As antisemitism continues to surge across American college campuses, Israeli and American Jewish advocates gathered at the Voices of Valor event to issue a rallying cry for accountability and resilience.
The panel, organized by Ynet Global, ILTV News and Israel+, featured Matan Yaffe, Jonathan Davies and Alan Baker, who each shared firsthand experiences from the front lines of the battle against hatred in academia.
Voices of Valor: ewish advocates sound alarm on campus antisemitism
(Video: Mickey Schmidt)
Matan Yaffe, an IDF major in reserve and Harvard graduate, recounted how he sued the university after facing discrimination over his pro-Israel academic work. "I realized that if I were a Jewish student without an Israeli backbone, I would have bent under the pressure," Yaffe said, describing a professor's demand that he abandon a project celebrating Israel’s identity as a Jewish democracy. The lawsuit ultimately led Harvard to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism—a move Yaffe called "a critical landmark," though he warned enforcement remains uncertain.
From New York, Eden Yadegar, a student at Columbia University, described the persistent hostility Jewish students face even 18 months after the October 7 Hamas attacks. She cited professors who praised terrorism, demonstrations that barred Jewish students from campus and a growing litmus test demanding Jews denounce Zionism to participate in university life. Despite the atmosphere of fear, she emphasized the strength and unity of Columbia’s Jewish community.
"At Columbia, you’re only welcome if you denounce your connection to Israel. But despite the hate, the Jewish community has never been stronger," she said. "We are proud Jews, wearing our Magen Davids, standing up for Israel and for truth."
Prof. Shai Davidai, who has become a prominent voice exposing antisemitism in academia, said he felt compelled to speak out after witnessing a Columbia protest just days after October 7. "It wasn't political or ideological—it was pure hate," he said, adding that university administrators largely abandoned Jewish students. Since his activism began, Davidai said he has been vilified but remains focused on building a supportive community for Jewish and non-Jewish allies alike. "My colleagues didn’t stand by me. They just stood by."
Ambassador Alan Baker, senior fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs and former Israeli ambassador to Canada, highlighted the legal framework obligating universities to combat antisemitism under international conventions. "The universities are violating federal law, state law and their own rules," he said, urging assertive legal action to enforce accountability.
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From an Israeli perspective, Jonathan Davies, vice president at Reichman University, described his institution as a "city of refuge" for displaced Jewish students, with 15 recent transfers from American campuses plagued by antisemitism. Davies, a longtime advocate for Zionism in academia, stressed that Israeli universities must offer safe havens for Jews of all backgrounds. "We proudly stand for Zionism, for freedom and for the students the world tries to silence," he said.
As Israel marks its 77th Independence Day, the panelists offered messages of defiance and determination. Yaffe urged Jewish students worldwide to fight back against hate without guilt. "We must fight antisemitism as if Israel is the perfect place," he said, quoting Israel's founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion.
Davies echoed the call for resilience, noting that Reichman University lost 17 students in the current war. "We leave no reservist behind," he said. "And we stand proudly with all those still fighting for truth and for Israel."