Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak spoke at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, this week, telling students and faculty that the principles of the Bible are essential to liberty — and more relevant than ever in the wake of the explosion of antisemitism on college campuses around the country.
Pollak visited Hillsdale to launch the journalism scholarship that he and his wife, economist Julia Pollak, recently endowed to honor Julia’s mother, Rhoda Kadalie, a leading anti-apartheid feminist who became a fierce critic of the post-apartheid government — and a strident supporter of President Donald Trump.
“My wife, Julia, and I wanted to create a legacy for Rhoda, who passed away just two and a half years ago that would reflect her values, which were a fierce commitment to the truth, an intolerance of any form of bigotry, and deep love of her Christian faith,” Pollak told Hillsdale students.
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Notably, both Pollak and his wife are Harvard graduates, but in the wake of their alma mater being named the worst school for free speech in the nation, as well as unfettered antisemitic activities transpiring on campus, the pair chose to endow their scholarship at Hillsdale instead.
“We have both become increasingly disturbed by Harvard’s shift toward the radical left, which has caused severe damage to student life and academic discourse,” Pollak said. “The radical, anti-Israel, and frankly, antisemitic protests that exploded at Harvard since October 7 were a long time coming.”
As Breitbart News reported, Harvard University ranks last in the nation among colleges and universities for free speech, for the second year in a row.
“Harvard University retained its position as the lowest-ranked institution for free speech for the second consecutive year,” the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) said, adding that Harvard received an “Abysmal” rating for its speech climate on campus.
At Hillsdale, meanwhile, junior student Catherine Maxwell is the first recipient of the Kadalie scholarship, the school newspaper reported.
“As a Christian interested in opinion journalism, I’m honored to learn from and participate in her legacy through this scholarship,” Maxwell told the Collegian. “Mr. Pollak gave me a copy of Rhoda’s biography, and I’m excited to learn more about her.”
Pollak, who is also the author of “Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order!’: A Biography,” told Hillsdale students, “The Christian legacy of Rhoda Kadalie is the understanding that the principles of the Bible are deeply relevant to liberty.”
“They are revolutionary when they need to be, and they help us find our way again when change threatens to overwhelm us,” he added. “How fortunate you are here at Hillsdale College to have started from those foundations, and to have preserved them.”
Kadalie had served on the Human Rights Commission in South Africa for then-President Nelson Mandela. She later became one of the country’s most prominent opinion columnists.
While Kadalie had been a critic of the United States at times, especially during the George W. Bush administration, she championed former President Donald Trump’s candidacy when he emerged on the political scene in 2015.
Pollak is also the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
