Pro-Palestinian Stanford University Student Becomes Advocate for Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel – Taryn Thomas is an African-American student at Stanford University in California. Before October 7th, 2023, she described herself as a "leftist."

She told CBN News, 'I started my initial pro-Palestine advocacy way back in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests. I would see Palestinian flags at our protests, and I was very curious. I'm 16 years old, and I would ask our leaders like, ‘Why?’” Thomas recalled.

“And they would say, ‘Our liberation is bound to theirs. No one is free until Palestine is free,’” Thomas related. “So, it felt like you needed to be a part of and support as a part of intersectionality.”

When the October 7th Hamas massacre and kidnappings happened, her social media was so full of Palestinian flags, “I genuinely had thought that Palestine had gotten attacked by how much support I was seeing.”

However, when things turned violent on her Stanford University campus, Thomas began to ask questions.  Eventually, she visited an exhibit describing what happened on October 7th at the Nova Music Festival, where 378 people were murdered and 44 others taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.

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Recently, Thomas came to Israel for the third time, in collaboration with IsraelAmbassadors.com.

"At a time when so many students are being asked to defend Israel and the Jewish people on campus, it is essential that they first understand who they are, where they come from, and the history that shaped them,” said Michael Eglash, co-founder of the group.

“By experiencing these places for themselves and engaging and understanding Israel's ancient story, the students will return to campus with greater confidence and understanding of their own identity, as well as the tools needed to respond to misinformation, challenge anti-Israel bias, and engage their peers in informed and meaningful conversations,” Eglash added.

To find out more about Thomas’ journey, listen to the interview below, where we ask her more about her background and her journey toward becoming an Israel advocate.