Ilan Gordon seemed calm, cool and collected the day before he changed his life. Or, at least, his location.
The 22-year-old, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh this spring with a degree in exercise science, headed to Israel on the Nefesh B’Nefesh group aliyah charter flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Aug. 19, along with 225 other North Americans.
He is scheduled to be in Tel Aviv until Sept. 4, when he will officially join the Garin Tzabar preparation program for the Israel Defense Forces. Established in 1991, the program is for lone soldiers serving in the Israeli military—those whose immediate family members do not live in the Jewish state.
“It seems surreal,” said Gordon. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment most of my life. Now, I’m looking forward to saying I made aliyah, instead of I am going to make aliyah.”
It seems the natural next move for Gordon, who has been to Israel five times since starting college in the fall of 2021—and who has been tested in more ways than one.
A year ago, during the first week of his senior year, while walking to a campus Shabbat dinner, he and a friend were struck from behind with a glass bottle by a man wearing a keffiyeh. He took a blow to the side of his face, and the shattered bottle cut his friend.
An altercation ensued, after which he was treated that night at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for a concussion that lasted several weeks. Months later, he underwent a procedure to ameliorate his injury.
The assailant, Jarrett Buba, 52 at the time, was subsequently charged with two counts of aggravated assault and other violations, and is pending trial.
In retrospect, Gordon said he felt that “something was going to happen” during his time at Pitt.
“I had been doing a lot of work to prevent, to counter antisemitism,” he said. Active with both Hillel and Chabad on campus, he observed “a huge change” after the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Before then, Gordon, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and attended day school from kindergarten through 12th grade, said, “I think Pitt was one of the most apolitical schools out there. It became so polarized, so quickly.”
He was wearing a kippah the night of the Aug. 30 attack and decidedly wore one more often around campus afterwards. He also said that he made concerted efforts to try to talk to other students but was often stymied by anti-Israel sentiment that seemed like “pop culture” to him.
“Many students wanted to stay in their bubble,” said Gordon, referring to both sides of the equation. He hinted at the irony behind the idea of privilege—a word often accorded the Jews—during the height of the protest and tent encampment movements in the spring of 2024, noting that some students had “no other worries in their lives” than to rally against Israel, and that students could take the time to sit in encampments and “not worry about finals.”
Those attracted to protests seemed either bored or lonely, he said, while Jewish students for the most part tried to stay out of the fray. He did notice a rise in Shabbat dinner attendance, with many of those who were already active on behalf of Israel doubling down on their advocacy.
‘Not just a puppet’ in politics
As for Gordon, his time at school reads like a travel log: He went on Birthright Israel with Chabad in his freshman year; took part in the Birthright Israel Onward program after his sophomore year; volunteered in Israel during winter break in December 2023, as part of the new Birthright volunteer program established post-Oct. 7; staffed a Birthright summer trip after his junior year; and traveled there last November for a family wedding.
That’s in addition to an eighth-grade middle-school trip and three months spent at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program as an 11th grader with his class, when he had a glimpse of the IDF during a days-long stint with the Gadna teen training program.
Looking back, he said he is glad that the assault, which went viral at the time, happened to him and not someone else. (He made it a point to say that wasn’t the only instance of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activity he experienced during his college years). He also felt it raised some awareness at the time.
Looking forward, as he sat outside on a damp and cloudy summer day, wearing a Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl 52 T-shirt and contemplating his imminent move, he said that “when you tell someone you are going to Israel, you immediately get a look, a reaction. I always felt a strong connection to Israel. And I feel that Israelis, they are not just a puppet you can use in your politics. They are human—funny and warm.”
As he prepared to leave his family, including two older brothers, for now, he offered words that were wise beyond his years: “Be grateful for the upbringing you had and the values your parents gave you, because there is so much hate out there. The side that is louder—the side that makes all the noise—isn’t the majority. It isn’t what it’s all about.”
