The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) is an American non-profit organization that produces academic research, seminars, and conferences to study antisemitism. In recent years, its research has focused specifically on antisemitism on university campuses.

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

professors

Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law, U.S. constitutional and American criminal law, criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law Sc ...

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. ISGAP's chairman is Natan Sharansky. Its managing director is Sima Vaknin-Gil, lieutenant colonel and former chief censor of the Israeli Defense Forces.

History

ISGAP was founded in 2004 by Charles Asher Small from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

as a non-profit organization to produce and support academic research, seminars, and conferences to study antisemitism. It also works on mapping, decoding, and combating contemporary antisemitism. 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 Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. In August 2020, ISGAP suspended its operations for 48 hours in solidarity with

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

Programming

ISGAP's flagship program is a two-week annual conference of more than 80 scholars of antisemitism, approximately 80% of whom are not Jewish, at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. ''2023'' * 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 countries to over 100 American universities to a 300% increase in antisemitism on campuses. * In December 2023, ISGAP produced a report called "Networks of Hate: Qatari Paymasters, Soft Power and the Manipulation of Democracy", describing how billions of US dollars were transferred from Qatari state-owned NGO’s, such as the

Qatar Foundation The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development () is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-List of emirs of Qatar, emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Miss ...

, to US institutions without reporting to the Department of Education or the

Foreign Agents Registration Act The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ( ''et seq.'') is a United States law that imposes Public disclosure of private facts, public disclosure obligations on Foreign agent, persons representing foreign interests.

(FARA). ''2024'' * In 2024, ISGAP met regularly with leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties to urge investigations of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in American universities. * In February 2024, ISGAP produced "''Hijacking Higher Education, Qatar, The Muslim Brotherhood, and Texas A&M Buying Nuclear Research and Student Information (Volume II)''", which alleged that

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and its Qatar campus had received over $1 billion USD from the

, and alleged an undisclosed connection between Texas A&M faculty members and nuclear research. * In March 2024, ISGAP produced a similar report relating to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

which claimed to trace the flow of $1.95 billion USD from Qatar to Cornell University between 2001 and 2023, along with $7.9 billion USD to the Sidra Hospital of the Cornell Weill School of Medicine – Qatar. * In May 2024, ISGAP produced a report about Students for Justice in Palestine, alleging that SJP was directly connected to the ideology of terrorist groups and the Muslim Brotherhood. * In June 2024, ISGAP produced reports about funding of campus activities at Columbia and Yale universities, alleging that anti-Zionist faculty had promulgated antisemitic rhetoric and activities on campus. The first report noted that over 100 Columbia faculty members endorsed Students for Justice in Palestine. The report quoted one Columbia professor who described the October 7 attacks as "awesome" and "astounding". The second report alleged that Yale received $15 million from Qatar between 2012 and 2023 while reporting only $284,668. * In November 2024, ISGAP published a report alleging that the ANC was approximately $30 million in debt before bringing its case against Israel; the ANC subsequently received a sudden influx of unidentified cash after a series of meetings with Hamas, Iranian, and Qatari leaders; and ANC leaders refused to disclose the source of the funds, which provided approximately $30 million.

Funding

In 2019, the ISGAP received a grant of US$1.3 million, to be distributed over three years, from the Israeli government. In 2020,

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

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.

Reports and Publications

ISGAP is dedicated to producing rigorous research and investigative reports that examine the roots, manifestations, and policy implications of global antisemitism. These publications serve as essential resources for scholars, policymakers, and the public in confronting contemporary challenges in academia and beyond.

Flagship Investigations

* Follow the Money: Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood Funding of Higher Education in the United States – A groundbreaking investigation into undisclosed foreign funding influencing academic institutions. * NSJP Report – Analyzing the impact and activities of National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) within higher education. * The Corruption of the American Mind – Examining ideological shifts and their consequences for academic integrity. * Networks of Hate – Mapping the structures behind organized antisemitic movements. * ''Hijacking Higher Education'' (Volume I & Volume II) – Investigating external influences shaping antisemitic discourse on university campuses.

Additional Research and Reports

* Investigative reports on antisemitic activities at Columbia, Yale, Texas A&M, and Cornell University. * Policy Paper Series – Providing analysis and strategic recommendations on combating antisemitism through public policy. * Flashpoint and Occasional Paper Series – Scholarly articles and critical analyses on pressing issues related to antisemitism and academic freedom.

Scholars

ISGAP collaborates with a global network of scholars and researchers who contribute to its mission of studying and combating antisemitism. Some of the notable scholars affiliated with ISGAP include:

Senior Research Fellows

* Lawrence Amsel – Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University * Yehudit Barsky – Senior Research Fellow, ISGAP, New York City * Edith Bruder – Professor, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS); UNISA-University of South Africa; SOAS University of London * Phyllis Chesler – Professor Emerita, City University, New York * Richard Landes – Associate Professor Emeritus of History, Boston University

Research Fellows

* Navras Aafreedi – Assistant Professor of History, Presidency University, India * Aaron David Fruh – President, Israel Team Advocates International, U.S. * Mary J. Ainslie – Associate Professor in Media and Culture, University of Nottingham Ningbo China Campus * Sunni Ali – Associate Professor, Northeastern Illinois University * David Bernstein – Founder, Jewish Institute for Liberal Values

References

External links

*
Official Digital Research Center
{{authority control Antisemitism research institutes Research institutes established in 2004 2004 establishments in New York City Opposition to antisemitism