Simon Smith is Communications Officer for BICOM. Prior to that he worked in the museum and heritage sector, and he continues his interest in history as editor of student journal the Berlin Historical Review in his spare time. Simon studied History and Politics at Newcastle University, specialising in the Labour Party’s relationship with Israel, and World History at King’s College London, where he was awarded a distinction for his research into British Middle Eastern foreign policy.
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.