Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award
With the generosity of an anonymous donor, Harvard Chabad is launching the Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award. This award will annually recognize a Harvard student who, like the award’s namesake, acts and speaks with courage in defending Israel and the Jewish people.
We are delighted to announce that this year’s award will be given to Alex Bernat ’25, outgoing student co-president of the Harvard Chabad Undergraduate Board.
Alex will receive the award on June 17, in New York City, at the Annual Harvard Chabad New York Reception.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a towering statesman, public intellectual, and a fierce defender of moral clarity on the world stage.
A longtime professor at Harvard University, Moynihan combined scholarly depth with political courage. As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the mid-1970s, he emerged as a moral force, boldly denouncing the infamous UN resolution equating Zionism with racism. His impassioned defense of Israel and the Jewish people reverberated across the globe, signaling that the United States would not remain silent in the face of injustice.
Later, as a four-term U.S. Senator from New York, Moynihan continued to speak out with conviction and clarity in defense of Israel, often standing alone on the Senate floor to uphold the values of truth and democratic solidarity.
His legacy endures as a model of intellectual integrity and moral courage, rooted in both academic excellence and an unwavering commitment to human dignity.