Research & Strategy Department

The StandWithUs Research and Strategy Department creates educational materials, provides customized research, and helps pro-Israel activists around the world implement effective strategies on the ground. The department consists of six staff members who offer resources, expertise, and support to nearly every other part of the organization. On the research side, we write, edit, and help design booklets, factsheets, postcards, infographics, videos, and other content. We also manage the TruStory website, and respond to research requests. On the strategy side, we empower activists to educate their peers proactively and overcome anti-Israel campaigns on campuses, in city councils, in churches, and elsewhere. We are also the department responsible for creating and managing the groundbreaking StandWithUs Experiential Israel Programs.

people inspired with experiential programs

video views since 2018

booklets distributed since 2018

BDS campaigns defeated

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If you need educational resources or strategic advice, please email us.

History

The Research & Strategy Department is built on the work of Dr. Roberta Seid, a historian who was the Education & Research Director at StandWithUs from its inception in 2001 until she passed away in 2017. Dr. Seid led the creation of StandWithUs’ vast library of booklets, factsheets, presentations, and other educational materials. Through StandWithUs, her research, writing, and intellect continue to reach countless people around the world.

Our Team

Max Samarov

Executive Director of Research & Strategy

Max grew up in Boston and is a first-generation American. His family left the Soviet Union to escape the discrimination Jews faced there, with some ending up in America and others in Israel. Max graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2011 with a degree in political science and international relations. He interned at the office of Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) before joining StandWithUs in 2012. Since then, he has worked with communities around the world to tell Israel's story, counter misinformation, and stand up to campaigns of hate in higher education, K-12 schools, local and state government, and beyond.

Since 2019, Max’s research, analysis, and educational efforts have focused extensively on K-12 public schools, including ethnic studies in California and other states. Additionally, in 2020, he launched a groundbreaking StandWithUs initiative called Connect for Progress, empowering people to make life better in their own communities, using unique Israeli solutions.

Max has appeared in many media outlets, including the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Inside Higher Ed, Huffington Post, Forward, Haaretz, Fathom Journal, Israel’s Channel 10, the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, the Tower, the J Weekly, and the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. He also contributed a chapter to The Anti-Israel Agenda: the Political War on the Jewish State, a book published in August 2017.

Yitzhak Santis

Senior Writer and Analyst

Before making Aliyah with his family in 2011, Santis served for 21 years at the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council. After the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Terror War (aka “second intifada”) in 2000, anti-Israel activity in the San Francisco Bay Area mushroomed. In response, Santis founded and directed JCRC’s Middle East Project, created to combat the intense anti-Israel activism in the Bay Area, the most challenging environment in the United States with respect to Israel. It was here that Santis first encountered BDS.

While at JCRC Yitz served as lead spokesperson to the general and Jewish media for the Bay Area’s organized Jewish community. He is a prolific writer, published in major publications in the U.S. and Israel. Yitz has presented to hundreds of audiences, including synagogues, churches, public and private schools, and college campuses.

Shira Gould

Associate Director of Campus Strategy

Shira Gould is the Associate Director of Campus Strategy at StandWithUs. In this role, she empowers students to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel campaigns on college campuses. She provides strategic guidance, develops educational resources, and helps students advocate for themselves and their communities. Shira works directly with hundreds of students, offering mentorship, research, and the tools they need to stand up to bias, misinformation, and discrimination.

In addition to her direct work with students, Shira oversees strategic initiatives, develops and implements programs, and crafts proactive and reactive campaigns that address rising anti-Israel activity. She frequently presents to students and stakeholders about antisemitic trends and how to effectively counter them, ensuring that Jewish students feel confident, informed, and supported.

Shira’s passion for StandWithUs's mission is deeply personal, shaped by her family’s history with antisemitism, inspired by her cousins', who are currently serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, and anchored by steadfast belief in Jewish self-determination and continuity. After attending a Jewish day school—where she received the Love of Israel award—and spending a semester in Israel during high school, she graduated from Franklin and Marshall College with honors in Psychology and a minor in Religious Studies.

While initially pursuing a career in children’s psychology, Shira’s focus shifted during Israel’s war with Hamas in 2021, when faculty at her alma matter published a deeply misinformed and biased anti-Israel statement. Shira co-wrote and circulated an alumni response that garnered hundreds of signatures in a single day and led to an outpouring of gratitude from students, ultimately inspiring her to shift her focus toward combating antisemitism and supporting Jewish self-determination full time.

Throughout her career, Shira has been recognized for her leadership, character, and excellence in research and education. She brings this passion to her work every day, ensuring the next generation of Jewish leaders has the tools, confidence, and knowledge to stand proudly for their people and their rights.

Lian Benasuly

Assistant Campus Strategist

Lian Benasuly is the Assistant Campus Strategist at StandWithUs, where she collaborates with the Campus Strategy team to support students in combating antisemitism and anti-Israel campaigns on college campuses. She assists in developing resources, planning strategies, and coordinating efforts that empower students to confidently advocate for themselves and their communities, whether proactively promoting Israel or responding to bias and misinformation.

An Israeli-American, Lian was born in Israel and spent most of her life in California before making Aliyah to Israel in 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a Minor in Professional Writing from the University of California, Santa Barbara (2023). At UCSB, Lian was a prominent voice for Israel advocacy, serving as VP of Israel Education for Hillel and leading both proactive and reactive efforts as part of Students Supporting Israel (SSI). She also managed PR strategy for the successful campaign that helped elect Tessa Veksler as UCSB's 2023-2024 student body president.

Advocating for Israel has always been a central part of Lian’s life. Following the events of October 7, her determination to represent her homeland proudly and fearlessly grew even stronger, fueling her commitment to StandWithUs's mission and the fight against antisemitism.

Alexandra Fishman

Director of Data & Analytics

Dr. Alexandra Chana Fishman is a native of NYC. As a granddaughter of (and having been raised by) Holocaust survivors, she was always passionate about antisemitism and Israel. During her PhD, she specialized in research and statistics. Her dissertation was a secondary data analysis on discrimination on college campuses in the United States, with a focus on antisemitism. A significant portion of the literature included antisemitism through anti-Israel sentiment. She has presented her research throughout the United States and abroad, including at Cambridge University. She has also created a unique therapeutic approach to processing antisemitism in corporate settings.

She has a Masters Degree from NYU in Social Work, and a second Masters Degree in Jewish Studies, and has always been passionate about bridging these disciplines in her chosen field of study. Her background includes teaching undergraduate and graduate psychology, research, and statistics classes at City University of New York- Brooklyn College, and Yeshiva University. She is very excited to be part of the Research & Strategy Department at StandWithUs and use her skill set to advocate for social justice.

Dan Rubin

K-12 Public Education Analyst

Dr. Daniel Ian Rubin was born and raised in southern NY, where he found his love for bagels and pizza. He worked in public education for 25 years in both K12 schools and at the university level, where he taught English/Language Arts (ELA), secondary education, and diversity and multiculturalism. He earned his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from New Mexico State University in 2013 and has written over 20 articles and book chapters in the areas of antisemitism, social justice, and ELA. His most recent book, The Jewish Struggle in the 21st Century: Conflict, Positionality, and Multiculturalism (2021) addresses the needs of the Jewish community as it pertains to its tenuous position in the fields of multiculturalism and critical race studies. Dr. Rubin is excited to be a member of the Research & Strategy Department at StandWithUs and use his knowledge of critical pedagogy and social justice to fight for the representation of all Jews around the world.