Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of former Israeli hostage, to join Columbia University faculty
Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui was captive in Gaza for nearly 500 days, will join university’s School of International and Public Affairs
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NEW YORK — Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of former Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, will join the faculty at Columbia University, the school announced on Monday.
Terrorists abducted Sagui Dekel-Chen from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. He was released by Hamas during a ceasefire in February 2025 after 498 days in captivity.
His father was a vocal advocate for his release and attended rallies for the hostages in New York City.
He is also a professor in the Jewish history department at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and will now take a position at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, the school announced.
The appointment is especially notable because, after the start of the war in Gaza, Columbia became the epicenter of the anti-Israel campus protest movement in the US. The campus has been relatively quiet in recent months.
A report by the university’s antisemitism task force released last month faulted Columbia for the widespread anti-Zionism, and support for anti-Israel activism, among the faculty.
Welcome to SIPA, Jonathan Dekel-Chen!
Dekel-Chen is the Rabbi Edward Sandrow Chair in Soviet and East European Jewry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He brings deep expertise in modern Jewish history, nonstate diplomacy, transnational philanthropy and advocacy, agrarian… pic.twitter.com/UNOqMwdQBz
— Columbia | SIPA (@ColumbiaSIPA) January 26, 2026
The elder Dekel-Chen will teach three courses — on Jewish history in Eastern Europe, on Russia’s engagement with the Middle East, and on modern Israeli history, the announcement said.
Jewish members of the Columbia community applauded the announcement.
“Many of us marched to support him until his son Sagui was returned from Gaza after 498 days. We are delighted to now have him as a colleague,” Columbia Faculty and Staff Supporting Israel says in a statement.
Dekel-Chen’s research is focused on Russian studies and Jewish history who has previously served as a visiting professor and research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University and Columbia’s Harriman Institute, an academic center focused on Russia.
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