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Now she’s using her platform to urge young Jews to connect to their Jewish pride.
Immediately after the massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, students at Yale began protesting the Jewish state, yelling, “When people are occupied, resistance is justified!” Signs went up that said, “Let’s celebrate the resistance’s success!” according to Jewish student Sahar Tartak, Yale ‘26.
The horror didn’t stop there. After months of anti-Israel protests at the university, Sahar, a history major, editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press and student leader with Chabad, was documenting the encampments with her fellow Jewish students in the spring of 2024. Suddenly, demonstration organizers and participants walled off her and her friend. They yelled at Sahar and her friend, waved flashlights in their faces, and shoved them. And then, a protestor with a Palestinian flag waved it in her face and stabbed her with it in her left eye, as she wrote in The Free Press.
“I felt pressure where the stick of the flag had hit my left eye and had a headache last night and much of today,” Sahar wrote in her article. “I’m okay now, though. But last night, sitting in the hospital, I couldn’t help but think of my mother, Shahnaz, who grew up in Iran. Her neighbors threw rocks at her for being a Jew. She has a scar on her eyelid to this day.”
Sahar has been an outspoken student activist since the aftermath of October 7 and the personal attack she experienced. She has not only written for The Free Press, but also the Wall Street Journal, Washington Free Beacon, and the Yale Daily News. She testified before Congress and is supporting Jewish students at Yale by running challah bakes and cooking Shabbat meals.
Now, she is running on the Aish Ha’Am slate for the World Zionist Congress to further her activism. If she becomes a delegate, she wants to focus on the college campus problem, which she believes is indicative of a bigger issue in the United States.
“The cultural wave on our college campuses is extremely important when it comes to our future,” she said. The World Zionist Organization Congress should be doing what they can to make America a more truly democratic place that really lives up to its own values. That starts for me, at least, on a college campus. It’s upstream of a lot of American culture and practices.”
Sahar is honored to run on the Aish Ha’Am slate, saying it’s diverse and “brings together Jews with one shared mission in fighting for the survival of the Jewish people and Abrahamic, monotheistic values that are being threatened in this world.”
She said that if she is elected as a delegate, she hopes to, “achieve meaningful change on the ground. I really hope the World Zionist Organization Congress can provide resources and support to college students who are making changes right now.”
While it was apparent that October 7 ignited Jewish pride in many Jews, it had the opposite effect on others. Sahar has seen that some of her fellow Jews have disconnected from their identities.
“Some [young Jews] have looked at what’s going on the past year and a half and said to themselves, ‘Hey, maybe it’s not worth being Jewish. Maybe there is something wrong with being Jewish. Others say the Jewish people aren’t right. Maybe I should believe them and join their cult,’” she said.
Instead of turning these Jews away, Sahar wants to bring them closer.
“Jews are such precious souls and people, and it’s our job to pull them back into our Jewish family, invite them to Shabbat dinners, pull them back into our community, and make sure they have a meaningful relationship with Judaism and with Hashem.”
No matter where they are on their Jewish journeys, Sahar has a message for Jews her age: to embrace who they are and be proud. How can they do that? By practicing Shabbat.
“Find one way to keep Shabbat every week, whether that’s attending Shabbat dinner or putting your phone away, even for an hour,” she said. “Shabbat is the spiritual and physical recharging of the Jewish people that has kept us alive for generations. Especially for young Jews, it’s a crazy and chaotic time in this world. Every Jew needs to experience that peace once a week.”
She continued, “Do what you can. It’s not all or nothing.”
Go to www.aish.com/vote/aishcom to vote. You can also find an opportunity on the website to become an ambassador, actively joining in our efforts.
The Jewish People need Aish’s voice. And Aish needs YOUR voice! Together we can accomplish what might seem impossible.
We are so proud of you Sahar ! A Rising courageous leader
Rabbi Zalman
Johannes Bakkar, consider what Ms. Tartak is discussing in this article. She's not talking about who's right or who's wrong about Gaza. She's not quoted, for example, as blaming the Gazans for having voted in Hamas or for Hamas using funds to build a military salient against Israel, or for placing its military installations inside and underneath schools, hospitals, and other civilian structures. And she's not expressing regret at the opportunities that the Gazans rejected after 2005: building a vibrant economy, with a world-class education system that could be a shining example for Arabs and Muslims worldwide.
She's talking about Jews recognizing what a huge gift a Jewish heritage is, and she is talking about articulating Jewish values clearly and proudly.
Erev tov, Sahar. Thanks for that info about Chabad at Yale. That they have provided a safe place for you is dispositive. I had noted Chabad had put down roots at Yale, and I have been involved in two local Chabad houses, in New Jersey and Delaware, since my wife and I moved back north several years ago.
I hope that Uri at Slivka and the rabbis at Chabad are in communication and collaboration with one another. Onward and upward, Chabad and Slivka, and Yale!!
Kol hakavod! Y’sharkochaych to this wonderful young woman for her courage. It seems like these so-called “elite” schools have, and continue to, fail miserably living up to their reputations as venues for academic excellence. Character and values aren't tested with letter grades but by living a life of menshlakeit as exhibited by Sahar.
Thank you for this great article.
Beautiful girl with a loving message to us, her family that we all need to experience the peace of Shabbat once a week. Bless you Shar, continue your enlightenment.
Could you expand on the actual details a bit more? I felt it was a big vague. Of course it is great if a young person is proud of their Jewish heritage. Of course it is fine to speak out publically about that. But you were vague on what she believes about the situation in Israel today. I am pretty sure that Israeli voters do not all support every action undertaken by a Prime Minister in a democracy. That is, there have been many debates and heated discussions. Has she commented on those discussions and debates? Yale University is not one homogenious place where everyone agrees on everything. It was founded when some Protestants were not happy with what was happening to Puritanism at Harvard. Both Harvard and Yale have evolved a great deal & discussed their early funding.
Did the police arrest the person committing the assault, was he prosecuted, and did he get a prison sentence? If not, why not?
As an older Yalie, class of 1969, I acknowledge what you feel, Zvi. But please be aware that Jewish life at Yale is thriving because of the energetic spiritual leadership of the staff at the Slivka Center for Jewish Life at Yale and how they have served as a fortress of pride and positive action for Jews at Yale. In the midst of the pro-Palestinian and antisemitic demonstrations last spring, Jewish students and professors set up tables to invite protesters to hear about the Gaza War from another perspective. The tables were titled "Let's Talk About Israel," and they were the first mission in a campaign to engage with protesters and begin dialogue. The first step in a dialogue: listen. The Jewish students and professors were leading by example. Baruch hashem!
Hey Jonathan, Sahar here! I wanted to share that my home on campus after October 7 has been Chabad at Yale. They supported me personally when I went through all of this and brought a whole slate of pro-Israel professors to give talks regularly over the course of the past year. Chabad was also the single Jewish org at Yale to fight a recent BDS referendum! Thought I'd share some campus context, and feel free to be in touch if you want to learn more about what Chabad does for Jewish Yalies.
I'd love to hear more about Yale Chabad.. For the past year I've been going to Wallingford Chabad now and then. , I'm in Cheshire.. Keep up the good work
Really sad what Yale has turned into. How did Yale react when Shar was actually assaulted? Probably with a shrug...
I love reading about young proud Jews like Sahar.