How Private Israeli Security Firms Are Killing Free Speech On College Campuses

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How Private Israeli Security Firms Are Killing Free Speech On College Campuses
Police intervene and arrest more than 100 students at New York University (NYU) who continue their demonstration on campus in solidarity with the students at Columbia University and to oppose Israel’s attacks on Gaza, in New York, United States on April 22, 2024 ([Fatih Aktaş – Anadolu Agency])

Across US campuses, peaceful student protests face crackdowns by police and Israel-affiliated private security firms, often backed by university administrations seeking to appease donors and lawmakers

By Robert Inlakesh, Reposted from Mint Press News, December 6, 2024

Following the unprecedented proliferation of student-led protests against Israel’s war on Gaza across U.S. and international college campuses, educational institutions have found themselves under immense pressure to crush the movement from private Israeli security firms.

Following a surge of demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience in protests of Israel’s genocide in Gaza by students across U.S. college campuses, university administrations faced immense pressure to strengthen security measures and suppress the movement.

In response to escalating demonstrations against Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Board of Trustees authorized a $4 million contract with Strategic Security Corp. (SSC), a private security firm with connections to Israel. SSC highlights on its website that its “counter-surveillance experts have received formal training in Israel,” and its CEO, Joseph Sordi, has also undergone training there.

A more troubling development has surfaced at Concordia University in Montreal, where the administration has reportedly enlisted the services of not one but two Israeli private security firms. The first, Perceptage International, is led by Adam Cohen, a former Israeli soldier whose military pedigree appears to underpin the company’s operations. The second, Moshav Security Consultants, is managed by Eyal Feldman, a reserve major in the Israeli army and a former special advisor to Israel’s Ministry of Defense.

At Concordia University, students have taken to the streets in protest against the college’s decision to employ private security firms with contentious backgrounds. Social media posts from the demonstrators have unveiled allegations that these companies employ former IDF soldiers, mercenaries with battlefield experience in Ukraine, and individuals who once served in the Canadian Armed Forces.

As protests rage across Canada, the backlash against these student movements has taken on a sharper edge. Right-wing outlets like the National Post have stoked tensions, branding academic institutions as “Hamas HQs” in incendiary headlines. Simultaneously, allegations of anti-Semitism and accusations of terrorist sympathies have fueled a toxic atmosphere, with reports of racial abuse directed at anti-war student protesters intensifying the divisions.


In May, a tense standoff unfolded at UCLA’s campus when an encampment of students protesting Israel’s war on Gaza became the epicenter of disturbing violence. At the heart of the controversy was Apex Security Group and its parent company, Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Witness accounts described security personnel acting aggressively with protesters, with one incident involving a student being punched near Powell Library.

CSC is an affiliate of ASIS International, an association of security professionals with an exclusive chapter in Israel. Apex and CSC’s reach extends far beyond UCLA; their fingerprints can be found on college campuses across the United States.

According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the private security firm Magen Am, which employs former Israeli military personnel, played an active role in the violence that erupted during the UCLA student encampment in April. Protesters accused the firm of engaging directly in confrontations with student demonstrations.

Magen Am’s has ties to local law enforcement across the United States. The firm coordinates closely with the Los Angeles Police Department and, until August, was poised to receive $1 million in funding from the city.

Private security firms have become something of an Israeli specialty, their proliferation fueled by Tel Aviv’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories. That occupation has created a fertile environment, offering opportunities to profit from contracts to operate checkpoints and test new surveillance technologies, and often weapons, on Palestinians—a grim yet profitable proving ground. These security firms are often, like their U.S. and Canadian-based counterparts, staffed by former intelligence and army personnel, allowing them to take on tasks such as manning up to 49 checkpoints.

Across university campuses in North America, peaceful student encampments have become the targets of coordinated crackdowns by private security forces and police alike. These actions are carried out with the tacit approval—or outright endorsement—of university administrations eager to avoid scrutiny from special interest groups and overzealous lawmakers.

This has largely been attributed to the immense pressure influential donors and public officials placed upon universities. Despite efforts to comply with the demands leveled against them, concessions have not spared the heads of these institutions. Several academic leaders have been outright removed from their positions amidst the furor.

Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, in particular, faced scathing public criticism and were ultimately forced to step down.

Despite the overwhelming number of reported cases of racism and violent attacks being perpetrated by pro-Israel counter-protesters, police officers, and private security personnel, students critical of Israel’s war on Gaza at these universities continue to face accusations of being terrorism supporters and racist anti-Semites.

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

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