Students with leftist views at UCLA are challenging the university’s choice to host an Israeli former hostage, describing his talk as a ‘damaging portrayal of ongoing conflict.’

Omer Shem Tov, who was abducted by Hamas during the events of October 7, has been invited to address the esteemed California campus.

Shem Tov was one of the many attendees at the Nova Music Festival in 2023 and endured 505 days in captivity within tunnels beneath Gaza before gaining his freedom.

However, after the announcement of the event, UCLA’s undergraduate student government issued a strong letter criticizing the decision to host him on campus.

The student body accused the university of displaying ‘a concerning neglect for Palestinian lives’ by facilitating Tov’s appearance.

They asserted that allowing a speech from the former Israeli captive contributes to an atmosphere where Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students feel increasingly marginalized, voiceless, and endangered.

The letter, written by the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) and shared on X by IsraelWarRoom, was addressed to Hillel UCLA, the co-sponsor UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and other affiliated campus stakeholders. 

‘While 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,’ the students wrote. 

Students slammed UCLA’s decision to host former Israeli hostage, 23-year-old Omer Shem Tov, to speak on campus for a co-sponsored event last week

Tov was invited to speak at a campus event called 505 Days in Captivity, which was described as his ‘testimony of resilience’ at the hands of Hamas

UCLA’s undergraduate student government condemned the school’s decision in a letter, accusing the event of ‘reflecting a troubling disregard for Palestinian life’ (pictured: student government president, Diego Bollo)

‘Israel is currently continuing to carry out what has been widely identified by human rights advocates as a genocide in Gaza, while also expanding its illegal military campaign into Lebanon,’ they added.

‘In this context, elevating a single narrative, absent of critical political and humanitarian framing, serves to legitimize and normalize these ongoing atrocities.’ 

The student government called on the university to reconsider its involvement in sponsoring future programming that ‘advances incomplete and harmful representations of ongoing violence.’

‘Universities must not be complicit in the production or amplification of one-sided narratives that erase systems of oppression and occupation,’ they wrote.

‘USAC has, and continues to stand in unwavering solidarity with Palestinian students and all those impacted by state violence and displacement.’ 

Meanwhile, Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, UCLA Hillel’s director emeritus, called the statement ‘completely ridiculous,’ according to Forward News. 

‘You can’t present the narrative of your experience without it being called “one sided,”‘ Seidler-Feller told the outlet.

‘There has to be a counter-story to persecution,’ he added. ‘Is there a counter-story to killing people?’

Tov attended the Music Festival in 2023 when Hamas launched its attack. He was taken hostage and spent over a year held in tunnels under Gaza before his release

Students called on UCLA to reconsider its involvement in sponsoring future programming that ‘advances incomplete and harmful representations of ongoing violence’

Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, UCLA Hillel’s director emeritus, called the letter ‘completely ridiculous’

UCLA Hillel Executive Director Daniel Gold also weighed in on the USAC letter, calling it ‘antisemitic.’

‘Hillel at UCLA and Students Supporting Israel UCLA would like to apologize… for absolutely nothing,’ Gold wrote in a statement, according to the outlet.

‘Members of UCLA student government have once again shown they are anti-dialogue, anti-learning, anti-truth, anti-student and antisemitic,’ he added.

In February 2025, Tov was seen kissing a Hamas fighter on the head as he and two other hostages were handed over during a highly emotional release ceremony, hours after two others had been transferred to Israeli officials. 

Cheers were heard in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square as thousands watched a livestream of the ceremony.

Tov’s father, Malki Shem Tov, told Israeli broadcasters that the family’s mission of getting him home was finally complete ‘after 505 days of worry, fear and longing.’ 

His grandmother, Sara, told Channel 12 that it wasn’t out of character to be so jovial: ‘That’s Omer. He gets on with everyone. Even Hamas… They love him even there.’

UCLA Hillel Executive Director Daniel Gold said the letter showed that the student organization is ‘anti-dialogue, anti-learning, anti-truth, anti-student and antisemitic’

In February 2025, Tov was seen kissing a Hamas fighter on the head as he and two other hostages were handed over during a highly emotional release ceremony

Tov has traveled internationally to speak at public events since his release, sometimes alongside political leaders

Since his release, Tov has traveled internationally to speak at public events, sharing his story of ‘survival and resilience,’ sometimes alongside political leaders. 

Last month, he described his capture by Hamas and his time in captivity at an event hosted by Chabad at Stanford’s L’Chayim Club, according to The Stanford Daily.

He opened and closed his speech with the very same line: ‘I’m Omer Shem Tov and I’m a free man.’ 

‘I wake up in the morning and I’m so so grateful for life. You have no idea. You have no idea what it’s like to wake up and all of a sudden, it’s not complete darkness, all of a sudden, there is light,’ Tov told the crowd.

In graphic detail, he recounted some of his most traumatic experiences, including starvation and physical and psychological abuse.

At the end of his talk, Tov also briefly mentioned recent violence in the Middle East, thanking both Israeli and American soldiers, according to the outlet. 

‘A big, big thank you to the IDF soldiers, and to the American soldiers who are now fighting together, and I wish them to succeed and luck,’ he said.

College campuses across the nation became centers of pro-Palestinian activism following the October 7 attack, and UCLA – known for its active student body and large Jewish population – was no exception. 

Tov has described his capture by Hamas, his time in captivity and his anticipated release at frequent public events

In April 2024, violent clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Israel protesters at UCLA in Los Angeles

There were scenes of mayhem with ‘horrific acts of violence’ as activists brawled openly on school grounds before police intervened 

In April 2024, violent clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Israel protesters at UCLA in Los Angeles, just hours after police in New York cleared a Gaza encampment at Columbia University. 

There were scenes of mayhem with ‘horrific acts of violence’ as activists brawled openly on school grounds deep into the night with fireworks hurled into crowds and objects thrown before police intervened. 

Protesters and counter-protesters were seen clashing with sticks and tearing down metal barricades, TV footage showed. 

Others were seen launching fireworks or hurling objects at each other in the dark, lit up with laser pointers and bright flashlights.

In May 2024, Republicans launched a probe into the federal response to ‘pro-Hamas’ college protests, alleging a failure to prevent threats and violence against Jewish students. 

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., revealed an investigation into why federal authorities and the universities have failed to protect these students despite receiving over $8 million in 2023 in taxpayer-funded government grants to do so.