Shabbos Kestenbaum, high-profile critic of campus antisemitism, says he’s broken with Democratic Party and will vote for Trump
Shabbos Kestenbaum, center, on stage at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Sept. 5, 2024. (Luke Tress)
(JTA) — Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Jewish Harvard alumnus who is suing the school over its response to antisemitism, announced that he has broken with the Democratic Party and will be voting for Donald Trump.
Kestenbaum made the declaration during a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual convention on Thursday in Las Vegas. He said that he had become disillusioned with Democratic leaders and their policies during his push for action against campus antisemitism.
“I did not support Trump in 2016, I did not support Trump in 2020. Hell, I did not support Trump six months ago. Nobody’s perfect,” said Kestenbaum, a registered Democrat.
“The Democratic party has taken the Jewish vote and Jewish voters for granted for far too long,” he said. “I will be supporting, I will be endorsing, I will be voting for President Trump.”
Kestenbaum’s party switch isn’t a complete surprise: He addressed the Republican National Convention in July, an experience that, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency at the time, felt “lonely” but that was warmly received by the crowd. In that speech, he talked about his vote in November — but did not specify which candidate he would support.
“Let’s elect a president who will instill patriotism in our schools once again,” he said from the convention podium. “Let’s elect a president who will confront terrorism and its supporters once again.”
The next month, he attended but did not speak at the Democratic convention, an experience he also portrayed positively on the social network X, where he posted a photo of a button reading, “I’m a pro-Israel Democrat.” He also posted a video of the crowd applauding the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7. In 2016, he attended the Democratic convention as a supporter of Bernie Sanders.
“Let me also add that as a visibly Jewish person crying as I was recording this, numerous delegates came up to me after, saying they stand with the Jewish people,” he wrote from the Democratic convention on Aug. 21. “I have had serious disillusionments with Dems, but am confident we can one day restore the soul of our party together.”
Two weeks later, he was onstage at the RJC confab, speaking alongside two other Democratic voters who have switched their party allegiance. He said Republicans had been more responsive to his efforts in combating antisemitism. Republican leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson and the chairman of the Congressional Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Jason Smith, had actively sought out himself and other Jewish students, he said, adding that Democratic party leaders have not done the same.
He also lashed Democrats such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, members of the hardline left-wing “Squad,” for supporting anti-Israel campus protesters, and mentioned other instances in which he felt Democratic officials hadn’t taken campus antisemitism seriously enough. He feels the Democratic Party has also not articulated policies for protecting Jewish students.
“The Trump campaign invited me and other college students to sit, front row, as President Trump not only condemned antisemitism but clearly articulated the policies he would implement to combat it,” Kestenbaum said. “The Harris campaign delivered no such promises.”
In his speech, Kestenbaum advocated for measures including deporting non-American students “who abuse the foreign visa system,” echoing the 2024 Republican platform, which called for “revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism.”
He also called for withholding federal funding from universities that violate the civil rights of students, including Jews, and for taking a stance against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.
“These common-sense, once bipartisan policies are not a hallmark of the Harris campaign. They are not featured on any campaign platform,” Kestenbaum said.
He said that he had initially refrained from condemning Democrats, instead trying to change the party from within. He said he was disappointed with party leaders’ statements at the Democratic convention about anti-Israel protests and campus policies. He said he will still support his Democratic congressman, pro-Israel stalwart Ritchie Torres, and backs other Democratic policies including minimum wage legislation and pro-environmental measures.
“I wanted to show my party, the Democratic party, that they could and they should support Jewish students, however, elections are binary choices,” Kestenbaum said. “For the first time since I started voting, I cannot support the Democratic nominee for president.”
He added, “I did not abandon the Democratic party. The Democratic party abandoned me.”
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