Netanel Crispe was born in Jerusalem, the third of four siblings. His parents, Sara Esther, the creator of TheJewishWoman.org and Asher, a rabbi and technology futurist, had moved to Israel shortly after getting married. When Netanel was two years old, the family returned to the United States for professional opportunities and settled in Philadelphia.
As the child of Baal Teshuva parents, Netanel experienced a unique and non-conventional upbringing. Judaism became the center of his identity, and from a young age, he was encouraged by his parents to express his individuality. Netanel attended a range of schools, including a public school, where he and his sisters were often the only visibly observant Jewish students. “I viewed it as both a challenge and an opportunity to represent the Jewish people to the world—as someone who wore a yarmulke and tzitzit,” he said. He credits his parents’ ability to integrate secular thought within a Torah-based education for preparing him for what lay ahead, especially during his college years.
In his junior year of high school, Netanel began exploring colleges and soon set his sights on Yale. Through intense dedication and hard work, he was admitted as one of the first chassidic undergraduates in the school’s history to the Class of 2025. He chose to major in History, with a focus on the influence of Jewish mysticism on the founding of the United States.
Grateful and excited, Netanel arrived on campus wearing his traditional Chassidic garb—black hat, jacket, and tzitzit—becoming a visible and proud Jewish presence at Yale. In 2021, he built the first sukkah in the courtyard of his dorm and became an active leader with Chabad at Yale. “I felt a responsibility to represent the Jewish people—to be a proud, living example of our eternal values,” he shared.
That responsibility took on a new urgency following the horrific events of October 7, 2023. The campus atmosphere at Yale underwent a dramatic change. Friends, classmates, and professors who once seemed neutral or supportive of Israel became vocal anti-Israel activists, some even expressing support for terror. “It was as if overnight, I woke up in a different reality,” Netanel said. “I was entrusted with a mission as a shliach of the Rebbe on campus, an ambassador of the Jewish people and their timeless value system.”
On October 24th, the day before his 21st birthday, several Jewish classmates urged him to stop wearing his yarmulke out of fear for his safety. Netanel’s response was unequivocal. On October 25th, he marked his birthday by praying on Yale’s central quad, draped in an Israeli flag. Surrounded by protesters, he concluded his prayers by singing “Am Yisrael Chai” aloud. “That song of Jewish unity rose above the chants of hate and turned into a message of the eternal nature of our people,” he recalled. A video of the moment went viral, symbolizing his unwavering commitment to moral clarity and Jewish pride. “As the Alter Rebbe taught, ‘A little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness.’ We each have both the opportunity and the responsibility to engage positively with the world to reveal the G-dliness within it.”
In November 2023, Netanel faced another test of conviction. During an on-campus event titled “Gaza Under Siege,” organized by various university departments, he and other Jewish students were physically barred from entering—apparently due to their visible Jewish appearance. “That moment only deepened our resolve to share the truth and strengthen our Jewish presence,” he said.
Despite increasing threats, Netanel never retreated. Over time, his black hat and flying tzitzit became a recognizable symbol not just at Yale, but around the world. For the next year and a half, he continued to speak out against hatred and injustice, inspiring students globally to embrace their Jewish identity with pride.
“In response to the protests, we didn’t back down,” Netanel said. “Together with Chabad at Yale, we doubled our efforts with more events, more learning, more unity.” These efforts culminated in the largest Jewish gathering in Yale’s recent history: a unity concert with the renowned singer Ishay Ribo. This fall, Chabad at Yale is preparing to host a mega-Shabbat in the heart of campus. “Our goal is simple—to connect students with their heritage,” he explained.
After graduating in the spring of 2025, Netanel plans to pursue a PhD in History, with a focus on the connections between Jewish mystical teachings and the founding of the United States. His goal is “to highlight the impact of Jewish wisdom on the broader world.” Perhaps, this is the ‘thesis’ of every Jew. No matter where we find ourselves, we must be ambassadors of integrity, morality, and Jewish unity.