Harvard alumnus Shabbos Kestenbaum spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, summarizing his visit to Israel, including the event in the Knesset, which honored the activity of all those fighting for the truth, fighting against the lies.

“As Jews in the Diaspora, the least we can do is show our appreciation and show our commitment to supporting the State of Israel, supporting all the soldiers and amplifying the hostages, making sure that the US-Israel relationship is strong and secure, and while there are still young people fighting on the front lines in Gaza and in Lebanon, while there are hostages, we and the Diaspora will continue to do what is necessary. It is the least we can do and it is such an honor and a privilege to fight for Israel and to fight for the Jewish people on a daily basis,” says Kestenbaum.

He adds that “it's critical, especially for the Israeli public, to realize that the term Zionism is a dirty word on our college campuses, that we have policy-makers, especially in the Democratic party, who are vehemently opposed to sending more weapons to Israel and we are trying everything we can in the Diaspora to ensure that the bilateral relationship is as strong as ever.

“Even so,” says Kestenbaum, “We have a lot of confidence and optimism in the incoming Trump administration, but we very much see ourselves as representatives of hasbara (public diplomacy), as trying to explain and amplify everything that Israel is doing, trying to show the world this beautiful multi-racial multiethnic diverse country, that elevates the concerns of all peoples and it's really an honor and a privilege to do so.”

Kestenbaum says he came to Israel with a message, for people in Israel to understand what young Jews in the US are going through, “I think the Israeli public definitely see the antisemitism in the US, certainly on our college campuses, certainly in places like the subways of New York and the streets of LA, but it's also critical to impart that young American Jews, many, many of us have woken up post-October 7th and we're simply not going back to sleep. We are proudly hanging our American and Israeli flags outside of our dorm windows, we are rallying for the hostages every Sunday in cities across the country, we are pressuring our policy-makers to support Israel, both financially and in terms of arms, and we're battling against pretty dark forces on social media.”

“We're certainly outnumbered, we're outgunned, but I wanted to make sure that the Knesset members and the Israeli public understand that young US Jewry are with Israel 110% of the way. We are in this fight with them and we will continue to do whatever we can to support Israel, to support the hostages, and to make sure that the US-Israel relationship continues to be ironclad,” declares Kestenbaum.

On Israeli involvement in the fight against lies and antisemitism in the US and around the world, Kestenbaum says that he is “always hesitant to opine on Israeli politics, but I'm encouraged by the fact that the Foreign Ministry has now allocated roughly $150 million to these efforts, particularly to combat antisemitism in the Diaspora, to amplify Israel and its policies, especially concerning the outbreak of violence in the West Bank, it’s war with Hamas in Gaza, and whether it is a member of the right or the left.”

He adds, “We in the US would like to have a relationship. We in the US would like to have partnerships with anyone in the Knesset, to make sure that we're on the same team, on the same page, and to make sure that their fight is our fight and our fight is their fight.”

Kestenbaum concludes with a summary of his lawsuit against Harvard, saying “this is the first case in US history pertaining to the civil rights violations of Jewish students on a college campus that's actually going to trial. Universities, broadly speaking, have become incredibly apprehensive, quite rightly so, of the incoming Trump administration. He is assembling a cabinet and a team that will make sure that university endowments are taxed, that will make sure that Federal funds are being withheld to antisemitic universities, that will make sure that foreign students who violate American law are deported. We will continue to exert pressure both on Harvard in the court of law and on Harvard in the court of public opinion, and we will of course use our friends in the Trump administration to hold these universities accountable. So, expect to see some pretty positive developments in the coming months.”