Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Jewish Harvard alumnus currently suing the university over its handling of antisemitism, announced on Thursday that he has officially broken with the Democratic Party and will be voting for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Kestenbaum made the announcement during a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual convention, citing his growing disillusionment with Democratic leadership.

“I did not support Trump in 2016, I did not support Trump in 2020… I did not support Trump six months ago. Nobody’s perfect,” Kestenbaum said. “The Democratic Party has taken the Jewish vote and Jewish voters for granted for far too long,” he added, before announcing, “I will be supporting, I will be endorsing, I will be voting for President Trump.”

Kestenbaum’s shift isn’t a surprise. In July, he addressed the Republican National Convention, urging voters to elect a president who would confront terrorism and instill patriotism in schools. While he didn’t specify his candidate preference at the time, his appearance indicated a growing alignment with Republican values. Kestenbaum also attended the Democratic National Convention in August, sharing positive interactions with fellow delegates, though he remained critical of the party’s stance on antisemitism.

At the RJC event, Kestenbaum voiced frustration with Democratic lawmakers, particularly those on the left, like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, for their support of anti-Israel campus protests. He praised Republicans for being more responsive to efforts against campus antisemitism, saying leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Jason Smith had actively engaged with Jewish students.

Kestenbaum criticized the Biden administration for its lack of clear policies to combat antisemitism on campuses. In contrast, he credited the Trump campaign for inviting Jewish students to front-row seats at events where Trump condemned antisemitism and outlined concrete policies, including deporting foreign nationals who support terrorism and withholding federal funding from universities that violate students’ civil rights.

“These common-sense, once bipartisan policies are not a hallmark of the Harris campaign. They are not featured on any campaign platform,” Kestenbaum said.

Although Kestenbaum has left the Democratic Party, he noted he will continue to support pro-Israel Democrats like Congressman Ritchie Torres and remains aligned with other Democratic policies, such as minimum wage and environmental protections. Nevertheless, he emphasized that the Democratic Party has failed to protect Jewish students.

“I wanted to show my party, the Democratic party, that they could and they should support Jewish students,” Kestenbaum concluded. “For the first time since I started voting, I cannot support the Democratic nominee for president.” He added, “I did not abandon the Democratic party. The Democratic party abandoned me.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)