David Project

The David Project in its own words is:

The David Project is a grassroots initiative that promotes a fair and honest understanding of the Middle East conflict.The David Project was launched in August, 2002 in Boston, MA, in response to the growing ideological assault on Israel. We train people to be pro-active in their Israel advocacy - to counter the unfair and dishonest discourse in our universities, media, and communities.[1]

The group gained notoriety when it produced a film purporting to prove bias by Columbia Univ. Middle Easter Studies (MEALAC) professors, in particular, Prof. Joseph Massad. The group seeks to influence the composition of the Middle East Departments at universities around the US. It also features speakers on "terrorism" and "anti-semitism". Or as Sara Roy explains:

Meanwhile, Columbia University is embroiled in a controversy involving its Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures Department. The David Project, a pro-Israel group based in Boston, made a documentary called Columbia Unbecoming which presented a series of interviews with student supporters of Israel who said they had been intimidated and harassed by members of the department who are allegedly hostile to the Jewish state. After hearing about the film, Anthony Weiner, a Democratic New York congressman, called on Columbia’s president, Lee Bollinger, to dismiss Joseph Massad, an assistant professor who is accused in the documentary of anti-semitism, and of verbally abusing Israeli and Jewish students. Massad has long been the target of a campaign of intimidation against academics – Jewish and non-Jewish – who criticise Israel. Deluged by hate mail calling him a ‘camel jockey’ and ‘pathetic typical Arab liar’, he has decided not to teach his course on Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Societies this semester.
—Sara Roy, "Intimidation", London Review of Books, Vol. 27, No. 4, Feb. 17, 2005.

Principals and featured speakers

Principals

Charles Jacobs – President
Rachel Fish – Director NY office
Tal Ben Shahar – Director of Training
Ralph Avi Goldwasser – Project head

Source

Ariel Beery – ("served as a spokesman for the Israeli military, is the head of the on-campus Zionist group, and is also an agent and informer for Daniel Pipes' notorious CampusWatch" [2])

Featured Speakers

Rachel Fish
Tal Ben Shahar
Joseph Abdel Wahed
Loolwa Khazzoom
Walid Phares
Malaka Bublil
Dennis Hale
Batia Shems
Richard Land
Francis Bok – Escaped Sudanese Slave/Labor Rights Activist/Author
Carole Basri
Charles Jacobs
Eliad Moreh