The prestigious City View Room at the Elliot School of International Relations at The George Washington University was filled to capacity with students and faculty joining a special evening with HE Michael Herzog, Ambassador of Israel to the US.
The event marked perhaps the only visit in recent years to a US college campus which did not draw a demonstration or disruption by anti-Israel groups.
Chabad GW President Ari Patinkin ’25 kicked off the evening, introducing GW University President Mark S. Wrighton, who spoke forcefully about the need to express views respectfully and have zero tolerance for antisemitism on campus.
GW Student Association President Christian Zidouemba, who hails from Burkina Faso in West Africa, reiterated the call of President Wrighton and expressed his own support for the Jewish community at GW.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), and Founder of Chabad GW, recalled the Lubavitcher Rebbe‘s lesson of the Jewish patriarch Jacob, who placed stones around his head when he left Beersheva on the way to the dangers of Charan, an indicator that the most important thing to protect is the mindset, especially in today’s sometimes hostile environment.
He also recognized Hon. Sawson Hassan, who serves as a Minister in the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC, and is not Jewish, but Druze. Rabbi Shemtov shared the words of the Rebbe – which were said over 50 years ago – regarding the Druze in Israel, praising their service and sacrifice and encouraging their recognition and elevation to senior positions.
Ambassador of Israel, HE Michael Herzog, spoke lovingly of his prestigious family, beginning with the revered Rav Yitzchok Herzog, Israel’s first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, who enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe. Ambassador Herzog’s father Chaim served as a General in the IDF, as Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, and then as Israel’s President. The current President, HE Yitzchok Herzog (namesake of his grandfather), is the ambassador’s brother.
Ambassador Herzog, himself a former IDF General and leading academic before taking his current position, spoke energetically in defense of Israel.
He addressed current events and challenges with grace, intelligence and clarity.
Chabad GW Vice President Sabrina Soffer ’25 closed the evening with a passionate call to all the students to remain strong and engaged in their identity, and confront antisemitism with a stronger “semitism” – Jewish identity, study and practice.
Important event during the current climate
Kol Hakavod!