The David Project Center for Jewish Leadership

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The David Project Center for Jewish Leadership is a non-profit corporation located in Boston, Massachusetts, whose stated aim is "to promote a fair and honest understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict."^[1] It was founded in 2002 by Charles Jacobs, who serves as its president.^[2] Previously, Jacobs served as Deputy Director of the Boston Chapter of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America [1] and founded the American Anti-Slavery Group.

According to its website, The David Project is "committed to building Jewish leadership; increasing the support for Israel on campus; strengthening the pro-Israel and pro-Jewish sentiments and friendships within churches; and working in partnership with Jewish day schools and synagogue after-school programs to incorporate Israel advocacy and leadership skills into their core curricula."

1 Mission statement
2 Activities
3 Criticism
4 Notes
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Mission statement

(From official website of The David Project:)

The David Project works to "develop educated, skilled and courageous leaders to defeat the ideological assault on Israel that is taking place on campuses, in high schools, in churches and in the general community."

This statement has been updated recently to reflect the viewpoint of The David Project that this is "a new time" for the Jewish people: "Israel is depicted as the cruelest among nations, and falsely singled out as the primary cause of conflict in the Middle East and in the world. The ideological onslaught against the Jewish State – in the media, mainstream churches, and on campus – masquerades as legitimate criticism but is in reality an unfair and dishonest discourse which vilifies and delegitimizes Israel – and her supporters. This is, in effect, a new form of hatred."^[3]

A description of Columbia Unbecoming, a film produced by The David Project and featured on its official website, states: "We believe in Jewish political self-determination in the Middle East, and are proud to be called Zionists."^[4]

[edit] Activities

(From official website of The David Project:)

Four-day intensive Israel-advocacy and leadership seminars for college students.
Four-day teacher training institutes, featuring an "Israel Advocacy Curriculum for Jewish High Schools."
Short advocacy workshops: "The David Project helps students and adults become more effective advocates for Israel. Our educational workshops can be delivered as a 90-minute lecture or as a three-hour interactive session."
Christian Outreach program: "Through a combination of research, grassroots lobbying and consulting, the David Project’s Christian Outreach program hold church leaders accountable for their statements and policies about the Arab/Israeli conflict."
Documentary productions ("Our Films"): Columbia Unbecoming (see Criticism) and The Forgotten Refugees.

[edit] Criticism

The David Project Center for Jewish Leadership has sparked controversy at academic institutions and in the media, particularly about its film Columbia Unbecoming ("A David Project documentary") about Columbia University.^[5] Journalists provide background for the continuing controversy when, "[i]n December [2005], with the approval of Columbia University president Lee Bollinger and Provost Alan Brinkley, Nicholas Dirks, vice president for Arts and Sciences, appointed a committee, composed of members from his faculty, to investigate charges by a number of students in the Middle East studies department that certain of its professors bullied and humiliated students who wanted to question in class those professors' insistently biased views of the state of Israel" (Hentoff).^[6] The makeup and process of that Columbia University committee further stimulated one of many heated debates among supporters and detractors of The David Project and its film.^[7]

The David Project and its director of education are parties in a lawsuit against 16 individuals and entities, including the Boston Herald and Fox Television's Channel 25, in which the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) alleges that they "conspired to publish and broadcast false and defamatory information about mosque leaders in part to halt development of [a] project ... [p]lanned as the largest mosque in New England." An official "statement" about the lawsuit posted on its website says "The David Project expects that the Massachusetts courts will find that the ISB claims against it and one of its employees are factually and legally frivolous, and will be dismissed. In the meantime, it will refrain from commenting directly on the lawsuit," referring visitors to the organization's lawyer. Its website does, however, also feature a section entitled "Boston Mosque Lawsuit Background on ISB Lawsuit Against The David Project" with extensive hyperlinked resources about it, including many newspaper articles with various perspectives on the lawsuit, providing details of the complaints and counter-complaints charged by the involved parties.^[8]