Rudy Rochman was born in France and grew up moving around the world from Paris, Miami, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Israel, New York and more. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the IDF Paratroopers and served in the 101st Airborne Brigade.
After the army, Rudy chose to pursue his bachelor's degree at Columbia University since it was then listed as the #1 most antisemitic school in North America. There, he founded the grassroots pro-Israel movement on campus, which revolutionized campus discourse and quickly became a model for international Jewish rights movements worldwide.
Rudy has a large social media presence with over 600k followers and videos which have racked up millions of views. His work primarily focuses on shifting the global, ideological, and political conversations regarding the Jewish People & Israel, uniting sectors of Israeli society, locating & bringing awareness to the disconnected Tribes of Israel worldwide, and generating innovative ways to combat antisemitism. He even got banned from Malaysia in 2015 for being "too much of a Zionist".
In 2018, Rudy was chosen for the 36 Under 36 Award of most influential Jews in the world for his dedication and activism. Rudy is also a leader in several grassroots movements which build relations between Israeli & Palestinian activists to collectively change the systemic flaws and cultural divides that prevent both peoples inhabiting the Land from achieving their aspirations.
In 2020, Rudy completed his MBA in Israel and founded the documentary series "We Were Never Lost", which highlights the stories of disconnected and unrecognized communities of Jews worldwide. In July of 2021, his team traveled to Nigeria to film an episode of their first season but were kidnapped and held captive under extremely harsh conditions in a Nigerian prison for 3 weeks. Since then, the We Were Never Lost team has traveled to 8 other Africa countries locating such communities and are currently wrapping up the production of the series.
On October 7th, 2023, Rudy was called up for war as a reservist in the IDF Paratroopers 55th Brigade and was sent to Kfar Aza to fight Hamas, as one of the first respondents to stop the massacre taking place. Following that, Rudy's unit was the first team sent into Khan Yunis, Gaza where he served for several months until their release in February 2024.
Rudy's unit was again called back to war in October 2024 as one of the first units to enter Lebanon to fight Hezbollah and to secure life for both civilians in the North of Israel and civilians in the South of Lebanon. After a few weeks his units finished their missions and were again discharged to return to their own civilian lives.
Rudy is based in Jerusalem and constantly travels around the world, using his background and expertise to inspire and empower the next generation of Jews to narrate their own story and to write the next chapter of Jewish history.
1993/5753 - Rudy Rochman is born in Paris, France.
1996/5756 - Rudy and his family move to Israel.
1998/5758 - The Rochmans move to the United States.
2000/5760 - Rudy witnesses his mother being pushed off a bus in London for being Jewish. This experience sparks a fire for which he dedicates his life to defending the Jewish People.
2011/5771 - Enlists in the IDF Paratroopers 101st Airborne Brigade.
2013/5773 - Starts school at UCLA & SMC where he witnesses the wave of antisemitism rising on college campuses and intellectual spaces.
2014/5774 - Rudy travels across Asia for a year.
2016/5776 - Transfers to Columbia University since it was listed as the #1 most antisemitic school in North America.
Creates the pro-Israel movement at Columbia University, radically changing campus discourse through groundbreaking activism. It quickly became the flagship chapter for several international Zionist movements, spreading to over 50 campuses worldwide.
2018/5778 - Graduates from Columbia University with a BA in Political Science and specialisation in Middle Eastern studies.
Chosen for the 36 Under 36 award of most influential Jews in the world for his work and activism.
Travels throughout Central and South America for a year doing a research project on the Jewish communities and building relations with Jewish leaders.
2019/5779 - Starts his MBA at IDC in Herzliya, Israel.
2020/5780 - Graduates receiving Master’s in Business.
Rudy establishes the ”We Were Never Lost” project, a documentary series on the stories of the disconnected Jewish communities around the world. He begins filming Season 1: Africa.
2021/5781 - Establishes the “Jewish Empowerment Movement” non-profit organisation.
2023/5783 - Recalled to the IDF as a reservist on Oct 7th, spending the next two years fighting in and out of Gaza and Lebanon.
Today - Rudy and his team produce educational content through videos which have garnered millions of views. He continues to run in-person talks and events to empower Jews & their allies to combat antisemitism, recognise Jewish identity, and unite all sectors of Israeli society to build a better reality for all who live in the Land.
RUDY LIVES IN ISRAEL AND IS AVAILABLE TO TRAVEL
If you are interested in having Rudy speak at your event or academic institution, please do not hesitate to reach out here.