Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life (or simply known as Hillel International) is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world. Hillel's stated mission is "to enrich the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world."[1] In practical terms, campus Hillel foundations engage Jewish students in religious, cultural, artistic, and community-service activities. Hillel as a whole openly promotes Zionist beliefs and activism on its web site and email list. The organization is named for Hillel the Elder, a Jewish sage who moved from Babylonia to Palestine in the 1st century and is known for his formulation of the Golden Rule.
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[edit] History
The Hillel Foundation was founded in 1923 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign by members of the local Jewish and university communities. It later came under the sponsorship of B'nai Brith, which served as the sponsoring organization until the 1990s. By then, it encompassed 120 Hillel foundations and affiliates at an additional 400 campuses. The campus foundations seek to create a welcoming environment for Jewish students on their respective campuses. Today, Hillel is 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 Australia, Canada and Great Britain.
Prior to the Hillel Foundation's national organization in 1923, Texas A&M Hillel was founded in 1920. At the time of its founding, Texas A&M University was named the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.[2][3]
[edit] Hillel International Directors
- Rabbi Benjamin Frankel 1925 - 1927
- Dr. Louis L. Mann 1928 - 1933
- Dr. Abram L. Sachar 1933 - 1947
- Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld 1947 - 1956
- Dr. Judah J. Shiapiro 1956 - 1959
- Rabbi Benjamin M. Kahn 1959 - 1971
- Rabbi Alfred Jospe 1971 - 1975
- Rabbi Norman Frimer 1975 - 1979
- Rabbi Oscar Groner 1979 - 1984
- Larry Moses 1984 - 1987
- Richard M. Joel 1988 - 2003[4]
- Avraham Infeld 2003-2005
- Wayne L. Firestone 2005–present[5]
[edit] Services
Hillel is not a membership organization. Any interested student may participate in their activities. Most activities are free of charge and other fees may be waived because of need. Hillel's strategy, as redefined in 2006, explicitly set a goal to "inspire every Jewish student to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life." To be effective, Hillel activities vary from campus to campus, with an emphasis on responding to the needs of participating students. To reach a larger audience, campus Hillel foundations struggle to create a pluralistic, inclusive environment that still remains distinctively Jewish. To do so, the national foundation organizes trips to Israel,[1] places service fellows at the campus foundations,[2] creates a guide to Jewish student life,[3] and leads advocacy work on Jewish and Israeli issues,[4] as well as providing some financial support to its campus foundations.
Hillel is also dedicated to social activism. These activities are usually led on the local campus level, but many campuses participate in alternative spring break trips dedicated to service, a Yom Kippur Fast Action Campaign, and the Oxfam Fair Trade Coffee Campaign, as well as more traditional local service projects at soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and Jewish community organizations.
[edit] Criticism
Most of Hillel's activities differ little from other mainstream campus ministries or ethnic organizations. However, some of Hillel's policies, actions, and leaders have come under criticism. Hillel's use of the motto "Wherever we stand, we stand with Israel" has been criticized as alienating to Jewish students who do not adhere to the teachings of Zionism, as well as attaching political ideology to an otherwise religious group.[6] At the same time, others have claimed that some Hillels are being used by pro-Palestinian activists to promote their own political goals.[7]
Another criticism has been the monopolistic tactics that the group is alleged to have used to assume primacy over the Jewish campus scene.[8][9] While this criticism has somewhat diminished since Richard M. Joel left the organization[citation needed], Hillel's approach varies from campus to campus.
In its attempts to reach out to all Jewish students, some believe Hillel's activities are too broad. In 1997, Jeremy Deutchman, a graduate of Hillel's JCSC fellowship and a student member of Hillel's board of directors, wrote a lengthy article in Tikkun asserting that Hillel engaged in the wholesale "dumbing down" of Judaism, and providing stylish, yet meaningless Judaism instead of substantive Judaism.[10] He echoes a common criticism of the Non-profit organization sector, arguing that the organization had become overly donor-driven, and had hence compromised Judaic quality.
Former Hillel president Avraham Infeld was challenged in traditional circles for asserting that Hillel accepts intermarriage (marriage of Jews to non-Jews).[11]
There have also been some controversies involving individual Hillel directors.
- UCLA Hillel rabbi and director Chaim Seidler-Feller was accused by journalist Rachel Neuwirth of verbally and physically assaulting her on the UCLA campus in October 2003. Eyewitness accounts were contradictory, with some indicating Neuwirth did not provoke the incident,[12] but others indicating that she had.[13] After more than three years of litigation, in a legal settlement, Seidler-Feller provided Neuwirth with a letter of apology accepting full responsibility for the attack on Neuwirth and a large financial arrangement with her.[14]
- Robert Fishman, director of George Washington University's Hillel apologized for claiming that a pro-Palestinian law student was a recognized terrorist.[15] Fishman also orchestrated a group of Hillel members to read highly critical questions pre-drafted by Deborah Lipstadt as if they were their own to President Jimmy Carter who spoke on campus in March 2007. This and their tactics of blocking the microphones from other students gave the media the false impression that the audience was critical of Carter despite repeated standing ovations.[16]
[edit] Branches
- Texas A&M Hillel
- University of Florida Hillel
- UCSB Hillel
- Tanger Hillel at Brooklyn College
- Hillel of Greater Toronto
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Hillel's mission statement on its "about" page
- ^ From Christian Science to Jewish Science: Spiritual Healing and American Jews Oxford University Press page 160
- ^ Gabrielle Birkner (2005-05-06). "A Cushy Fit In Bush Country". The Jewish Week. http://www.jewishweek.org/news/newscontent.php3?artid=10860. Retrieved 2007-12-30.[dead link]
- ^ http://www.hillel.org/NR/rdonlyres/C5146418-3638-435A-8BB9-24592F5500F9/0/hillel_history.pdf
- ^ http://www.hillel.org/about/leadership/default#ainfeld
- ^ Jewish Week: "Was University of Richmond’s student Hillel leader fired for her political beliefs?"
- ^ Israelnationalnews.com: "The Jewish Academy of Chelm: Hillel in America"
- ^ New Voices: Lights Inactive - The death of a Jewish student organization
- ^ Hillel.org: "Student Presidents Represent Hillel at WUJS Congress"
- ^ Tikkun: "Hillel Incorporated: The Franchising of Modern American Jewry"
- ^ Faith in Nathan: "Maybe we shouldn’t fight intermarriage after all"
- ^ Think Israel "...What's Going on At UCLA Hillel?"
- ^ Jewish Journal: "Seidler-Feller Denies Kicking Journalist"
- ^ Jewish Journal: "UCLA Hillel rabbi apologizes, settles 2003 case with woman journalist"
- ^ Washington Jewish Week: "Hillel director backs off accusations against student"
- ^ http://www.forward.com/articles/hillel-director-students-defend-tactics-at-carter Jewish Daily Forward: "Hillel Director Students Defend Tactics at Carter Speech"
[edit] External links
- Official Hillel International Site – includes links to individual campuses
- Jewish Campus Service Corps
