Not Afraid at UCLA

In the spring of 2024, pro-Palestinian students were demonstrating on the UCLA campus. As student Eli Tsives tried to get through, he was denied entry. The entire dramatic event was filmed, and the video went viral overnight, earning hundreds of thousands of views. Eli, who was at the time a 19-year-old freshman, started speaking to the media and became the voice of Jewish students on campus who were facing harassment and discrimination.

 

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A post shared by Eli Tsives (@tsiveseli)

Though Eli didn’t confront the demonstrators to become a key figure in the fight against antisemitism, he’s embracing his new role as an activist. Now, he’s running as a candidate for the World Zionist Congress on the Aish Ha’am’s slate, to inspire other young Jews to speak up for what’s right.

Eli’s Viral Moment

In Eli’s video, he is seen talking to a few protestors with masks on, trying to get through to walk on campus. The protestors block him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, they are not letting me enter public land,” he says to the camera. “What they are doing is illegal.”

After posting his video, Eli started speaking to news outlets, and he soon gave an inspiring speech at the largest pro-Israel rally that ever took place at UCLA. He also continued to film himself confronting the protestors.

“I noticed that no one was standing up to the encampments all around the country, and I knew that something had to be done about it,” he told Aish. “I wasn’t doing it to change the minds of the pro-Hamas protestors. I was standing up to them to show other Jewish students there is no reason to be afraid of them, and to show the protestors that we are not afraid of them.”

“For a while, the biggest issue Jews faced was white nationalism, Nazism, and later neo-Nazism,” he said. “In the last 10 years, that has not been the case. We are seeing a rise of antisemitism on the far left and the problem is people aren’t taking it seriously.”

In Eli’s opinion, when there was a rise in antisemitism and neo-Nazism on the far right, “people took it seriously,” he said. “Law enforcement and the FBI took it seriously. No one takes the far left seriously. Their voice, power, and acts of violence are increasing as well.”

Running on Aish Ha’Am Slate

Eli is running on Aish Ha’am’s slate for the World Zionist Congress because “they give a voice to Jewish college students. Antisemitism is thriving on college campuses. Aish Ha’am knows this, and they are helping us amplify our voice.”

 

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If he becomes a delegate, he hopes to continue to advocate on behalf of Jewish students everywhere.

“We know what we need,” he said. “We know that we need help on college campuses fighting these antisemites, whether that’s through all these different organizations, spending time working with college students, to having parents write constant letters to the administrations. What we need is clubs like SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) to be shut down on college campuses. These clubs are promoting aggression, hate, and antisemitism.”

 

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Though the world seems like a dark place right now, Eli is encouraging young Jews not to give into it. Instead, he wants them to keep shining bright.

“When I see we are walking through darkness, you have to be that spark, that beacon of hope, the beautiful bright fire that fuels the Jewish people,” he said. “We are good, and we have been the essence of good throughout history. We will continue shining, showing our Jewish pride, and fighting against the darkness. You cannot fight darkness with darkness – you can only fight it with light. And that is what Aish Ha’am is striving to do.”

Eli’s story is prominently featured in the new documentary “Frontline Warriors: The Fight Against Antisemitism on Campus.” Click here to watch this must-see film.

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