Yeshiva University celebrated the Class of 2025 at its 94th Annual Commencement held at Louis Armstrong Stadium that brought together more than 5,000 students, faculty, alumni, and families. The ceremony honored graduates for their academic achievements, purpose-driven paths, and steadfast commitment to timeless Jewish values.

Yeshiva University conferred its highest distinction, the Presidential Medallion for Global Leadership, on Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman praised Stefanik for her moral courage and outspoken defense of the Jewish community, especially following the October 7th massacre. During the event Stefanik danced to Jewish and Israeli music with some of the YU graduates.

The keynote address was delivered by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh was murdered in Hamas captivity. Her stirring words reflected her journey from anguish to advocacy, capturing the conscience and spiritual resilience of the Jewish people. Her message resonated deeply with graduates, urging them to carry forward lives of meaning, faith, and action.

“You understand that neutrality in the face of evil is complicity,” said Berman. “Because you refuse to stay silent, you became one of the fiercest defenders of the Jewish people in American public life today.”

In her speech, Stefanik recalled the now-infamous university hearing where she questioned academic leaders about antisemitic rhetoric on campus. Her blunt demand—“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?”—and the equivocal answers that followed became a global flashpoint.

“It does not depend on the context,” she declared. “Those morally bankrupt answers - I’ve never witnessed the moral depravity of witnesses like I did in that hearing.”

Her testimony has since become the most viewed in U.S. congressional history.