With antisemitism on the rise, a Jewish organization at Harvard is making sure its members can defend themselves … bringing one of the most dangerous people in the world to teach self-defense, UFC fighter Natan Levy.
32-year-old Levy, an 8-2 pro-MMA fighter, recently taught students at Harvard Chabad — a Jewish student organization at the Ivy League School — amid fears the Jewish students could be in physical danger.
Natan taught a wide range of techniques … from strikes (jabs, crosses, kicks, etc.) to wrist grabs and more over the course of an hour-long class.
Levy talked to The Crimson, Harvard’s newspaper, and said the goal was to “teach people to stand strong, to show confidence, to be proud of who they are, to never be ashamed of who they are and where they came from.”
The president and Rabbi of Harvard Chabad, Hirschy Zarchi, said the training was necessary.
“There’s a perception that Jews are physically weak,” Zarchi said. “We need strong Jews.”
Levy, an Israeli fighter, rose to popularity last year when video of him sparring with an antisemitic white supremacist went viral, showing Natan dishing out an embarrassing beat down.
For the Jewish community of Harvard, many feel the classes are necessary … as the school has seen a rise in hate towards the community in the wake of the October 7 attacks in Israel.
The class is part of a free six-part course known as StandStrong … founded in 2019 as a response to a spike in antisemitism in the U.S.
