UPenn Taps Vox’s Zack Beauchamp, Best Known for Inventing a Bridge Between Gaza and the West Bank, as a ‘Distinguished’ Global Affairs Fellow

The University of Pennsylvania’s global affairs hub, Perry World House, has named Vox writer Zack Beauchamp a “distinguished visiting fellow” for the 2025-26 academic year, giving students a chance to learn about international affairs from a man who once explained the “Israel-Gaza crisis” by accusing Israel of limiting traffic on a bridge between Gaza and the West Bank that has never existed.

Back in 2014, Beauchamp authored Vox‘s viral “11 Crucial Facts to Understand the Israel-Gaza Crisis,” where he informed readers that Gaza and the West Bank are “connected only by a bridge that Israel limits traffic on.” There is no such bridge, as Vox acknowledged in a correction note.

“An earlier version of this post suggested there was a bridge connecting Gaza and the West Bank,” the note read. “Various plans to do this have been floated, but the bridge was never actually built.”

That geographical whoopsie didn’t slow Beauchamp’s career. At Penn, he’ll now brief faculty, deliver guest lectures, and mentor students on democracy, global justice, and security—subjects he’s covered for Vox with the same self-assurance he once deployed to invent Israeli infrastructure.

The Perry World House program aims to bring “knowledgeable and accomplished experts” to campus. Alongside former cabinet members, U.N. officials, and NGO leaders, Beauchamp stands out as the only fellow who once had to issue a correction about an imaginary bridge.

Penn students can expect insights on everything from democratic backsliding to human rights. And Beauchamp, who attended Brown University, can enjoy a bridge back into the Ivy League.

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