Inside the Lion’s Den: A Glimpse into YU’s Israel-Critical Minority

Looking at him during Shabbat Shacharit clad in suit and tie - dog tag around his neck and murmuring the prayer for hostages, he appears unassuming. Yet this well-crafted facade slightly falls when the prayer for the IDF begins and his once vibrating lips are still. This YC student, who requested to go by the alias Emmanuel (YC ‘27), has a secret: he does not support the war in Gaza.

“It's been very difficult for me recently,” he told me late one night, “attending an institution where every event is another opportunity to encourage the war effort without a moment's thought on what the ‘other side’ is going through, is painful.” 

Emmanuel, who describes himself as a “quirky, outgoing nerd” admits that he is not “your standard YU bochur.” While he is an avid STEM enthusiast, he is also captivated by academic Jewish studies, secular philosophy and Talmud. He is vocal during Seder, often going up to his Rebbeim with questions about the sugya. “I wonder what they would think of me if they read my messages about Israel on one of the underground YU anti-war chats,” he laments.

When asked about his experience on Oct. 7 Emmanuel got emotional. “I was scared – like most others. I mean, we had the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” he explained, noticeably disturbed. “In those early days – through the tears that I shed for the victims I was hopeful that the Israeli response would be appropriate; heck I was quite the Zionist back then.”

Emmanuel explained that the defining moment that precipitated the start of his change in stance was the pager attack which Israel conducted against Hezbollah. Specifically, the Axios report which, in his opinion, “demonstrated that the attack which led to the invasion of Southern Lebanon was born of short-term opportunism, rather than a strategic plan.” For Emmanuel this shattered his perception that the Israeli army “was the most moral army in the world” and opened a can of doubt that led him to the confusing self attribution of “Pro-Palestinian Zionist.”

Students like Emmanuel contradict stereotypes of pro-Palestinian students. The most glaring is that they don’t exist at YU. However he also complicates the narrative that many at YU have of ceasefire advocates: they are ill-informed and ignorant, or perhaps worse: antisemitic and anti-Torah. In this vein, Emmanuel said that if there is one thing he could tell his fellow students it would be: “I am not crazy, misinformed or indoctrinated. I, like you, once believed in the full fledged Israeli war effort. I no longer do. I only encourage you to look and listen to the side that disagrees with you as I do.”

The discomfort at YU that these students feel became even more apparent when I spoke to a Beren student who wished to go by the alias Sara (SCW ‘25). “I believe that it is pretty disgraceful that YU as an academic institution is unable to hold any space for critical analysis of the war.” This is not the first time that the conflict between “Yeshiva” and “University” has arisen. It brings to the forefront age-old questions of how YU should merge its religious values with its academic integrity. 

A history major with a deep commitment to intellectual openness, Sara felt wronged that Israel held the unique privilege of being uncriticizable. “The general attitude even amongst faculty is quite closed minded, so I keep quiet during class about my views” she said, downcast. “A university should encourage critical thinking, the lack of such thinking on this one topic is quite upsetting.”

Unfortunately for these students Israel has been the focus of YU. There have been numerous events each semester regarding the ongoing conflict and Israel more broadly. There are rallies, activities and YU campaigns all surrounding this centerpiece issue. While these events are, by and large, supported by the student body — for some it appears that these events come at the expense of all others. What is lacking, according to these students, are events about science, ethics or Judaics. Indeed as President Berman outlined in his book “The Final Exam” – YU has transformed from advertising Torah U’Maddah to solely advertising Torat Tzion.

A friend of mine from Stern who wishes to go by the alias Rivka (SCW ‘26), is also bothered by this state of affairs. As a Judaics major herself, she advocates — in a jovial way only she can muster — for more Judaic events at Beren, as well as a whole host of issues relating to Judaism and politics. Yet regarding Israel, she tells me, she is scared into silence. “It's rough,” she bemoans, “I don't speak publicly about my views for fear of being labeled a terror supporter.”

As an aspiring educator Rivka considers it her duty to educate herself and form a nuanced opinion. “I’m not anti-Israel, I don’t support Hamas and I’m not a self-hating Jew,” she says. “I’m a Zionist who cares deeply about the right for Jews to live in Israel. However, I don't think that right should come at the expense of someone else’s fundamental rights. I don’t think my right to make Aliya should supersede a 6-year-old Gazan's right to live.”

Another Wilf student who wishes to go by the name Abraham (YC ‘26) described the isolation that Israel-critical students on campus face most succinctly. “The same achdus that many have found in the united support for the war I have found isolating,” he laments. “I feel quite separate from the general YU community. The ubiquity of pro-war events that have permeated every level of YU, especially in the Torah realm, have made it personally painful. It is hard for me to stomach such events and the views espoused within. I am lucky to have friends in whom I can confide, but as a whole I feel very disconnected from the YU community.”

Conversations like these bring a new face to the caricatures usually drawn up of pro-Palestinian or what Emmanuel dubs “Israel-critical” Jews; and those profiled here are just four of YU’s several Israel-critical students. Rather than being an exact representation of the community’s ideological demographics, these personalities showcase what many fail to understand about YU’s Israel-critical Jews: just like the Jewish community at large, they, too, are finding their place, both at YU and ideologically. Even though I disagree, their views have illuminated my own perspective, as they advocate for the need for open discourse about sensitive topics.

Photo Caption: A person hold a “Jews for a Free Palestine Sign” 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons