Rudy Rochman

Rochman was born in Paris, France, but moved to Israel at age 3.[1] His maternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews from North Africa and his paternal grandparents were Ashkenazic Jews.[2] Two years later his family moved to the United States.[1] In 2000 at age 7, Rochman experienced anti-Semitism after being physically removed from a bus in London, England for being Jewish; he has described this experience as the origin for his will to defend Jewish people.[1][2]

Rochman enlisted in the Israeli Defense Force in the elite Paratroopers Brigade at age 17. Following his service, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles, but later transferred to Columbia University after seeing it was named the most anti-Semitic university in North America.[1] At Columbia, Rochman founded the school's chapter for Jewish-Israeli rights.[3]

Rochman is a noted speaker and writer on Jewish rights. He frequently speaks on college campuses and to organizations that are pro-Israel. Rochman's argument about the state of Israel's right to exist centers around the idea that Jews are indigenous to the land. He views Zionism as a movement of decolonization. Rochman has also criticized intersectionality because of how it has been used to demonize Israel. He has notably stated that Judaism is not a religion, but rather an ethnic group that is indigenous to the land of Israel. Rochman is a critic of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) movement. He believes that the movement's agenda is rooted in anti-semitism and that BDS has contributed to the rise in anti-semitic incidents on college campuses.[4][5][6][7]

Rochman is also known for his work as a Jewish & Israel rights activist on social media. He has thousands of followers and subscribers on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Rochman currently serves on the board of The Israel Innovation Fund, which is a philanthropic fund. In 2018, Rochman received the 36 Under 36 award for being one of the most influential Jews in the world. Currently, In 2020 Rochman ran in the World Zionist Congress elections as part of the Vision slate.[8]

Rochman is trilingual. He is fluent in English, Hebrew and French.