Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of former Israeli-American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, is slated to join the faculty at Columbia University as a visiting professor at the School of International and Public Affairs in July.
Dekel-Chen, 62, currently holds the Rabbi Edward Sandrow Chair in Soviet and East European Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, focusing on contemporary Jewish history. He said that at Columbia, he hopes to give a “holistic perspective” to modern conflicts.
He plans to teach three new graduate-level courses. One will examine Jewish historical legacies in Eastern Europe; a second will explore Russia’s engagement in the Middle East since 1774; and the third will present modern Israeli history from multiple perspectives.
“Our students will benefit enormously from his scholarly insights and unique perspective,” said Keren Yarhi-Milo, dean of the international school at Columbia.
Columbia Faculty and Staff Supporting Israel welcomed the appointment. “Many of us marched to support him until his son Sagui was returned from Gaza after 498 days. We are delighted to now have him as a colleague,” the group said.
The appointment comes amid ongoing controversy at the university on Manhattan’s Upper West Side over anti-Israel activism and reported incidents of antisemitism on campus since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“Too many academic spaces are overrun in anti-Israel and antisemitic hatred,” said the Maccabee Task Force, a nonprofit organization. “Dekel-Chen’s hiring brings a small measure of balance to that slanted environment.”
