Young Jewish Activists Reclaim Identity Through Courageous Refusal

Echoing the Soviet refuseniks, a new generation of Jewish students stand firm against campus antisemitism and cultural erasure.

Apr. 3, 2026 at 12:00am

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A vibrant, fractured painting depicting a young person standing firm amid swirling, overlapping geometric shapes in shades of blue, purple, and red, conveying the defiant spirit of Jewish students reclaiming their identity on hostile campuses.Young Jewish activists on college campuses are staging dramatic acts of refusal, reclaiming their identity in the face of hostility.NYC Today

A recent speech by New York Times columnist Bret Stephens sparked debate over whether the Jewish community should focus on fighting antisemitism or investing in Jewish culture and education. Stephens argued that the 'courage to reject' has been a central source of Jewish strength and endurance. This principle is exemplified by the story of the Soviet refuseniks, a group of Jewish dissidents in the late 1960s who refused to assimilate and instead reclaimed their Zionist, Jewish, and Hebrew identities. A new generation of young Jewish activists on American campuses are now staging their own dramatic acts of refusal, leaning into their Jewish identity in the face of hostility, much like their Soviet predecessors.

Why it matters

The story of the refuseniks and their contemporary counterparts on college campuses illustrates a crucial point made by Stephens - that refusal is provocative, but can also be the beginning of renewal. When Jews rediscover the courage to say 'no' to the terms of admission offered by a hostile majority culture, they also rediscover what it is they say 'yes' to in terms of their Jewish identity and values. This process of rediscovery and reclamation is essential for the continued vitality of Jewish civilization.

The details

In the late 1960s, a group of Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union, known as refuseniks, arose and turned around the near-erasure of Jewish culture and religion under communist rule. They refused to join the chorus condemning Zionism and Israel, refused to accept the closing off of top universities and professions to Jews, and refused to live as double-thinkers. Instead, they formed underground groups to study Hebrew and Israeli history, wrote passionate essays about Zionism, and staged dramatic acts of defiance. Similarly, young Jewish activists on American campuses today, like Eyal Yakoby, Adela Cojab, Lishi Baker, and Shabbos Kestenbaum, are refusing to accept the normalization of antisemitism and are leaning into their Jewish identity in the face of hostility.

  • In the late 1960s, the refusenik movement emerged in the Soviet Union.
  • In recent years, a new generation of young Jewish activists have risen to prominence on American college campuses.

The players

Bret Stephens

A columnist for The New York Times who gave a speech at the 92nd Street Y in New York City in February 2026 that sparked debate over the Jewish community's priorities.

Yuli Kosharovsky

A leader of the refusenik movement in the Soviet Union and the author of the book 'We Are Jews Again: Jewish Activism in the Soviet Union'.

Eyal Yakoby

A young Jewish activist who refused to accept the University of Pennsylvania hosting an antisemitic literature festival on its campus.

Adela Cojab

A young Jewish activist who refused to remain silent when New York University awarded Students for Justice in Palestine a presidential service award.

Lishi Baker

A young Jewish activist who refused to normalize people waving Hamas and Hezbollah flags at Columbia University.

Shabbos Kestenbaum

A young Jewish activist who refused to accept that he could not walk through the Gaza tent encampment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a free American citizen simply because he practiced Judaism.

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What they’re saying

“'No to Pharaoh and Caesar, the Inquisition and the Reformation, the tsar and the commissar. No to emancipation from our peoplehood by the French Revolution or to the erasure of our faith by the Russian Revolution.'”

— Bret Stephens, Columnist, The New York Times

“'We Are Jews Again: Jewish Activism in the Soviet Union'”

— Yuli Kosharovsky, Leader of the refusenik movement

The takeaway

The story of the refuseniks and their contemporary counterparts on American college campuses illustrates the power of Jewish identity and the 'courage to reject' when faced with hostility from the majority culture. This process of rediscovery and reclamation is essential for the continued vitality of Jewish civilization.