Rudy Rochman

Rochman was born in Paris, France, but moved to Israel at age 3.[3] His maternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews from North Africa and his paternal grandparents were Ashkenazic Jews.[4] Two years later his family moved to the United States.[3] 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.[3][4]

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.[3]

Rochman is a noted speaker and writer on Jewish rights.[5] He frequently speaks on college campuses and to organizations that are pro-Israel. 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.

During his studies at Columbia University, Rochman founded the school's chapter for Students Supporting Israel and served as the president.[6] In 2018, Rochman received the 36 Under 36 award as a recognition for his influence as a young leader.[7] In 2020 Rochman ran in the World Zionist Congress elections as part of the Vision slate.[8] Rochman currently serves on the board of The Israel Innovation Fund, which is a philanthropic fund, and as a leader of the HaBayit organization, which tries to bring unity between Israelis and Palestinians.[9]

Rochman is a Zionist. His argument about the state of Israel's right to exist is not based on religion[10] but centers around the point of view that Jews are a people that are indigenous and as a group rooted to its land[11][10] and that they have always wanted to return there since their expulsion by the Roman Empire,[10] him narrating that the modern Jewish people are descendants of the ancient Israelites who inhabited the land of the modern Israel-Palestine, calling it Judea and therefore calling themselves Jews, before a majority of them were expelled by the Roman empire which conquered the land, causing most Jews to live in diaspora.[11][10] He views Zionism as a movement of decolonization and believes that self-determination must involve being able to control the land of Israel, protect it and self-identify with it.[10]

Rochman has notably stated that, although "Jewish people's connection to a higher power and Torah is an essential part of their identity", Judaism is not a religion and refers to it as "a portable suitcase" that carries different elements of the Jewish identity, such as culture, traditions, way of life and "a connection to a higher power". He explains that religion is considered a belief system in a deity or god that can spread across borders and peoplehoods, whereas if a Jew rejects the notion of God and Torah or considers themselves atheist or agnostic, they are still part of the Jewish people.[11]

Rochman opposes the two-state solution as the solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In his opinion it doesn't fulfill the aspirations of either Jews nor Palestinians.[12] To him, thinking that the groups can't co-exist and are exclusive to each other only maintains the conflict; Rochman believes that neither of the populations can be "liberated" "without liberation for the other" and both groups should build together "a just civilization as one that works for all".[13]

Rochman is also against the United States foreign aid to Israel. He views it as making Israel dependent of US military supply and holds Israel from being militarily self-sustaining, which he sees as too unstable preparation for the future.[12]

Rochman has criticized the way intersectionality has been misused as a tactic by Israel criticizing movements like SJP to "pursue its agenda of demonizing Israel" and "build alliances" with minority groups such as the LGBT community by equating their unattached experienced injustices to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[14][15] He is also a critic of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS).[16] 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.[17][8][18]

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

In a 2017 interview, Rochman stated he is a dual citizen of Israel and France and has an American Green card.[4]

• Vision for Israel

Vision for Israel, World Zionist Congress