Adela Cojab

Cojab was born in Mexico City, Mexico. In 2001, her family moved to Deal, New Jersey, where she attended Hillel Yeshiva. Her family immigrated from Syria and Lebanon to Mexico City, where there is a large Sephardic Jewish community. Cojab's immediate family left Mexico due to the rise in organized crime of 1998–2002.[3][4][1]

Cojab attended New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she built a concentration in Sephardic Diaspora Structures. At NYU, she served as President of Realize Israel, an internationally recognized Israel advocacy group, Senator for Jewish and International Students on NYU's University Senate, and Vice President of Alpha Epsilon Phi. She was also the official representative for Jewish Students at the United Nations' ECOSOC Youth forum.[1][2]

Cojab is a noted speaker on Jewish rights and equality under the law. She frequently speaks at conferences and college campuses about anti-Semitism, Zionism, and human rights. Cojab believes that all students are entitled to learn in a harassment-free environment, and works to advocate on their behalf. She has also authored and contributed to a number of published pieces about Judaism, activism, and anti-Semitism.[5][6]

Cojab's activism began with her work as a student at NYU, where she presided over Realize Israel during a string of controversial occurrences. In March 2018, the group was boycotted by 53 student organizations at New York University as part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.[7] In April of the same year, the group's Israel celebration titled Rave in the Park was disrupted by anti-Israel activists, two of whom were arrested for assault and reckless endangerment.[8] Following NYU's decision to honor the group associated with the arrests, Cojab filed a Title VI complaint with the Department of Education against NYU for failing to protect Jewish students from harassment. The complaint gained the attention of the media, sparking similar legal complaints from Jewish students in universities nationwide.[9][10]

In December 2019, Cojab was invited by President Donald J. Trump to speak about her legal complaint at the Israel American Committee's National Summit. Three days after the summit, President Trump addressed her concerns and signed an executive order officially recognizing Judaism as a protected class under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.[11][12]

Cojab has won many awards for her activism, including her designation as one of the most influential Jews of the world.[13]

Cojab is fluent in four languages: Spanish, English, Hebrew, and Portuguese.[5][13]