The area of anti-Israeli activity in academia is now covered from a variety of perspectives. Apart from those organizations with wider briefs that become involved with campus issues occasionally, there are now six organizations dedicated to monitoring, and in most cases campaigning against, such activity. There is a geographic spread, with two large organizations in the United States, two medium-size ones in the UK, and two smaller ones in Israel. The focus of each is different, so that although there is inevitably some overlap, each has a distinctive style and approach.

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East is the largest and most comprehensive, and its fortnightly sweep of activity often includes stories initiated by one of the other academic watches. Its philosophy is balanced, stressing that it is pro-Israeli rather than anti-Palestinian, and its language is measured. It is run by members of the academic community itself, and strongly emphasizes its academic approach to the issues. Campus Watch continues to focus on the curriculum of Middle East Studies courses and the activities of the academics involved, but it now also looks beyond the United States, and also covers the activities of nonacademics. After initially threatening to create dossiers on academics whose activities it criticized, it is now more focused on critiques of what is taught, and in particular what it sees as pro- Muslim and anti-Israeli bias.

The Academic Friends of Israel in the UK began as a response to boycott attempts by academics and their trade unions, and that still remains a major focus. However, it now covers more general anti-Israeli activity on campus, and supports campaigns against boycott motions. Engage in the UK is distinctive because it approaches its opposition to anti-Israeli activity from a left-wing or liberal perspective. While its formation was a response to particular academic boycott proposals, it has broadened its interests to tackle the ideological Left's general attitude toward Zionism, Israel, and Jews.

In Israel, both Israel Academia Monitor and more latterly IsraCampus focus on those academics whose criticisms and activities they label as anti-Israeli. While IAM now uses relatively moderate language and gets involved in active political campaigns, IsraCampus is more shrill and more personal in its attacks on individuals.

If the academic watch organizations were businesses, they could take great satisfaction in being involved in a growth market. When they began in 2002 the main focus was nascent boycott attempts, and reports of anti-Israeli bias in courses. Over the past eight years boycott attempts have grown into more general boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns, not just in academia but in many other civic organizations, through trade unions and in trade. Anti-Israeli bias has developed from courses to other areas of campus life, particularly (sometimes violent) opposition to any support for Israel on campus. This opposition has undoubtedly spilled over on occasion into direct and overt anti-Semitism.

Fit for Purpose

It is timely to consider whether academic watch organizations remain fit for purpose. If the main purpose of a watch organization is "collecting, analyzing, and publishing data,"[23] then there was certainly a need for such work in 2002. Even with the greater general media interest in these activities in 2010, watch organizations still undertake essential work, particularly as the amount and intensity of anti-Israeli activity increases. Moreover, with the possible exception of the two Israeli watch organizations, whose differences seem to be more of style and personality rather than substance, each of the existing watch organizations has a different core purpose.

But what of the future? One need not be a Marxist to agree with the statement that it is more important to change the world than to interpret it. Or to put it another way, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, is watching enough? Is there a need for more active political campaigning against anti-Israeli activity of which watching is a necessary component? Most of the watch organizations would argue that they are in effect campaigning organizations, but this is not reflected overtly in most of their mission statements. Campaigning, where it exists, is supplementary to watching, rather than watching becoming a necessary support activity for campaigning.

There are good arguments against an overt move to campaigning. First, watching and monitoring are activities that unite those who support Israel. Campaigning can be divisive over issues of strategy, tactics, and style. Second, while watching is a national activity, campaigning is often local, focused on a particular campus. This needs local activists with backup information from the national watch organizations. SPME with its local chapters is best placed to combine this national watch with local campaigning coalitions. A third factor is that campaigning requires great energy often on relatively small issues. Finally, there is the sensitive issue of finance. Most watch organizations are not transparent as to the size and sources of funding. Transforming themselves into effective political campaigning organizations would most likely necessitate significant increases in funding. Given the fragile nature of their financing, it is understandable if they are reluctant to go down that road.

Finally, a contrary thought. Given that most of the attacks on Israel come from left- based ideologies and organizations, it is understandable that pro-Israeli watch organizations look in that direction. Even the left-based Engage, while recognizing the threats to Israel from right-wing organizations, concentrates its work on the Left. Behind all this, however, is an assumption best described by Jerusalem Post columnist Sarah Honig - that "[r]ight-wingers want to strengthen the Jewish state rather than battle their fellow Jews."[24] If this had "discuss" after it the statement would make a good seminar topic, but it was written as an undeniable truth.

It might, however, be interesting if Israeli watch organizations in particular occasionally switched their focus to the academic activities of the Israeli Right to see if Honig's assertion is always correct.

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