Two journalism students each from the National School of Journalism (NSoJ) and St Joseph’s University (SJU) have been chosen to travel to Israel at the end of August, South First has learnt.
Published Aug 11, 2025 | 6:42 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 20, 2025 | 9:50 PM
The visits were reportedly planned by the Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru in order to “foster better Israeli-Indian relations.
Synopsis: Private universities and journalism schools in Bengaluru are quietly organising “cultural exchange programmes” in which students are sent to Israel in tie-up with the Israeli Consulate, even as Israel’s offensive on Gaza continues. Two students each from the National School of Journalism and St Joseph’s College have been selected for the August-end visit, with participants told the trip would offer exposure to Israel’s “cultural history” and a “balanced picture” in response to the “bad press”.
Private universities and journalism schools in Bengaluru are quietly sending students to Israel on a “cultural exchange programme” in tie-ups with the Israeli Consulate, even as Israel continues to carry out what an overwhelming majority of experts worldwide have described as actions amounting to genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including forced starvation.
Earlier this year, the Israeli Consulate conducted interviews and a selection process for a small group of students enrolled in MA Mass Communication and Journalism courses in the city.
Two journalism students each from the National School of Journalism (NSoJ) and St Joseph’s University (SJU) have been chosen to travel to Israel at the end of August, South First has learnt.
Students were told that the trip is intended to provide them with a “first-hand experience and exposure of Israel’s cultural history and society.”
The move comes despite Israel’s long-documented record of deliberately targeting journalists since at least 1992, particularly those reporting on its occupation of Palestinian territories and documented atrocities against residents.
Since its war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israel has barred international journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, forcing many outlets to rely on local reporters for coverage. At least 186 of these local journalists have been killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire since, two of them Israeli, the rest Palestinian.
On 11 August alone, Israel admitted to killing five Al Jazeera journalists – the last remaining media personnel in the Strip.
Estimates suggest that Israel’s actions in Gaza have resulted in at least 80,000 deaths, including 16,000 children. The country also continues to block the delivery of food aid into Gaza, creating what humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations, have described as an artificial famine.
Students who spoke to South First on condition of anonymity said the visits, according to university administrations, were planned by the Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru in order to “foster better Israeli-Indian relations.” The consulate has been seeking greater engagement with universities in Karnataka.
A student from SJU said that all information regarding the visit was conveyed verbally.
“We were informed on 3 July about which students had been selected following the interview. There was no official circular, no posters – nothing in writing. Everything was communicated verbally,” the student said.
According to them, the programme has been cloaked in secrecy, even within the university.
Several students have expressed opposition to the university’s decision to take part in the programme. One student from SJU said they raised concerns directly with the journalism department authorities.
“I raised my concerns with the former Dean of the School of Communication and Media Studies. I expressed not only my unease about sending students to a country engaged in continuous conflict with its neighbours, but also my disbelief at how such a decision contradicted everything we have been taught, especially by faculty like him, about journalistic ethics,” the student said.
The former dean told the student that it was the Israeli Consulate, not SJU, that initiated the proposal, and that the administration promptly accepted it. He said the decision to go ultimately rested with the selected students and their parents.
“SCMS is merely providing students with the freedom to express themselves. If students and their parents consented, it would be wrong for the university to stop them,” the former dean told the student.
While he personally opposed Israel’s actions, the former dean told the student he would not prevent students from taking part in the trip if they wished to go.
The student, however, argued that the matter went beyond individual choice.
“It’s about the institution enabling complicity, allowing young journalists to be used as instruments of propaganda,” they said.
Students from the NSoJ also confirmed their university’s participation in the programme. They said two students were selected, and the rest of the cohort was informed only after the selection process had concluded.
A faculty member from NSoJ’s journalism department told South First that the visit would offer students a “balanced picture” of events in Israel.
“Israel has been under bad press for quite some time, so the visit will help journalism students understand the ground realities,” the official said.
However, another faculty member from one of the three participating colleges told South First that the trip had been scheduled in an effort to change the narrative in Israel’s favour.
“But we can never condone this violence. My prayers are with Gaza,” the faculty member said.
South First attempted to contact the administration of St Joseph’s University (SJU). The university’s Office of International Affairs denied any tie-up with the Israeli Consulate.
The academic coordinator of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation in Bengaluru, which operates under the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is coordinating the visit and has yet to respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time academic institutions in Bengaluru have partnered with Israel, despite opposition from students.
In September 2024, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, hosted the ‘India–Israel Business Summit’ on its campus. The summit focused on sectors including defence and cybersecurity, start-ups and venture capital, as well as sustainable energy and water technology.
On the day of the event, students and activists staged a protest outside the campus, waving flags in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“There is clearly a pattern of tie-ups between the Israeli Consulate and universities. This is the consulate’s way of legitimising their presence by entering academia. We have seen this happening globally as well, and now it is happening here. We are trying to oppose this however we can,” said Shri, a member of Students for People’s Democracy (SfPD).
The student association circulated an online petition condemning universities that send their students to Israel.
“When journalism students are sent to an apartheid state to serve as instruments of soft power amidst mass slaughter, famine and media repression, the university has shed its very last ounce of academic integrity. Journalism exists to amplify the truth, not to normalise mass violence,” the petition stated.
Even as Israel’s razing of the Gaza strip continues amidst increased international scrutiny, a group of Indian journalists recently met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Jerusalem office and obtained his autograph.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
