Hillel International

, the first Hillel in the world, in its current building built in 2008 In 1923, Edward Chauncey Baldwin, Christian professor of Biblical literature at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign was distressed by his Jewish students' lack of knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, and he discussed his concerns with Rabbi Benjamin Frankel. Later the same year, members of the local Jewish and university communities met in a rented loft over a dry cleaner in Champaign, Illinois, and founded The Hillel Foundation. In 1925, B'nai Brith pledged to sponsor Hillel's activities with a budget of approximately $12,000 that year. An integral part of this shift was the institution of a Board of Governors, chaired by Edgar M. Bronfman until 2009 when he was succeeded by Randall Kaplan. Bronfman's involvement began in 1994 during a visit by Richard Joel to the Seagram building, when Bronfman pledged his support to Hillel. When Bronfman agreed to serve as chairman, Hillel gained legitimacy among other philanthropists. The subsequent revitalization of the organization resulted in increased donor support, updated programming, and broad international recognition. Part of the increased donor support came as a result of Bronfman's well-known campus visits, beginning in 1994, that continued until his death in 2013. Hillel has been described as the largest Jewish campus organization in the world. Hillel foundations are found in Israel, South America, and the Post-Soviet States, and affiliated organizations are found in 18 countries across North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East. Although the foundation was not organized nationally until 1923, the Hillel at Texas A&M University (at the time called the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas) was founded in 1916 by Prof. Jacob and Mrs. Esther Taubenhaus as the Menorah Club. The Menorah Club then chose to affiliate with the national organization in the 1920s. Other notable Hillels include Hillel at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, the first Hillel in the world, Columbia/Barnard Hillel, and University of Pennsylvania Hillel, whose Steinhardt Hall is the largest Hillel International building of any college or university in the country. In 1924, University of Pennsylvania's first Jewish student organization was organized by Philadelphia branch of the United Synagogue of America, Conservative Judaism's leading organization, and initially generically named the Jewish Students' Association at Penn and then, after the 1929 death of Louis Marshall, the Chairman of the Board of conservative Judaism's rabbinical college, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, it was renamed in his honor as the Louis Marshall Society but by January 1, 1944, when it merged with Hillel, it became known as Hillel and relocated to the “Jewish Students' House” at 3613 Locust Street (at center of Penn's campus) and served as a dormitory, Kosher dining room and a social center for Penn's Jewish students. Leadership Adam Lehman was appointed CEO of Hillel International in January 2020. He started at Hillel International as chief operating officer in October 2015. Lehman had been senior vice president at AOL. Skip Vichness is chair of Hillel International's Board of Directors. Mimi Kravetz was hired in 2015 to serve as Chief Talent Officer and is currently Chief Experience Officer. She previously served as head of human resources marketing at Google. Hillel International Presidents and CEOs have included Rabbi Benjamin Frankel (1925–1927); Abram L. Sachar (1933–1948); Richard M. Joel (1988–2003); Wayne Firestone (2005–2013); and Eric Fingerhut (2013–2020). ==Activities==

Hillel International says its mission is “enriching the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world” through its on-campus network. More than 800 colleges and universities are connected to a local Hillel community that serves as a faith community, a Jewish educational resource and a social network to develop professional leadership skills. Hillel uses a "relationship-based model" to engage students in need of a community. Hillel has no denominational affiliation, as opposed to Chabad which represents Hasidic Judaism. Hillel employs more than 1,200 people worldwide, while providing extensive continuing education for its employees via a professional development program called the Hillel U. The organization also invests in early career professionals through the Springboard Fellowship. From 2011 to 2020, Hillel doubled its professional staff, from 575 to 1,200; the amount of funds raised, from around $90 million to about $185 million; and the number of students it reaches, from roughly 68,000 to over 140,000. alongside the MitzVote initiative to encourage voter registration ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections. In particular, this initiative aimed at resisting 2024 pro-Palestinian student protests that supported a Gaza ceasefire, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or anti-Zionism. ==Policy positions==

Antisemitism Adam Lehman, Hillel International's president and CEO, has called his organization "radically pluralistic, inclusive, egalitarian home for Jewish students coming from all different backgrounds". and engages in dialogue with university administrations about how to recognize and confront anti-Semitism on campus. Critics have suggested that Hillel conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Intermarriage Former Hillel president Avraham Infeld was challenged in traditional circles for asserting that Hillel accepts Jewish intermarriage. The organization has since created resources for Hillel professionals to work with students from multi-faith homes. Hillel supports LGBTQ people and pluralism across the spectrum of Jewish movements. Zionism Hillel has extensive pro-Israel programming and employs post-graduate fellows from Israel from the Jewish Agency for Israel. Hillel is a major partner of the Birthright Israel program. Hillel describes themselves as "steadfastedly committed to the support of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure and recognized borders." Their Standards of Partnership forbid campus Hillels to "partner with, house or host organizations, groups or speakers" that adopt an anti-Zionist orientation or express support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The organization imposes restrictions on activities; Hillel takes a firm stance in opposing certain types of views on Israel, such as the BDS campaign, and those who hold them. Open Hillel In an alleged effort to be "more inclusive to a greater diversity of Jewish perspectives in addition to Zionism", Swarthmore College Hillel adopted an "Open Hillel" stance in 2013, saying that "all are welcome to walk through our doors and speak with our name and under our roof, be they Zionist, anti-Zionist, post-Zionist, or non-Zionist." By 2016, the campus Hillels of Guilford College, Vassar College, and Wesleyan University had joined Swarthmore Hillel in declaring themselves "open." Part of this involved a rejection of Hillel International's Standards of Partnership that they alleged to limit open dialogue and freedom of speech. In March 2015, Swarthmore Hillel held an event called "From Mississippi to Jerusalem: A Conversation with Civil Rights Veterans" in which they brought three Jewish veterans of the Civil Rights Movement to discuss their efforts to promote civil rights in the American South and in Israel-Palestine. Because the speakers had voiced support for BDS, Hillel International threatened legal action against Swarthmore Hillel, with the Chief Executive Officer Eric Fingerhut saying that "anti-Zionists will not be permitted to speak using the Hillel name or under the Hillel roof, under any circumstances." The student group removed the word "Hillel" from its title in order to proceed with the planned event, and subsequently adopted the name "Swarthmore Kehilah", severing its association with Hillel. In February 2014, the Vassar College Jewish Union, an affiliate of Hillel, joined Swarthmore Hillel in declaring themselves to be an Open Hillel, and Wesleyan University's Hillel followed suit. Alumni at the University of California, Berkeley have also created a petition calling upon their school to do the same. In response to Open Hillel, a group of students formed Safe Hillel in 2014 to preserve the pro-Israel agenda of the original Hillel organization. According to its founder Raphael Fils, "Hillel should not have to change its mission in order to accommodate those who don't agree with it. Hillel is the one place students are supposed to feel entirely comfortable in their support of Israel. If that makes some people uncomfortable, there are plenty of other places to go just to hear attacks on Israel." While Hillels at Vassar and Guilford Colleges sought to distance themselves from the allegedly "explicit Zionism" of Hillel International, with Guilford Hillel renaming itself to Guilford Chavurah ("group of friends" in Hebrew) and Vassar Jewish Union placing an emphasis on pluralism and diversity, they did not go as far as the Swarthmore and Wesleyan Hillels did in choosing to fully split from the organization. Both Guilford and Vassar are still listed as "Hillel colleges." ==Controversies==

Conflicts with Jewish critics of Israel Some Jewish members and leaders of Hillels have criticized and objected to the organization's use of the motto "Wherever we stand, we stand with Israel" for "alienating Jewish students critical of Israeli policies, as well as for attaching a political ideology to an otherwise apolitical religious and cultural organization". Hillel was also accused of employing monopolistic tactics to "assume control over the Jewish campus scene". In March 2015, the Student Board President of Muhlenberg College's Hillel resigned over Hillel's "refusal to sponsor Open Hillel's Caroline Dorn", protesting Hillel's "refusal to allow civil rights veterans to speak at Hillel", said in her resignation: "I can't be a representative of Hillel International, an organization that I feel is limiting free speech on our campus and prohibiting academic integrity." The event was held without the sponsorship of Hillel and had an estimated 100 attendees. In 2014, some members of Princeton University Hillel, known as the Center for Jewish Life, criticized executive director Rabbi Julie Roth for sending a mass email that encouraged Hillel members to oppose a petition by some tenured Princeton faculty members demanding the university to divest from companies that profit from the "occupation of the West Bank by Israel." 38 Jewish Princeton students wrote an open letter accusing the group of expecting its members to oppose the petition unquestioningly. The students' letter was published in the campus newspaper, The Daily Princetonian, also objected to the group's prohibition of member-chapters from hosting discussion with groups or individuals supporting the BDS movement. In 2006, a George Washington Law School student organized an on-campus rally to call for the disinvestment from Israel. In response, the director of George Washington University Hillel Robert Fishman claimed that the rally's organizer was deemed a terrorist by Israel, had been convicted of crimes in both Israel and the United States, advocating for the destruction of Israel, admitting to associations with suicide bombers and had made comments about his desire to become a suicide bomber. explaining that it violated the Hillel International Standards of Partnership due to JVP's pro-BDS stance. Avraham Burg In November 2013, Harvard Hillel barred Avraham Burg, a former Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, from speaking at Hillel due to the event's co-sponsorship by the pro-BDS Harvard Palestinian Solidarity Committee. Harvard Hillel has been accused by critics of "a naked attack on free speech." BDS In January 2016, Boston University Hillel hosted a public event called "All Students, All Israel Think Tank" which included sections on how to "combat BDS." The event was advertised to the entire student body and had an optional advance registration. Nine members of Students for Justice in Palestine showed up to the event, but were removed by campus police." Nir Barkat In April 2016, the San Francisco chapter of Hillel hosted a talk by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat at San Francisco State University. Students opposing the Hillel accused Barkat of previously "encouraging demolitions" of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem while protesting the event. Hillel characterized the protests as antisemitic, which was disputed by an independent investigation. Virginia Tech harassment allegations In September 2021, the Graduate and Professional Student Senate at Virginia Tech proposed a resolution demanding the university to divest from Israel. The proposers accused the Hillel at Virginia Tech of "harassing" the resolution's supporters, despite its exercise of freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I [heart] Hamas stickers In November 2023, an independent contractor, hired by Hillel to "help quell anti-Israeli sentiment on campus" distributed stickers that read "I [heart] Hamas" on the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus. The stickers included the name and logo of the UBC Social Justice Centre, a pro-Palestine student organization, on the stickers, falsely attributing the sticker to them. The stickers resulted in threats being made against racialized students associated with the Social Justice Centre, including attempts to find out where individual students live. Upon the stickers' publication on social media, conservative politicians including former Conservative Senator Linda Frum and director of the BC Conservative Party Angelo Isidorou condemned the Social Justice Centre and called for actions to be taken against its members. UCLA Hillel rabbi and director Chaim Seidler-Feller was accused by journalist Rachel Neuwirth of assaulting her on the UCLA campus in October 2003. Eyewitness accounts were contradictory, with some indicating that Neuwirth did not provoke the incident, but others insinuating that she had. After over three years of litigation, Seidler-Feller reportedly provided Neuwirth with a letter of apology accepting responsibility for the alleged attack on Neuwirth in a legal settlement to end the dispute. The New School Hillel chapter suspension On May 1, 2026, The New School's Hillel chapter had its funding paused by the University Student Senate (USS), following an investigation by the new Registered Student Organization (RSO) compliance committee found the chapter had "extensive ties" to international law violations. In a 35 page report, the commitee determined the chapter had "direct and material ties to international law violations," including supporting the Oketz, Kfir, Golani, and Handasa units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The vote was the first instance of an American university's student government voting to pause funding for a Hillel chapter. Reaction Hillel International CEO and President Adam Lehman said in a statement that "The New School famously sheltered Jewish intellectuals fleeing Nazi persecution — and yet its student senate voted to deprive Hillel of funding unless it severs ties with Hillel International, the world's largest and most inclusive Jewish student organization." The email was signed by University President Joel Towers, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Richard Kessler, and Vice Provost for Student Success and Engagement Robert Mack. The statement added "the administration is taking immediate steps to address the USS's action and ensure it acts within its actual purview, now and going forward." On May 2, 2026, Ilya Bratman, director of Leader Family Hillel at Baruch College, which oversees The New School's Hillel chapter, said, "this is a preposterous attempt to erase Jewish Life on campus and a blatant attempt to exclude and intimidate the Jewish community at New School!," adding, "We will fight this injustice and absurdity with every tool at our disposal." == See also ==