This year, Harvard University President Alan Garber became a household name, though for reasons I doubt he ever wanted. As national attention turned toward the tumult sparked by anti-Israel encampments on campuses across the country, Harvard found itself at the center of the conversation. Everyone—from journalists to alumni to anxious parents—was watching to understand how the university would navigate the charged questions of antisemitism, campus safety, and institutional responsibility.

Garber stepped fully into this public spotlight following the resignation of Claudine Gay, whose congressional testimony about antisemitism drew intense criticism. Suddenly, Garber wasn’t just the interim leader trying to steady the ship—he became the president tasked with confronting a campus crisis, and he did so as a Jewish leader whose own identity made the moment even more complex.

I keep thinking about the particular weight of that role. It’s one thing to analyze antisemitism as an academic issue or a policy challenge; it’s another to do it while carrying your own Jewishness into the room, especially when that identity becomes part of the national story. And yet, from the beginning, Garber has spoken with a clarity and honesty that, for me, often prompted an instinctive “amen.”

In March 2025, in a message to the Harvard community titled “Our Resolve,” Garber wrote plainly: “It is present on our campus. I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president, and I know how damaging it can be to a student who has come to learn and make friends at a college or university.”

The simplicity of that admission—naming what so many students had been feeling—changed the tone. It was validating. It gave language to the experiences of Jewish and Israeli students who, for months, had been saying they felt unseen, unheard, or dismissed.

Then, in April 2025, Garber offered a deeper structural response. In an update on presidential task forces, he explained: “I established a pair of presidential task forces last year: one to address antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, another to address anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias. … I asked them to recommend approaches and actions that would help the University meet its obligation to create a community in which every one of us can thrive.”

To me, this is Jewish leadership—not only naming the problem, but rooting action in fairness, community well-being, and integrity. Garber’s approach recognizes the particular pain of Jewish students while also acknowledging that Harvard’s responsibility extends to every member of its community. That balance—honest, principled, and deeply human—is what has made his voice so resonant during such a fractured time.

That’s why I’m excited for Garber and Shalom Hartman Institute President Yehuda Kurtzer to have a once-in-a-lifetime conversation at The Vilna. In a live recording of the “Identity/Crisis“ podcast, they’ll explore the layers, pressures, and personal dimensions of this extraordinary moment in Jewish leadership and campus life. 

Look for the conversation in the “Identity/Crisis” podcast feed later this month.

This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content are presented solely by the author, and JewishBoston assumes no responsibility for them. Want to add your voice to the conversation? Publish your own post here. MORE