To the Editors of the Yale Daily News:

“We value freedom of expression precisely because it provides a forum for the new, the provocative, the disturbing, and the unorthodox.” 

— Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression at Yale (1974)

I look forward to hosting Israel’s democratically elected Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, in the spirit of open discourse and out of a deep love for the State and People of Israel. Hosting Minister Ben-Gvir is not an act of endorsement. It is a recognition that hard questions must be asked directly — and that moral clarity requires moral confrontation.

Shabtai remains one of the only institutions at Yale, and perhaps in the Ivy League more broadly, where individuals from across the political and religious spectra come together to engage — intellectually, courageously, and respectfully. This commitment to principled pluralism, increasingly absent across academia, is Shabtai’s strength.

Unlike other forums, Shabtai does not seek to legitimize or delegitimize world leaders. Instead, it provides a space where ideas are interrogated with rigor, policies are challenged with integrity, and civil discourse is preserved even under strain.

As the State of Israel endures an existential war against a genocidal enemy; as 59 hostages remain in the captivity of radical Islamists for over 560 days; and as Jews worldwide — including on American campuses — face escalating calls for our destruction, I believe now is not the time to retreat from complexity. It is the time to face it.

This gathering is an opportunity to do just that.

Those prepared to engage with seriousness, moral clarity, and intellectual honesty are welcome to join me at the table.

The opinions expressed here are my own, not necessarily those of the Shabtai Society.

MITCHELL DUBIN is a senior in Benjamin Franklin College studying Economics and a member of the Shabtai Society. He can be reached at mitchell.dubin@yale.edu.