Miriam F. Elman is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She is currently serving as Executive Director of the Academic Engagement Network, a non-profit organisation that combats the delegitimisation of Israel and campus antisemitism. Elman frequently writes on contemporary left-wing antisemitism in the US. Last year she was listed by the Algemeiner among the top 100 people worldwide who are positively influencing Jewish life.
Our Voice of the Fortnight is from the Times of Israel's 'Wartime Diaries' podcast. In the immediate aftermath of October 7th, Shai Davidai – an Assistant Professor at Columbia University – became an unlikely public defender of Israel. And truthfully, even he was surprised by this turn of events: As a committed left-wing Israeli, he had spent years criticizing the government, and often took to the streets to demonstrate against its policies. But the atmosphere he witnessed on college campuses (and specifically on his own campus at Columbia), compelled him to speak up and speak out.