Dennis Prager to Speak at YU

Famed political commentator Dennis Prager will come to Yeshiva University for a talk later in the fall semester, for an event organized by YU’s Young America’s Foundation chapter.

Several of YAF’s members sparked controversy last fall when they invited Ben Shapiro to address the student body for an event that was attended by over 800 students. While speaking to a mostly receptive audience, Shapiro ignited a firestorm with comments declaring transgenderism to be a “mental disorder.”

Prager’s invitation appears to be an attempted encore by the students who organized last year’s event, as they try to repeat last year’s audience size and the subsequent political debate.

Prager, a political conservative, is a nationally syndicated radio host, columnist, public speaker and creator of the website Prager University, which features short videos on various political topics. He was raised Modern Orthodox and attend the Yeshivah of Flatbush. Prager is outspoken on a wide array of political issues, and holds strongly conservative positions on issues like same-sex marriage and the media.

He is also known to use extreme comparisons to amplify his stances, like comparing his support of Donald Trump in the presidential election to supporting “a Stalin” to defeat “a Hitler” and saying president Barack Obama’s Iran Deal was equivalent to Neville Chamberlain’s attempt to appease Hitler in 1938.

Prager’s published works include two books, The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism and Why the Jews, co-authored with Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, a RIETS-ordained Rabbi.

This article has been updated since being published.