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Reclaiming Jewish Pride on Campus: Lessons from an Israeli Reserve Captain
An Israeli soldier stands during a two-minute siren marking the annual Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day, at an installation at the site of the Nova festival where party goers were killed and kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, in Reim, southern Israel, May 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
I recently traveled across the United States with Olami, a global organization committed to building Jewish identity and ensuring Jewish continuity. My goal was to connect with Jewish students on campus, and share my experiences as a reserve captain in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on and after October 7th.
This was my first trip to the US, and I came simply expecting to tell my story: On that black Saturday, I mobilized two of my sergeants and headed straight to the Nova music festival, where one of my soldiers was trapped. We began the rescue mission for him, but ultimately saved over 100 civilians. During the operation, I found my own father’s body, yet I pressed on, driven by our duty to protect others. Afterward, I continued my service in Gaza, spending months defending my country and rooting out the terrorists who had taken so much from us.
When I spoke with American students on campuses and in communities across the East Coast, I realized that something vital was missing: their confidence. Over the past year, they had faced such vicious attacks for being Jewish that they were left with a deep struggle, rooted in uncertainty, fear, and hesitancy regarding their Jewish identity.
In Israel, strength and pride in our identity are ingrained. It’s part of who we are — passed down through generations and fortified by a shared history. In the US, I encountered a very different reality.
At each event hosted by Olami, a large group of students gathered, and many expressed a deep insecurity about standing up for themselves or even speaking openly about being Jewish. They seemed paralyzed in the face of campus hostility, unsure of how to respond or confront the negativity they encountered. For the first time in my life, I saw young Jews unsure of their own strength, something I’d never encountered among my peers in Israel, where Jewish pride is second nature.
I realized my focus for the speaking tour had to shift. This trip was no longer just about sharing my story, it was about helping these students find confidence as Jews.
I wanted to address the fear and hesitation they felt in expressing their Jewish identity, and impart some of the pride that, for us in Israel, is part of our national DNA. We are raised to face daunting challenges head-on because there’s simply no alternative. We are taught from a young age that if we stand up, others back down. This strength isn’t just a mindset; it’s essential to who we are as Israelis and as Jews.
I felt compelled to share this message with the students I met. I wanted them to understand that even though American campuses may feel hostile, they don’t need to compromise their pride or dilute their identity to fit in or avoid conflict. When we stand proudly as Jews, our presence itself — as a united community — is a powerful shield against hate and prejudice. This sense of unity is something deeply ingrained in Israeli society, where we rely on one another not just for support but for survival. It’s a powerful source of resilience that I believe can be shared with Jewish communities everywhere.
To my fellow young Jews in America, I say this: you must reclaim your confidence. You have the right to be unapologetically Jewish, to speak out and stand firm against hate. It’s not easy, but when we remember that we are not alone — that Jews around the world are standing with us — our strength becomes undeniable. The challenges we face may be different, but the need for unity and Jewish pride is the same.
I left those US campuses with a renewed understanding of the work we must do together. We need to build bridges within and between Jewish communities, creating spaces like Olami does, where students can strengthen their identity and learn to develop resilience in the face of hostility. This effort should involve meaningful dialogue between Israeli and Diaspora Jews, along with regular cultural gatherings, Shabbat meals, and holiday celebrations. These experiences reinforce our shared history, deepen our bonds, and create a supportive foundation for students to confidently embrace their Jewish identity.
Yhoni Skariszewski is a VP of Sales and a reserve deputy commander in the Givati unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. He is a graduate of Olami-Nefesh Yehudi Jerusalem University chapter.
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Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” he said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement.”
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to “review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: “We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic.”
There was no immediate comment from the US side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Washington’s ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran’s negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
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Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of Edan Alexander, 19, an Israeli army volunteer kidnapped by Hamas, attends a special Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony with families of other hostages, in Herzliya, Israel October 27, 2023 REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
Hamas said on Saturday the fate of an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last US citizen held alive in Gaza was unknown, after the body of one of the guards who had been holding him was found killed by an Israeli strike.
A month after Israel abandoned the ceasefire with the resumption of intensive strikes across the breadth of Gaza, Israel was intensifying its attacks.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war, was a “top priority.” His release was at the center of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack. On Saturday it said the body of one of the guards had been recovered.
“The fate of the prisoner and the rest of the captors remains unknown,” said Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida.
“We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives … but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy’s army,” Abu Ubaida said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hamas released 38 hostages under the ceasefire that began on January 19. Fifty-nine are still believed to be held in Gaza, fewer than half of them still alive.
Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.
NETANYAHU STATEMENT
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.
Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.
After the video was released, Bohbot’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and devastated,” and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.
“How much longer will he be expected to wait and ‘stay strong’?” the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.
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Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani/File Photo
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow visit will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
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