, 41 percent on YouTube, and 90 percent on Instagram. These are program-reported figures, and the available material does not establish an independent methodology or audit. ISCA was closed in November 2018. Tomer Aldubi was its last identified program director. No continuing operating entity, active official website, or post-closure successor is identified in the supplied sources, so the organization is classified as defunct.

• 2018

  Global Forum participation

  [1]Israeli Students Combating Antisemitismen.wikipedia.org

  Representatives participated in a panel at the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem.

• 2018

  Program closed

  [1]Israeli Students Combating Antisemitismen.wikipedia.org

  ISCA ended its operations in November 2018.

• 2017

  Participation in OSCE youth conference

  [1]Israeli Students Combating Antisemitismen.wikipedia.org

  Program representatives took part in an OSCE youth conference in Spain and shared experience related to combating antisemitism.

• 2014

  Academic track established

  [1]Israeli Students Combating Antisemitismen.wikipedia.org

  An academic program at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya connected ISCA's online work with university credit, student training, and individual anti-hate projects.

• 2011

  Program founded

  [1]Israeli Students Combating Antisemitismen.wikipedia.org

  The National Union of Israeli Students established ISCA as an initiative focused on combating online antisemitism, Holocaust denial, racism, and xenophobia.

A student-led, multilingual online counter-hate and Holocaust-education initiative combining academic training, platform reporting, public education, and cooperation with Jewish and human-rights organizations.

• Digital advocacy service · 2011

  Online monitoring and reporting

  Students monitored Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and VKontakte for antisemitic, racist, xenophobic, and Holocaust-denying material. They submitted reports to platform operators and tracked content across more than ten languages. This was the program's core operational activity rather than a commercial product.

• Public education · 2011

  Yahoo Answers and Quora engagement

  Participants answered public questions about Jewish history, the Jewish people, and the Holocaust on question-and-answer platforms. The team also reported questions considered antisemitic, combining factual education with platform moderation requests.

• Social-media communications · 2011

  New media outreach

  The new-media team maintained the initiative's public-facing activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. The available description identifies English-, French-, and Portuguese-language Facebook activity and English- and French-language Twitter activity.

• Student education program · 2014

  Academic Program for Combating Antisemitism

  Established at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya in 2014, this track gave approximately 30 students yearly academic credit for training and two semesters of work. It also encouraged students, including Jewish and non-Jewish participants, to develop individual projects addressing online hatred.

• 2014Academic anti-hate projects

  Israel

  The academic track embedded online anti-antisemitism work in higher education through student training, academic credit, and individually developed projects.

  Outcome. The program reportedly involved approximately 30 students per year and operated across two academic semesters.

  Source
• 2011Multilingual online antisemitism monitoring

  Global online platforms

  ISCA trained Israeli students to identify, document, report, and help counter antisemitic and Holocaust-denying material across major social networks and question-and-answer services.

  Outcome. The program reported extensive platform monitoring and content-removal activity, but the supplied sources do not provide an independent evaluation.

  Source

• 2018

  Closure of the programOther

  Background

  After several years of online monitoring, education, and international cooperation, the initiative ceased operating.

  Action taken

  ISCA was closed in November 2018.

  Aftermath

  The program became defunct; the available material does not identify a successor organization or explain the reasons for closure.

  Source

• 2014

  Expansion into academic programmingStrategy

  Background

  The initiative sought to connect its practical online-monitoring work with formal student education and sustained academic engagement.

  Action taken

  An academic program was established at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, offering training, academic credit, and student-led projects.

  Aftermath

  The academic track reportedly trained about 30 students each year; no later independent assessment is identified.

  Source

1. 1Israeli Students Combating Antisemitismen.wikipedia.org