Anti-Defamation League Appoints Documentarian Deborah Camiel to Lead Media and Entertainment Institute (Exclusive)

Anti-Defamation League has tapped journalist and documentary producer Deborah Camiel to lead the Media & Entertainment Institute it launched in September.

The Los Angeles-based institute will work with companies and organizations in the media and entertainment industries to combat antisemitism and advocate for more nuanced and authentic portrayals of Jewish people in film, television and the news.

“At a time when antisemitism has reached historic levels, I’m honored to be leading this new institute at ADL,” Camiel said in a statement. “There’s no more significant moment for the media industry and Hollywood to appreciate the need for realistic, accurate and human portrayals of Jews and Judaism.”

Camiel has spent much of her career working abroad across broadcast, print and digital platforms in conflict zones and other humanitarian crises. During a decade in CNBC’s documentary unit, the Stanford graduate and Fulbright Scholar produced multiple TV docs as well as the 2015 documentary feature (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies. Before that, she served for six years at CBS News, first leading its editorial team in Israel before relocating to CBS Evening News in New York, and spent seven years at Reuters as both a print correspondent and TV producer. She most recently served as vice president of communications for California-based advocacy consulting firm 50+1 Strategies.

Camiel also has been a Hoover Institution Media and Stanford Humanities fellow, and she is a member of both the Overseas Press Club and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

“Deborah brings insights as a storyteller and a journalist to ADL as we’re working to change hearts and minds in the fight against antisemitism and all forms of hate,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “Her leadership will be essential, especially as we seek to engage the industry around issues of antisemitism and the portrayal of Jews in movies, television and popular culture.”