Jay Sures, vice chairman of United Talent Agency and a regent of the University of California system, slammed the members of UCLA’s Undergraduate Student Association who authored a letter condemning former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov’s recent campus appearance as “shortsighted, antisemitic or both,” in an interview with Jewish Insider. 

“Why would anybody send out a letter condemning a hostage who is a student who was held in captivity for over 500 days? You have to be a complete lunatic to sign on to that letter,” Sures told JI on Friday, shortly after he issued his own letter to the body stating he was “disgusted and appalled” by its condemnation. 

Sures, who was appointed to the Board of Regents in 2019, told JI that UCLA’s campus is host to a “small number of people who have a very loud voice that love to spew antisemitic hatred,” adding that “administration has done an excellent job at cracking down on this and having a zero tolerance towards it.” 

Sures, who is Jewish, has frequently spoken out in support of Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks and had his home vandalized last year by anti-Israel demonstrators. 

Upon sending Friday’s letter, Sures told JI he has renewed concerns regarding his family’s safety. “Having said that, I think it’s critical that my voice is heard louder than ever at this moment in time in history,” he said. 

In his letter, which was drafted on Regents of the University of California letterhead, Sures said, “Like many University leaders, I am disgusted and appalled by the Council’s recent statement condemning an on-campus event featuring former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov. Talk about a missed opportunity. Rather than hearing the perspective of a 23 year old peer abducted by terrorists at a music festival and held hostage by Hamas for 505 days, those of you who voted for the letter of condemnation chose not to listen at all.”

“Let’s unpack this. Omer Shem Tov is not a representative of the Israeli government. In fact, he is a young student, like many of you, whose life took a horrific turn when he and his friends were kidnapped at a music festival and driven into Gaza, where he was held hostage and tortured for months underground without contact to the outside world,” continued Sures in his letter.

“While your letter expresses concern over ‘a troubling disregard for Palestinian life,’ it says nothing about the Israeli lives lost on Oct. 7th, including the shooting of many of Omer’s close friends. Nor does your letter mention the countless rapes and massacres carried out by Hamas on that day. It is as if none of that happened,” he said.

In an undated letter to UCLA administration, as well as the organizers of the event — UCLA Hillel and the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies — and “affiliated campus stakeholders,” the the undergraduate student council wrote that it “condemns” the April 14 event, held on Yom HaShoah, which was titled “505 Days in Captivity: Omer Shem Tov’s Testimony of Resilience.” 

The letter from the council, which represents over 29,000 undergraduates at UCLA, said Shem Tov’s appearance constituted “selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence” and “a troubling disregard for Palestinian life.” 

In his counterletter, Sures asserted that students were promoting a “double standard.” 

“You claim you want balance in programming and more than ‘a single narrative’ from speakers at UCLA. Balance, by definition, inherently involves equal consideration of more than one point of view. By condemning this speaker’s public appearance on our campus, your words and actions make clear you have no interest in balance at all,” he wrote. “That is the biggest double standard of all.”

“It is this failure of some student leaders in your council to listen to and acknowledge views of people with whom they disagree that I find the most disappointing and dangerous. It is not the condemnation itself that is concerning — that is absolutely their right, but it is the rush to do so without even considering other’s perspectives that is so disheartening.” 

A spokesperson for UCLA told JI earlier this week, “The event’s message was one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity — a message we support. We stand by UCLA Hillel, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the UCLA Chapter of Students Supporting Israel’s invitation to have this very important dialogue.” 

“We will review the process by which this letter was issued. The condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community,” the spokesperson said.

Sures told JI he expects that the UCLA administration will ultimately “have speakers from all different groups, from all different walks of life so that our students, faculty and staff can hear thoughtful points of view from different places. 

“It’s critical that we give the audiences that come to UCLA a very diverse group of opinions, that’s what learning is all about. I think that’s essential to the learning experience,” said Sures. “UCLA has been terrific in terms of bringing in speakers from different walks of life.”  

Weeks after Oct. 7, Sures also sent a letter to the UC system’s Board of Regents, its chancellors and its president condemning what he called an “appalling and repugnant” letter condemning Israel from the UC Ethnic Studies Faculty Council, which represents hundreds of faculty systemwide.

Sures wrote that the letter was “rife with falsehoods about Israel and seeks to legitimize and defend the horrific savagery of the Hamas massacre of October 7.”

Sures was honored at the Los Angeles Jewish Federation’s 2025 gala, soon after the targeting of his home. At the event, he paid tribute to his late father, a veteran of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, and to his mother, whom Sures commended for her foresight anticipating a rise in antisemitism.  

“We need louder voices to say this is not okay, it’s not normal,” he told JI. “To let folks go out and spew this hatred without pushing back is the worst thing we can do.”