Get to know Steve Stotsky
Q: Tell us a bit about your background, Steve. How did you get involved in writing about Israel and the Middle East?
I closely followed news about Israel for many years. I knew of CAMERA’s work since its inception in 1982. In 2005, I learned of an opportunity to join CAMERA and decided to join the team.
Q: Tells about the importance of public-school education and your focus on it.
I first got involved with the public-school curriculum issue in 2011 when I was asked to evaluate classroom materials from the Newton public schools in Massachusetts. We produced a well-received monograph that detailed the misinformation and biased teaching about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Newton courses. Anti-Israel teaching has proliferated because anti-Israel activists have inserted their agenda into the social justice movement. Indoctrinated college students who became teachers and administrators are now transmitting their misinformed viewpoints to their students.
Q: What sort of work do you do at CAMERA? What’s your day like?
I spend my workday evaluating education materials, writing analyses, and corresponding with others who are monitoring what is going on in education.
Q: What concerns you?
I see the attempt to turn Americans against Israel as a new manifestation of the war against the Jews and an assault on the American creed of tolerance and enlightenment. Education is one of the pillars that sustains American culture. But it has few guardians. I am trying to do my part.
Q: What do you love about working for CAMERA?
I appreciate working with people who share many of my values and I enjoy the environment of intellectual vigor.
Q: If you could have dinner with any person dead or living, who would it be? How come?
Not sure with whom I would like to have dinner. I eat too fast anyway.
Q: If you could improve the coverage of one news outlet, which would it be? Why?
The New York Times. It is the most influential media organization despite its shameful record on so many fronts.
Q: When you’re not working for CAMERA, what do you do for fun? What’s your idea of happiness?
I enjoy doing outdoor home projects. Occasionally I do them right and that provides immediate gratification. My idea of happiness is a day free of worry.