Shabbos Kestenbaum was born and raised in New York to a modern Orthodox family of seven siblings, whose parents had immigrated from England.
“My mom would play Naomi Shemer in the car and bake blue-and-white cookies every Independence Day,” he recalls. “She instilled in us a deep love for Israel. So after high school, spending a year in Israel was a no-brainer.”
In the end, Shabbos spent two years in Israel through a Masa program at Aish HaTorah, living in Jerusalem’s Old City.
“Living two minutes from the Kotel gave me the intellectual and spiritual tools to express my already strong connection to Israel. Learning Hebrew and Aramaic in that environment was incredibly special. I tell high schoolers all the time: you don’t have to be religious or keep kosher — but you owe it to yourself to spend at least one year in Israel. Not necessarily in a Yeshiva, but immersed in Israeli society — to feel part of the story.”
After returning to the U.S., Shabbos began studying political science at Harvard University.
“Before October 7, I never even thought about antisemitism. I wore a kippah like I’d put on pants — automatically. But after the massacre, everything changed.”
He was shocked by how many of his classmates perceived Israel and Hamas.
“There’s a saying — ‘Where there are no men, strive to be a man.’ I felt a responsibility to my community to make sure our story wasn’t written by others.”
Kestenbaum made national headlines when he filed a high-profile lawsuit against Harvard University, arguing that it had failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment — which 73% of Jewish students reported experiencing during that period.
“I personally faced antisemitism on campus, and the university didn’t respond. We felt unsafe, and our rights weren’t protected. Harvard tried to dismiss the case twice, but the judge ultimately issued a lengthy ruling against the university, establishing a precedent that will help Jewish students in the future.”
Following the case, Kestenbaum quickly became a prominent spokesperson for Israel — frequently appearing on major media outlets, including as a regular guest on Piers Morgan Uncensored. He was later approached by the Republican Party to speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
“I had always been a Democrat, but I felt this was the right thing for my community — and my community comes first. When I spoke there, I spoke not only as a Jew but as an American — our values complement one another.”
Kestenbaum went on to be a founding member of Jewish Voices for Trump, a movement advocating for Jewish support within the Republican Party.
“Many of the friends who worked on that project are now in the White House, helping the Jewish community.”
He says his activism was never about fame:
“When I speak to students, I tell them — don’t ask, ‘How do I become famous?’ Ask, ‘What are my values? What do I want to stand for?’ Once you find that, everything else follows. The best compliments I’ve received weren’t from President Trump or TV appearances — they were from Israelis who thanked me for showing that American Jews stand with them.”
He later met with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, expressing the desire of young American Jews to show solidarity with Israel.
Recently, at just 26, Kestenbaum was elected as a delegate to the World Zionist Congress. He maintains close ties with the White House — where he often goes to advocate for the American Jewish community.
He recently moved to Los Angeles, where he’s launching a new program in partnership with PragerU, focusing on U.S. politics — but, as he puts it, “with a proudly pro-Israel perspective.”
“Piers Morgan has more listeners than there are Jews in the world,” he says. “We can’t match that scale, but what we need is more young Jewish voices. We’ve always been outnumbered. Still, I see more engagement today than ever before, and that gives me hope.”