Harvard Divinity grad Shabbos Kestenbaum, amid antisemitism, stands strong in his faith: 'Proud to be Jewish'

Shabbos Kestenbaum, 25, an Orthodox Jew and a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, was one of several "everyday Americans" who spoke at the Milwaukee Republican National Convention (RNC) convention on July 17, 2024.

In a new interview with Fox News Digital, Kestenbaum said his "faith has provided solace and comfort during trials and tribulations. It has been a source of strength."

Kestenbaum opened his speech in Milwaukee by proclaiming, "I am a proud first-generation American. I am a proud Orthodox Jew. And as of five months ago, I am the proud plaintiff suing Harvard University for its failure to combat antisemitism." 

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Kestenbaum said that recent events have only made him identify more strongly with his Jewish faith and identity. 

"I actually bought a larger skullcap after Oct. 7," he said, "I have never been more proud to be Jewish. I've never been more proud to stand with my brothers and sisters in the land of Israel. In the face of adversity, I'm not going to cower."

He said that after the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, he and many other Jewish students across America experienced an uptick in antisemitism that they saw and felt keenly.

"When I planted 1,200 Israeli and American flags on campus, they were all vandalized within 24 hours," he said. "I was harassed by my peers merely for being a Jew, and have received countless death threats online."

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Kestenbaum said that Harvard students and professors "openly called for new Hamas-style attacks against the United States," and "refused to immediately and unequivocally condemn" the murder of 45 American citizens and hostage taking of 12 Americans on Oct. 7."

Students in tents on campus were shouting antisemitic slogans like "Globalize the intifada" and "Resistance is justified when people are occupied," he said. 

Kestenbaum described himself as being "deeply connected" to Israel; he has many relatives, including immediate family, who live there. 

In 2019, he graduated after a two-year program at Aish, a Jewish educational organization; he studied Jewish philosophy, ethics and law in Jerusalem.

He said the Aish program propelled him to pursue religious studies in a broader academic context at Harvard, which for him, he said, "turned out to be a bitter disappointment."

Kestenbaum told Fox News Digital that he quickly realized that "normative Judaism, i.e. Judaism that sees its attachment to the land of Israel, was really not accepted." 

He said the school, judging by his own experience, taught about Israel in a way that "really did not focus on the land of Israel in terms other than settler colonialism, apartheid, genocide and racism."

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Kestenbaum referenced the recent Jewish holiday of the Seventeenth of Tammuz — a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the second temple when Roman soldiers broke down the walls surrounding Jerusalem in 70 CE.

"We are fasting 3,000 years later … in 2024, to commemorate that destruction," he said. "We are intrinsically connected to the land of Israel. We care deeply about what happens in the land of Israel."

He said that in his experience, what is "almost always" taught is that "anti-Zionism is not antisemitism." 

Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard Divinity School and to Harvard's press office for comment, but did not receive a response. 

As previously reported, Harvard filed a motion in April to dismiss the suit. Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton told the Harvard Crimson at the time that "Harvard is committed to combating antisemitism and ensuring that our Jewish students, faculty, staff, and alumni know they are safe, valued, and embraced in our community." 

‘Shared destiny’ 

On Passover, while Jews were celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, Kestenbaum said Harvard students in tents on campus were shouting antisemitic slogans like "Globalize the intifada" and "Resistance is justified when people are occupied." 

After his RNC speech, delegates came up to him to say that parishes and communities in South Dakota and Iowa were praying for the Jewish community. 

These slogans, said Kestenbaum, were "erasing any Jewish connection to their ancestral and historical land," and a "call for the ethnic genocide of Jewish people … for the murder of Jewish people on Passover itself."

Kestenbaum recently discussed the escalation in antisemitism ever since Claudine Gay resigned from Harvard’s presidency on Jan. 2, 2024. He said during a Fox News segment that Jews were being blamed for her departure and were being called "baby killers."

Kestenbaum told Fox News Digital, "Unfortunately, we are [accustomed] to persecution, discrimination and bigotry … The Jewish people have always been the canary in the coal mine." 

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He added, "What starts with us never ends with us … Our shared destiny is very much felt."

He suggested that people not buy into the negative stereotypes, and instead see for themselves what Jewish people are like. 

"Speak with us. Talk with us. We would love to have you for Shabbat dinner," he said.

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Kerstenbaum encouraged others to "pray for us, your prayers work, your prayers are felt." 

He said that after his RNC speech, delegates came up to him to say that parishes and communities in South Dakota and Iowa were praying for the Jewish community.

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He also suggested that people advocate for the hostages to be released by contacting policymakers.

Yael Halon of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.