Shabbos Kestenbaum testified to a U.S. House subcommittee on antisemitism on May 15, 2024. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

By Rebecca Massel July 15, 2024

Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum, who is suing Harvard University for failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism, will address the Republican National Convention Wednesday night. Kestenbaum, who graduated from Harvard’s divinity school in May, has decried what he describes as a double standard in which universities coddle other minority groups but have allowed pro-Palestinian protesters to harass Jews and supporters of Israel.

But Kestenbaum, 25, is a Democrat who voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, in the 2020 primaries. I asked Kestenbaum why he agreed to address the convention that is set to nominate former President Donald Trump. This interview has been edited slightly for clarity.

You have said you were abandoned by the Democratic Party. Do you support the Republican party now?

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I don’t support the Republican Party. There are progressive policy positions that I really believe in, like the Green New Deal, like a $15 minimum wage, like universal health care. These are certainly positions that are contrary to the Republican Party. Israel is a progressive issue. It is an oasis of democracy and of LGBTQ+ rights and of Western civilization in a region that is contrary to these things.

But for whatever reason, the Democratic Party has decided to vilify a critical ally; it has decided to do almost nothing to combat antisemitism. So, I’m sort of caught between a rock and a hard place. I don’t support the Republican Party, but if they’re going to provide me a platform and an opportunity to speak about my lived experiences, then of course I will take it. And, let me add that if the Democratic Convention wants me to speak, it would be an honor to do so, but unfortunately, they’re not interested in this story.

So, do you support Donald Trump at all?

I am supporting Donald Trump’s policies of insisting on consequences for foreign students who violate our laws and desecrate our freedoms. I support Donald Trump’s policies of instilling patriotism in the curriculums. I support Donald Trump’s policies of taxing university endowments. And again, I don’t see why that’s a partisan issue, and I’m incredibly disillusioned with my party for not adopting those pretty obvious positions.

But you still refer to the Democratic Party as “my party”?

I’m still a registered Democrat. I haven’t changed my registration. I have never in my life voted for a Republican. But, I think the fact that I’m speaking at the RNC really underscores how the Democrats have let us down.

Do the Democrats have heroes? Absolutely. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Rep. Richie Torres of New York, George Latimer, who just beat New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman in June’s primary.

Do I want to change the party and work from within? Absolutely. But there needs to be recognition that in the short term, they’ve really, really lost their way.

I actually would like to think I’m doing a pretty good job of creating nuance where the Democrats are right in many regards and the Republicans are right in many regards. I don’t think that antisemitism should be a partisan issue.

Trump has met with Nick Fuentes and others who have trafficked antisemitism. What do you think about that? 

Trump had a dinner with Nick Fuentes and then said, after the fact, “I didn’t know who he was, and I totally condemn and disavow his statements.” 

Should Trump be more careful about those who he’s having dinner with? Absolutely; I think it’s pretty absurd that the former leader of the free world would not be more careful with who he’s having dinner with.

How would you respond to those who say Republicans are using you to get Jewish votes?

If people think I’m a token Jew for speaking about the plight of Jewish students and the plight of hostages, then I don’t think I’m the problem.

What are you going to say to the convention?

I will be talking about the Jewish experience of students at Harvard University. I will be discussing the critical, critical, critical need to reform higher education in the United States. And I, of course, will be talking about the plight of the eight Jewish American citizens who are still being held hostage in Gaza.

You’re a recent graduate. What are your plans?

I will be spending some time working with the Orthodox Union, through the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, and working with young Jewish students.

I feel very passionate, as a response to my experiences at Harvard, to inculcate a sense of Jewish pride and education within young people, so that when they do go to college campuses, they are not caught off guard. I want them to be proud, motivated and enthusiastic to spread Jewish ideals and to connect with their own Jewish identity.

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