From the USSR to American Campuses: The Roots of Today’s Antizionist Movement
APRIL 27 | Reception 6:15pm, Program 7pm | College Park, MD
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Join us for an eye-opening program exploring how Soviet antizionist ideas shape the language and dynamics of the anti-Israel movement today.
The evening will begin with a short documentary, A Special Russian Truth, which traces the origins of today’s anti-Israel rhetoric to a decades-long Soviet campaign of antisemitic propaganda developed by the KGB and disseminated worldwide.
Following the film, journalist Karys Rhea will speak with Izabella Tabarovsky, a leading scholar and journalist, about how these propaganda-based ideological frameworks continue to serve today’s anti-Israel movement—and why their impact has become especially visible in the wake of October 7.
Drawing on her new book, Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide, Tabarovsky will also explore the striking parallels between the models of resistance developed by Soviet Jewish activists known as refuseniks and young American Jewish activists today, offering guidance on understanding and responding to this moment.
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About Izabella Tabarovsky
Izabella Tabarovsky examines how Soviet propaganda shaped the ideological language of contemporary antizionism, how its legacy continues to shape discourse about Israel and Jews today and how Soviet Jewish models of courage and defiance can inform responses to antisemitism on campus and beyond. She is the author of Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide and a sought-after international speaker.
She has lectured at universities, policy forums and national institutions in the United States and abroad, including Georgetown University, the London School of Economics, and Yad Vashem; delivered a keynote at the Parliament of Finland; and testified before the U.S. Helsinki Commission.
She is a Senior Fellow at the Z3 Institute (Palo Alto) and a Fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Washington, DC), the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism, University of Haifa.
A contributing writer at Tablet, she has also published in Newsweek, Sapir, Quillette and Fathom. She has appeared on the Haviv Rettig Gur’s Ask Haviv podcast, Wondering Jews with Noam Weissman and Michal Bitton and the Karol Markowicz Show, among others.
Her essays appear in multiple edited volumes published by Routledge, Academic Studies Press and others. Her work has been translated into numerous languages.
About Karys Rhea
Karys Rhea is former producer of The Epoch Times’ flagship show, “American Thought Leaders” and
past producer of “Kash’s Corner” with Kash Patel and “Fallout” with Dr. Robert Malone.” A current
writing fellow with the Middle East Forum, an ambassador for Israel365 Action, a Rising Leader at
the Global Liberty Institute, and a recording artist on Baste Distribution, she is a subject matter
expert on all things Israel and antisemitism and a general commentator on cultural and political
issues. Ms. Rhea is sought out for her narrative-busting content and has appeared on ABC, Fox,
Newsmax, One America News, Real America’s Voice, Timcast, Times of India, NTD News, NewsX
World, Epoch TV, IL TV, i24, JNS TV, and a variety of podcasts and radio shows. Her articles can be
found in Commentary, Tablet, NY Daily News, Newsweek, The Federalist, Washington Examiner,
Israel Hayom, Gatestone Institute, First Things, Jerusalem Post, Firstpost, Times of Israel, Jewish
Journal, Human Events, Algemeiner, Daily Wire, Townhall and more. She has a BA from NYU in
broadcast journalism and religious studies, and an MA in counterterrorism and homeland security
from Reichman University in Israel. A former life found her touring the world as a drummer and
songwriter before becoming disillusioned with the political and cultural arrogance of the music
industry. She continues to release music in her spare time, in addition to publishing absurdist flash
fiction. Ms. Rhea is often invited and open to debating anyone, anytime, anywhere. She is currently
writing a book about how right-wing identitarianism is undermining President Trump’s vision,
fracturing the MAGA movement, and jeopardizing the soul of America. It will be out in 2026 on
Wicked Son Publishing. You can find her on X @rheakarys.