(Jerusalem – May 12, 2021) - Due to the current escalation of violence and aggression by Hamas, with hundreds of rockets fired from the Gaza strip on Israeli civilians, StandWithUs has opened an emergency digital Situation Room. With a large worldwide social media reach, StandWithUs has established and managed such Situation Rooms during times of conflict since Operation Cast Lead in 2009. This will increase the reach StandWithUs has to counter deliberate misinformation propagated by anti-Israel groups as well as mistakes in media reports.
The content created will be disseminated and made available across the world and in multiple languages. It will focus on Israel’s right to defend itself while exposing the actions and ideology of Hamas. The Situation Room is based at the StandWithUs Education Center in Jerusalem and led by the StandWithUs’ professional team, joined by volunteers from around the world based in Israel. Israeli students and youth from the various StandWithUs leadership programs will put their training into action and take on a central role in leading this initiative.
StandWithUs has also launched a channel utilizing messaging app Telegram to provide people with updates around the clock on their phones, tablets or computers – which can be accessed here: https://t.me/joinchat/UoYhFGYAIbiTRYlk
“Firing missiles from civilian neighborhoods in Gaza into Israeli cities and towns deliberately puts defenseless civilians on both sides at risk and is a double war crime,” said Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs. “The blame for the escalation into open military conflict rests solely with Hamas and we will make sure that the full story is told.”
Situation Room established by StandWithUs and the IDC Herzliya
during Operation Cast Lead in 2009
Michael Dickson, Executive Director of StandWithUs Israel: “At times like this, people around the world can depend on StandWithUs to bring them accurate and useful information and resources that they can share with others on social media and with their networks. This Situation Room will enhance our efforts to bring the truth of what is happening on the ground in Israel, to the world.”
Content created by the StandWithUs team has already been shared widely and directly by celebrity figures and influencers, including professional NBA Basketball players Deni Avdija and Omri Casspi, as well as footballers Yossi Benayoun (UK), Eran Zahavi (Netherlands), Shon Weissman (Spain) and Manor Solomon (Ukraine).
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters and programs on 5 continents, including the U.S., Israel, UK, Canada, South Africa and Brazil.
For the last 8 years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum).
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