Book Festival of the MJCCA: Shai Davidai, American Intellectual Antisemitism

The 35th Edition of the Book Festival of the MJCCA Presents Shai Davidai, American Intellectual Antisemitism: The Anti-Jewish Movement Tearing Through Our Universities

Author Talk, Q & A & Book Signing

In this firsthand exposé from former Columbia Business School professor and “accidental activist” Shai Davidai, comes a blistering indictment of how radical politics, ideological indoctrination, and institutional indifference have transformed campuses into incubators of anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli, and anti-American hatred.

American Intellectual Antisemitism tells the remarkable story of how one Columbia Business School professor helped sound the alarm on the rise of antisemitism and support for terrorism on America’s most elite campuses, emerging as one of the world’s most outspoken voices against anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli, and anti-American extremism.

In the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, Davidai became an accidental activist. Almost overnight, he was organizing rallies, appearing on prime-time television, testifying before Congress, facing death threats, and being barred from teaching his award-winning course.

Beginning with the small vigil at Columbia that sparked his activism, Davidai chronicles how ideological extremism took root in elite institutions and how silence and fear fueled the most significant surge of antisemitism in North America since the Holocaust.

Drawing on his years of conducting research on human behavior and experience teaching across multiple institutions of higher education, and guided by two principles—no hate, no lies—Davidai offers a bold and hopeful roadmap for confronting hate in an age of misinformation and moral confusion. Davidai’s message will leave readers with a deeper understanding of this moment and the clarity and courage to respond.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Since October 7, 2023, Shai Davidai’s activism has drawn more than a quarter million followers online. Named one of The Jerusalem Post’s “50 Most Influential Jews of 2024,” Poets & Quants’ “Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors of 2023,” and the Association of Psychological Science’s “2020 Rising Star,” Davidai has testified before Congress, organized rallies, appeared on prime-time television and leading podcasts, and spoken to thousands of people across dozens of Jewish communities in North America.

His podcast, Here I Am with Shai Davidai, reaches thousands each week and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal,and many others. Davidai holds a PhD in Social Psychology from Cornell University and has taught at Princeton, The New School, and Columbia Business School. He lives in New York City with his wife, author and translator Yardenne Greenspan, and their two magnificent children.

Books will be available for purchase on the evening of the event from our partner bookseller, A Cappella Books!

All sales are final. Tickets and books are non-refundable.