Shabbos Kestenbaum is an American Jewish activist and graduate of Harvard Divinity School. He is known for leading a lawsuit against Harvard University, filed in Jan. 2024, which alleged that the university failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitic harassment and discrimination. He settled with the university last May. Kestenbaum has just published a summary of what Harvard did, or failed to do, that prompted him to his lawsuit. In addition, he discusses more generally Harvard’s policy of racial preferences in admissions and hiring, its lack of diversity in faculty viewpoint, its war on free speech, and its great wealth — more than $50 billion in endowment — that has not stopped the university from battening on hundreds of millions of dollars in annual taxpayer support, as well as on financial support from Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. And Harvard has forged close ties with Communist China, training its officials at the Kennedy School. More of Kestenbaum’s account can be found here: “The 14-point plan to save Harvard from itself,” by Shabbos Kestenbaum, JNS, August 19, 2025:
Harvard, in a span of a few years, willingly accepted billions of dollars from foreign sources, including Qatar, Russia and Saudi Arabia, and then willingly failed to report hundreds of millions of dollars more….
Then, Oct. 7 happened.
After the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Harvard University, an institution that condemned the murder of George Floyd, spoke out in support of Roe v. Wade and denounced the Russian aggression in Ukraine, was silent.
Behind the scenes, Harvard’s leadership was methodically crafting a response, eventually removing the word “violent” from their statement, so as not to “sound like (we are) assigning blame.”
As Jewish babies were being abducted into Gaza, my classmates—the same ones for whom I used their preferred gender pronouns, marched for Black Lives Matter with and attended their progressive far-left events—were busy jumping out of bed to draft an “emergency response” to blame “Israel for all ongoing violence in the Middle East.”
Consequently, a Jewish undergraduate was spat on, an Israeli was told to leave class as her nationality made classmates “uncomfortable,” another Jew was threatened with “heil Hitler,” a different Israeli was assaulted at the business school, a staff member taunted me with a machete and challenged me to debate the Jewish involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a mezuzah was stolen, and an encampment was said up to proclaim “Intifada, intifada come to America” and follow Jewish students on their way to class.
The above are not allegations; they are objective statements of what factually occurred. So pervasive were the civil-rights violations that a judge found that “Harvard failed its Jewish students,” and the federal government rescinded its funding.
Now, in its fight to win back American taxpayer money, Harvard—the institution where all the above acts occurred—is seriously arguing that the Trump administration is abridging its First Amendment rights….
Judging by the billions of dollars in funds withheld by the government from Harvard, that is suing to have those funds restored, and the amounts that formerly generous alumni donors are no longer providing to Harvard, our preeminent university has caused itself a world of woe that, had it only cracked down on the displays of antisemitism on the campus, could have been avoided. Other universities, one hopes, will draw the proper lesson from Harvard’s example.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I would like to see Harvard and the bulk of these Ivy League schools shut down. They have a sociopathic influence not only in this country, but also in the rest of the world. Alan Dershowitz did a podcast titled “Harvard, go fund yourself!” I would be less prude about it, and freely use the other f-word the he didn’t use
Wellington says
Well, Infidel, I share your contempt for the present state of the eight Ivy League schools, but realistically speaking they’re not going to be shut down nor should they be. Even still an institution like Harvard does great work in certain fields such as medicine and pure science but that the Ivy League and other so-called elite universities, as well as many fine state universities, such as my alma mater, Penn State, have drifted most terribly into Leftist nonsense cannot be denied.
I would argue the optimal approach is to reform these once sterling institutions of higher learning. Rather like reforming DC, Chicago, LA, et al. rather than giving up on them. Come backs can happen—to universities, to cities, and perhaps even to the presently horribly woke entertainment industry and a personal interest of mine, the National Football League (NFL), which under Commissioner Roger Goodell has become a ludicrous shadow of its former self.
The cure for idiocy and Leftism (excuse the redundancy) is not to destroy the institutions, governmental entities and organizations which they have ruined but to ruin them instead. Best and most realistic approach I would argue.
On a completely different topic, knowing as I do you know a great deal about India, I wonder what you think the chances are India will finally realize that its best interests lie with aligning with the West instead of a Russia which never seems to learn and a China which is appalling in so many ways. Hope you are doing well.
gravenimage says
+1
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Wellington
Answering your last question, majority of Indian public opinion is pro-Russia. Not due to any hatred of the West, where as you know, they love coming and investing, but due to the fact that Russia has historically stood by India, both as the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and since, under both Yeltsin and Putin. In fact, there are negative sentiments there against Ukraine, which at the UN, generally took Pakistan’s side against India (unlike Russia, which did the opposite and provided India Security Council vetoes just like the US normally does for Israel) and during the war, a less than flattering cartoon of the Hindu deity Kali, which just turned Hindu opinion against Ukraine
I do think Modi has gone senile (he’s 74 now) and takes gibberish in both his speeches and his meetings w/ world leaders. But he mismanaged India’s relations w/ the US badly since 2014. First of all, in 2019, when he visited Houston, he promoted a slogan “This time, a Trump government”, encouraging a Trump re-election, which generally dovetailed w/ pro-Trump sentiments among Hindus both in India and the US. It was however inappropriate, given that it was an interference in internal US politics
But then, in 2020, after the elections, he prematuredly congratulated Biden, and after January 6th, 2021, he denounced the protests at the Capitol, seemingly turning against Trump supporters. After that, in 2024, when he visited DC, he declined to have any meeting w/ Trump. None of these acts by him were appropriate or warranted, and I have seen some Indian critics of Modi really come down heavily on him for giving Trump a pretext for payback. Whether that’s actually the motivation behind Trump’s actions against India, I don’t know, but there is a strong sense that the relationship has been mismanaged by the Indian side
That said, the moves that Trump made over the last few months have totally turned the general Indian populace against him. The worst was forcing India into a ceasefire w/ Pakistan after jihad attacks on Kashmir murdered some 20+ people. India responded by bombing Pakistani terror camps and military targets, and Trump, who these days seems obsessed about the Nobel Prize, used trade to armtwist India into accepting it. On top of that, the ridiculous claim that the US would help Pakistan extract oil that the latter can then sell to India, which is horsemanure: Pakistan receives, or at least used to receive, oil loans from Saudi Arabia that they didn’t have to repay (the Saudis discontinued that after Pakistan looked like supporting Turkey & Iran) Also, Pakistan being one of the countries that has nominated Trump for the Nobel prize has proven that the latter is too susceptible to flattery. That statement and others like it have overnight turned Indian public opinion against him
Since then, the announcement of secondary tariffs, raising Indian tariffs to 50%, has been badly received. The same analysts I listed above who criticized Modi for interfering in US internal politics have pointed out that when Trump raised tariffs against Beijing, the latter too boosted tariffs to at par, and after a while, Trump just gave them 2 successive 3-month extensions. So the person above suggested that India should do the same, and also recognize a few things:
⮞ US is not, and has never been, an ally of India. Even after 9/11, it befriended Pakistan, and despite Osama being captured near Islamabad, there were never any real consequences for Pakistan
⮞ US should not be accepted as a defense supplier to India: that should solely be Israel and Russia. He noted how US withheld military spare parts after India’s nuclear tests in 1998, making those aircraft worthless. Instead, in addition to its own manufacturing, India should source solely from Israel and Russia
⮞ He also noted that having $700B in 💵 in either US banks or in bonds is a huge risk, noting how Russia’s $300B was frozen overnight. He said that any future US government could for any reason do the same to Indian holdings if it was unhappy w/ India. A few years ago, when Uganda passed some anti-LGBTQ laws, there were attempts by some Western countries to sanction them. Right now, Trump is there, but any future US government could do to India what it did to Russia. So he suggested that India offload that, and instead strengthen its own currency, and not be left vulnerable to the whims of US leaders, be it Trump or Biden or anyone else, even if the president was Vivek Ramaswamy
⮞ On who India should align w/, he was in favor of noting that India is an Eastern, not a Western country, and should ally accordingly, w/ ASEAN countries – Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, South Korea et al. As well as Russia. He also noted that China wasn’t a civilizational enemy of India in the way Pakistan or Bangladesh are, and that India should figure out a way to come to an agreement w/ either them, or a future Chinese government
⮞ On the US trade demands, he suggested simply saying no to US demands to enter agricultural, dairy and retail markets, nor invest in the US, given the debt and the fact that for every $1.00 invested, the return is -$1.24.
⮞ Finally suggested an ultimate liberalization of India’s economy, along the lines of what President Millei did in Argentina
His bottom line: the US isn’t an enemy of India, but neither is it an ally. India should just minimize its dealings w/ the West as a whole, and look east towards its neighbors who are not a civilizational threat. Obviously, be allied w/ Israel, but other than that, look towards its ASEAN neighbors to the East, as well as Japan & South Korea
Finally, on the Ivy League reform, it’ll be a long process, and would have to involve purging entire faculties before normalcy can be restored
Wellington says
Thank you, Infidel, for your detailed response. Much appreciated.
I remember only too well that during the Cold War America favored Pakistan and the USSR leaned to India. Too bad in retrospect it wasn’t the other way around, then perhaps matters would be better now.
And I agree with you about Trump, whom I consider a great man though with great flaws as virtually all great people have exhibited (really, the only truly great human being I have ever come across, putting aside all religious figures because of the highly tendentious nature of religious thought, in whom I could detect no great flaw is Abraham Lincoln—Samuel Eliot Morison’s tribute to exactly this is beautifully stated by him in the second volume of his Oxford History Of The American People). Trump’s monumental ego, which is a force for good in so many ways, is also a negative at times.
Modi and I are exactly the same age. Hmmm. I think I’m still OK but who knows. And thanks again for your reply. As usual, you have a lot to say that is worth taking into account, including that Israel, arguably America’s closest and most trustworthy ally, could for many years have a close relationship with India which does not feel great affection for the American government. Perhaps we have geopolitical irony here and then some. Take care.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Wellington
Thanks. I didn’t mean to imply that everybody born in 1950 is senile, but rather, that Modi is. As Trump pointed out, there are people in their 90s who are so fit that one would never guess their age. And then there are people much younger who look like they’re fried. Anyway, my point was that the Indian prime minister rambles too much, and already, people are talking about who would succeed him, and among his opponents, how to remove him (his party has an internal rule that people 75 and older should retire from their posts, and he’s getting there)
Also, while the US & India were on opposite sides during the Cold War, 9/11 was a golden opportunity to reverse that. In the days following it, India offered the US both bases as well as military support, but the Bush-Powell-Rice troika declined, and instead chose to browbeat Musharraf into doing it. So obviously, there was no love lost for Bush. Trump seemed to change things in both his first term, and even while he was out of office – for example, he denounced the genocide of Hindus in Bangladesh, which many Hindus appreciated. But his moves since that Indo-Pak skirmish has totally changed the mood
I do hope that the US-Russia issue gets resolved (although I see how tough it is for Putin, who’ll have little to show for it no matter what he agrees to) and that India’s relations improve once Vance or anyone else is POTUS (I still hope it’s the GOP: a President AOC or Newsom would be disastrous, and at that point, US may be totally pro-Pak and pro-China, and India may be lost for good)
Wellington says
No offense taken whatsoever, Infidel, about my being as old as Modi. And, yes, many people far older than mid-70s still have their mind completely intact. And yet dementia in some people can occur much earlier in life, though this is not usual. In general, one is OK up to around 70; after that it tends to be a steep decline at least physically if not mentally. Middle age isn’t all that bad, though still not possessed of the many blessings of youth, but old age more or less kinda’ sucks. But I digress.
Yeah, too bad Bush 43 and his folks missed what you deemed a golden opportunity to get closer to India. An opportunity lost no question. Optimal relations between America and India is a noble and highly mutually beneficial goal. Not there yet to say the least.
As for Russia, frankly I am so tired of Russia. It never seems to learn and its value on human life is contrary to the best found in the Western tradition. Well, as Pope John Paul Ii said when in his native Poland shortly after elected pontifex maximus in 1978, to wit, Poland is about as far east as one could go and still be entirely within the orb of Western Civilization. Again, thanks for your replies.
gravenimage says
Good exchange, Infidel and Wellington.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Wellington
One last comment: I have been following an YouTube channel of a Russian emigre now living in California – the channel being “Elvira Bary”. She does an excellent job in explaining the Russian psyche, and a whole lot of socio-political-economic aspects about life in Russia and why they think the way they do. Covers a lot of topics, including some fascinating ones – like what would happen to Russia the day after Putin’s demise, or after the war ended. The gender gap in Russia and its effect on Russian society, whether Siberia could secede, what are Russo-Chinese relations really like, and so on
I’m pretty impressed by the breadth of aspects she has covered
Donovan Nuera says
Maybe Harvard should have taken the advice of former Mayor of NYC Mike Bloomberg, no friend of Jihad Watch or Pamela Geller and a supporter of Imam Rouf’s Victory mosque at ground zero), who about 10 years ago was the Commencement Day Speaker (after donating $100,000,000 to their Business School) who told the crowd and faculty that Harvard always boasts about ‘Diversity’ in everything except “Political thought “. This if Harvard doesn’t heed the advice of someone the faculty chose to address it graduating class. AND forked over $100,000,000, WHO are they going to listen too outside their bubble??? In 1990, 75% of students in a freshman poll said they were Dem/Liberal, 15% GOP. They still had a few “conservative” professors : Richard Pipes (Reagan’s NSA chief Sovietologist), Samuel P. Huntington, and Harvey C. Mansfield). The last poll from a few years ago showed 95% Dem, Liberal. More students voted for bongo-playing Harvard Med grad socislist Jill Stein than Trump. Faculty 33% “progressive” hard left, 50% moderate left, 15%undecided, 2% moderate conservative, 0.6% “far right”. The only mostly normal people on campus are football, hockey, and crew team guys and traditional Catholic girls .
James Lincoln says
Two people that I know very well personally are graduates of Harvard circa 1980s.
One is a U.S. Navy tactical jet aviator, one is a Navy physician.
They absolutely NEVER talk about Harvard.
Hmm…
gravenimage says
Very sad. Harvard has a great history. Recently, not so much…
ploome says
To se how Harvard students have been brainwashed, and get an idea of their concerns, I recommend you occasionally read The Crimson, the student newspaper. Note who writes most of the content.
The Crimson stopped all comments on the paper last year, because the comments were so critical.
Troybeam says
Jewish students at Harvard should be leery because there is a class taught on sharia law on campus.
Justice Kagan was one Dean of Harvard, in comes a donation then the sharia law building is built.
Do the research, will state it’s not on Wikipedia any longer.
gravenimage says
Harvard offers various classes on Sharia (Islamic) law through its Program in Islamic Law (PIL) at Harvard Law School. I bet there is no critcism allowed…
OLD GUY says
Sadly its not just Harvard that has been bought by the Muslim’Islamic foreign contributions to its endowment fund. Most all major College and Universities have received funds and now have an Islamic student union and teach muslim/islamic propaganda on campus.
Islam knows that you can train the minds of the young, they train the youth in their mosques to hate and commit jihad against non-islamic people. Why not train the minds of your enemies children to support islam also.
Jack Zektzer says
The only part of Harvard University worth saving is the mineralogical museum.