Jewish Harvard graduate student torches Ivy League leadership: 'Moral rot'
Shabbos Kestenbaum joined 'FOX & Friends First' to discuss his take on the Harvard president's response to questioning on surging antisemitism on campus in wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
Ivy League presidents testified before Congress Tuesday over antisemitism on their campuses, prompting outrage from some Jewish students who fear for their own safety on campus.
Harvard graduate student Shabbos Kestenbaum called out President Claudine Gay during "FOX & Friends First" on Wednesday after Gay declined to answer "yes" when asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates the university's code of conduct.
"This was a softball question of ‘do you condemn the rising rhetoric and violence against Jewish students?’ And none of them would condemn it," Kestenbaum told Todd Piro Wednesday. "If Claudine Gay had a heart, she would resign, and if the Harvard Board of Trustees had a brain, they would fire her."
"She's an absolute disgrace to this university," he continued. "She has let down Jewish students repeatedly, and Harvard is simply not a safe place for Jewish students anymore. There is a moral rot at the center of all of these Ivy League universities."
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., questioned Ivy League presidents on the surge of antisemitism on college campuses during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday. She pressed them on whether the concerning trend violates the rules of the universities, but some insisted it would depend on the "context."
"Calling for the genocide of Jews does not constitute bullying and harassment?" Stefanik asked.
"I have not heard calling for the genocide for Jews on our campus," MIT President Sally Kornbluth responded.
"Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn's rules?" Stefanik asked University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill.
"It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman," she responded.
"So the answer is yes, that calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard Code of Conduct?"
"It depends on the context," Gay said.
"It does not depend on the context," Stefanik shot back. "The answer is yes, and this is why you should resign. These are unacceptable answers across the board."
Kestenbaum, a BLM supporter who voted for Bernie Sanders twice, said he felt "completely abandoned" by the far-left, and vowed to never again vote for a progressive over the reluctance to eradicate the surging anti-Jewish hate.
"I will never vote for or for them again," Kestenbaum said. "They have totally betrayed the Jewish people. They have shown that sloganeering, that caving into a mob is significantly more important than Jewish lives. As my last name, Kestenbaum signifies."
"My family's originally from Germany. They survived Kristallnacht. They know exactly how the Holocaust happened," he continued. "It happened with the words. That's how it first started, and we are seeing that those words and violent rhetoric and we are seeing the total moral abdication of universities, those who are supposed to be the arbiters of morality and values in our society betray us."
University of Pennsylvania student Eyal Yakoby, who is a senior studying political science, warned Magill's testimony should scare everyone, not just Jews.
"I don't know what context she is referring to," Yakoby said. "If you look at all of what has happened at Penn during the past three months, including a swastika, including a Jewish student being accosted, including a riot just two days ago, including professors singling out their Jewish students, giving them lower grades, harassing and bullying them and cost. What other context is she looking for?"
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He went on to call for Magill to issue a statement retracting her congressional testimony, ultimately condemning the hate on campus.
"Penn… it was a petri dish of the bacteria of antisemitism and hate, and when you don't have an administration that wants to halt the growth of that bacteria, it multiplies exponentially," Yakoby said.
"And what's happening now is the hate has been allowed to fester, and it is growing, and it is really scary to see because it's no longer just words. It's actions being taken on our campus."
Stefanik also pressed Gay on what actions have been taken against students who have been advocating antisemitism on campus, but she refused to answer.
"Given students' rights to privacy and our obligations under FERPA, I will not say more about any specific cases other than to reiterate that processes are ongoing," Gay said.
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Kestenbaum insisted if the tables were turned and the growing hate on campus was targeting African-Americans, Harvard would likely have a different response.
"Whether it's the Democratic Party, whether it's Harvard University or whether it's our progressive friends or those who we thought we were friends, Jewish people are sick and tired of being pushed aside, of being thought of as less than, and we're simply not going to take it anymore," Kestenbaum said.
"We're angry and we're done."
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitism has spiked 388% since the war against Hamas began in October.