Shabbos Kestenbaum, 25, an Orthodox Jew and Harvard Divinity School alumnus, was among several “ordinary Americans” who addressed the Milwaukee Republican National Convention (RNC) on July 17, 2024.
In a recent discussion with Fox News Digital, Kestenbaum stated that his “faith has been a source of comfort and strength during challenging times.”
Kestenbaum began his address in Milwaukee by declaring, “I am a proud first-generation American. I am a proud Orthodox Jew. And as of five months ago, I stand proudly as the plaintiff suing Harvard University for its inaction against antisemitism.”
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Kestenbaum expressed that recent events have intensified his connection to his Jewish faith and identity.
“I purchased a larger skullcap after October 7,” he mentioned, “I have never been prouder of my Jewish identity. I stand resolutely with my Jewish community in Israel. In challenging times, I refuse to back down.”
Shabbos Kestenbaum, now residing in New York, is featured in both images. On the left, he is at a rally in Boston; on the right, he is at Harvard with the American flag. (Shabbos Kestenbaum)
Following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, he remarked that he and numerous Jewish students across the country noticed a surge in antisemitism.
“When I planted 1,200 Israeli and American flags on campus, they were all desecrated within 24 hours,” he recounted. “I faced harassment from my peers solely for being Jewish, and I received numerous online death threats.”
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Kestenbaum noted that Harvard’s students and faculty members “openly incited new Hamas-style attacks against the U.S.” and “failed to promptly and clearly denounce” the killing of 45 American citizens and the hostage-taking of 12 Americans on that date.
Students in tents on campus were yelling antisemitic slogans like “Globalize the intifada” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied,” he stated.
Kestenbaum emphasized his “deep connection” to Israel, as many of his relatives, including immediate family, reside there.
He completed a two-year program at Aish, a Jewish educational organization, in 2019; during this time, he studied Jewish philosophy, ethics, and law in Jerusalem.
Kestenbaum said that this Aish program inspired him to explore religious studies in a broader setting at Harvard, which he found to be “a bitter disappointment.”
Students protesting against the Gaza war are seen at an encampment in Harvard Yard on April 25, 2024. The participants were expressing opposition to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
Kestenbaum informed Fox News Digital that he soon recognized that “normative Judaism, which ties to the land of Israel, was not widely accepted.”
He stated that, based on his own experiences, the institution discussed Israel in terms that primarily highlighted “settler colonialism, apartheid, genocide, and racism.”
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Kestenbaum recalled the recent Jewish observance of the Seventeenth of Tammuz, a fast commemorating the destruction of the second temple when Roman soldiers breached Jerusalem’s walls in 70 CE.
“We fast 3,000 years later … in 2024, to honor that devastation,” he remarked. “Our connection to the land of Israel is profound. We care immensely about what transpires in Israel.”
Kestenbaum is pictured on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 17, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Kestenbaum noted that in his observations, it is “almost universally” taught that “anti-Zionism does not equate to antisemitism.”
Fox News Digital requested a comment from Harvard Divinity School.
As previously reported, Harvard attempted to dismiss the lawsuit in April. Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton informed the Harvard Crimson at that time that “Harvard is dedicated to combating antisemitism and ensuring that our Jewish students, faculty, staff, and alumni feel safe, valued, and included in our community.”
‘Shared destiny’
During Passover, while Jews celebrated the liberation from Egyptian slavery, Kestenbaum recalled that Harvard students in tents were shouting antisemitic slogans like “Globalize the intifada” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.”
After his speech at the RNC, delegates approached him to share that their communities in South Dakota and Iowa were praying for the Jewish community.
According to Kestenbaum, these chants effectively “erased any Jewish connection to their ancestral homeland” and amounted to a “call for the ethnic genocide of Jewish people … for the murder of Jewish people during Passover.”
Harvard University graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum recently appeared on “Fox & Friends,” where he stated, “The Jewish community has always served as the canary in the coal mine.” (Fox & Friends/Screengrab)
Kestenbaum has spoken about the rising antisemitism since Claudine Gay stepped down as Harvard’s president on January 2, 2024. He mentioned during a Fox News segment that Jewish individuals were being unfairly blamed for her resignation and labeled as “baby killers.”
Kestenbaum conveyed to Fox News Digital, “Sadly, we have grown accustomed to persecution, discrimination, and prejudice … The Jewish people continue to serve as an early warning for society.”
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He further commented, “What begins with us does not conclude with us … Our shared destiny is acutely felt.”
Kestenbaum encourages individuals not to succumb to negative stereotypes and to engage directly with Jewish people. “Join us for Shabbat dinner; we welcome you,” he urged.
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Kestenbaum invited others to “pray for us; your prayers are impactful and appreciated.”
After his RNC address, delegates approached him, saying communities in South Dakota and Iowa were keeping the Jewish community in their thoughts.
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Kestenbaum also advised people to advocate for the release of hostages by reaching out to policymakers.
Reporting by Yael Halon of Fox News Digital.
