{"id":209147,"date":"2026-04-25T02:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T02:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/209147\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T02:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T02:15:11","slug":"uc-regent-jay-sures-slams-antisemitic-ucla-student-govt-for-attack-on-hamas-hostage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/209147\/","title":{"rendered":"UC Regent Jay Sures slams ‘antisemitic’ UCLA student govt for attack on Hamas hostage"},"content":{"rendered":"

A prominent Hollywood Jewish leader has slammed a group of \u201clunatic\u201d UCLA students after their antisemitic condemnation of an on-campus appearance from a Hamas hostage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UC Regent Jay Sures, the vice chairman of United Talent Agency, issued a scathing letter Friday saying he was \u201cdisgusted\u201d and appalled\u201d by members of UCLA\u2019s Undergraduate Students Association Council\u00a0who said a visit from Omer Shem Tov<\/a> \u2014 a 23-year-old who survived 505 days in Hamas captivity \u2014 \u201cobscured the broader reality of ongoing state violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sures\u2019 scathing letter called out the hypocrisy of a note put out by USAC condemning a visit from Omer Shem Tov. Kelly Taub\/BFA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many University leaders, I am disgusted and appalled by the Council\u2019s recent statement condemning an on-campus event featuring former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov<\/a>,\u201d Sures started his letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than hearing the perspective of a 23 year old peer abducted by terrorists at a music festival and held hostage by Hamas for 505 days, those of you who voted for the letter of condemnation chose not to listen at all,\u201d Sures, who is Jewish, wrote. <\/p>\n

Sures called the USAC\u2019s condemnation of Shem Tov \u201cshortsighted, antisemitic or both,\u201d in an interview with Jewish Insider<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cWhy would anybody send out a letter condemning a hostage who is a student who was held in captivity for over 500 days? You have to be a complete lunatic to sign on to that letter,\u201d\u00a0he continued.<\/p>\n

UCLA campus event featuring freed Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov. Students Supporting Israel at UCLA<\/p>\n

The event drew condemnation from a UCLA student government group. Students Supporting Israel at UCLA<\/p>\n

In his written response, Sures went on to quote a direct section of the letter from USAC<\/a> condemning Tov\u2019s appearance on campus, pointing out the hypocrisy. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we affirm the humanity of all people impacted by violence, we reject the selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence,\u201d USAC\u2019s letter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s unpack this,\u201d Sures wrote.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cOmer Shem Tov is not a representative of the Israeli government. In fact, he is a young student, like many of you, whose life took a horrific turn when he and his friends were kidnapped at a music festival and driven into Gaza, where he was held hostage and tortured for months underground without contact to the outside world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Sures, who was appointed to the Board of Regents in 2019, continued to point to the ridiculousness of USAC\u2019s messaging.<\/p>\n

Community members packed an auditorium at UCLA to hear Shem Tov speak. Students Supporting Israel at UCLA<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile your letter expresses concern over \u2018a troubling disregard for Palestinian life,\u2019 it says nothing about the Israeli lives lost on Oct. 7th, including the shooting of many of Omer\u2019s close friends. Nor does your letter mention the countless rapes and massacres carried out by Hamas on that day. It is as if none of that happened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Omer Shem Tov spoke at UCLA on April 14 for Holocaust Remembrance Day in an event organized by UCLA Hillel.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the appearance, the letter from USAC was published whining that only a \u201csingle narrative was elevated\u201d during Shem Tov\u2019s appearance.<\/p>\n

Shem Tov was held hostage for 505 days. Getty Images<\/p>\n

UCLA defended Shem Tov\u2019s appearance. \u201cThe event\u2019s message was one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity \u2014\u00a0a message we support,\u201d a statement said. \u201cThe condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

USAC President Diego Bollo told The Post he was not present at a meeting to decide to publish a letter condemning Shem Tov\u2019s appearance. He said the councilmember who introduced the letter did so on a day when another councilmember who had promoted Shem Tov\u2019s appearance was not present to share her perspective and knowledge of the event.<\/p>\n

Bollo also said the decision to publish the letter was passed by a \u201cbare majority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shem Tov has been touring the country to share his story. Students Supporting Israel at UCLA<\/p>\n

\u201cI acknowledge that this reflects a lapse in oversight on my part as President, and I take responsibility for that institutional shortcoming. To address this issue, I am initiating a review immediately of our internal processes for drafting and releasing public statements,\u201d Bollo told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cI deeply value free speech and free expression on our campus. I have worked throughout my term to
ensure that the university supports all student groups in hosting speakers and a wide range of
programming. Free speech is a principle I do not compromise on \u2014 regardless of the nature or subject of
any given event,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

As for Sures, he concluded his letter with a lesson for the USAC members who voted to publish the antisemitic note.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe student leaders on your council who opposed this event would have benefited from what Omer Shev Tov had to say. All they had to do is listen. Instead, they have hardened their hearts and closed their minds,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

UCLA has been under increased<\/a> scrutiny following months of protests<\/a> and encampments over Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A prominent Hollywood Jewish leader has slammed a group of \u201clunatic\u201d UCLA students after their antisemitic condemnation of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2136,59,57,9,11,10,39833,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-209147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-hamas","10":"tag-metro","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-ucla","15":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}