PressTV, a channel owned and funded by the Islamic Republic, targeted the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), an umbrella organization boasting over 850 partner NGOs dedicated to fighting antisemitism around the world, alleging to “unmask” it as part of a global network of the “Zionist regime.”
In a recent episode of their English language program “Palestine Declassified,” the Iranian government-funded channel accused CAM of funneling “dark money” to cover their oil and gas activity and alleged that its parent movement, the Combat Hate Foundation, is run by the Israeli Diaspora Affairs Ministry through the “Voices of Israel” initiative. According to the report, the 850 partner organizations from across the globe “take a much more sinister hue.”
The show is hosted by former UK Labour Party member Chris Williamson, who was suspended from his party in 2019 over allegations of antisemitism.
The Iranian regime-owned TV station brought David Miller, a British academic sacked from Bristol University over reported antisemitic remarks he made in 2019, as a special guest. The PressTV episode also introduced Miller as a research fellow at the Center of Islamic and Global Affairs at Istanbul’s Zaim University. CIGA is led by Sami Al-Arian, an ex-US citizen deported over his ties to financing Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Only last week, The Jerusalem Post reported about a CIGA-hosted pro-October 7 massacre conference in Istanbul, which featured Hamas leader Osama Hamdan as a guest speaker and included numerous antisemitic tropes and support for Hamas and the massacre.
Another guest speaker invited to speak on the subject of the CAM was Kareem Denis, a British rapper who goes by the name of Lowkey and who is also renowned for his anti-Israel content he regularly publishes online through his social media accounts.
During the episode, speakers warned against what they deemed the Zionist movement’s “global mobilization capabilities” and accused the Israeli government of orchestrating an array of organizations that attempt to silence criticism of Israel across the world.
Combat Antisemitism Movement officials response
Sacha Roytman Dratwa, CEO of CAM, added in a comment for the Post: “The Combat Antisemitism Movement has been at the forefront of fighting antisemitism worldwide, and because of our success in exposing leading propagators of Jew-hatred like the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have reached their crosshairs, and this badly researched and poor excuse for propaganda is the result. We wear this as a badge of honor because it demonstrates we are on the right track in exposing Iran and its proxies around the world.
“This is an attempt at character assassination alongside the Tehran regime’s actual attempts at physical assassination of the likes of Salman Rushdie, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Masih Alinejad. It is clear that Iran is spending a lot of money, sweat, and resources on targeting those it deems its enemies, and it must be stopped by an international coalition allied against the dangerous axis of evil it heads.”