A new campaign to “Drop Hillel” has been launched with the goal of kicking Hillel off college campuses. According to the Jerusalem Post, The group is linked to National SJP and “calls itself a ‘Jewish-led campaign… advocating for divestment from Hillel’ that wishes to ‘weaken Hillel’s grip on Jewish campus life’.”
But I want you to know something-
WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
As former prime minister Menachem Begin once said, “We are not Jews with trembling knees.” In fact, at Hillel, we are doubling down on our Jewish pride and Jewish joy.
Over the last two weeks, we’ve hosted meaningful Jewish high holy day experiences and family Shabbats. It’s been a delight to connect with the families of our incredible students and bring them into the Hillel community. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us.
Last year, we saw a resurgence of Jewish life– Shabbats averaging 100 students, programs overflowing, new student-led initiatives becoming a reality, and Hillel teeming with Jewish life. Now, a few months into the new school year, this growth continues. Already, we’ve seen 50% more students since this time last year. We’ve launched new Jewish student-led clubs and created more opportunities to participate in Jewish experiences. Shabbats (which were already big) are now even bigger, with our attendance average of 140 per Shabbat. At CSUSM and USD, we’ve already doubled our student participation over all of last year. Let that sink in…
Jewish life on our college campuses in San Diego is THRIVING.
But it’s not without challenges. Over the last two weeks, the antisemitic incidents continue to climb. Progress has certainly been made with clearer time, place, and manner policies on campus, but that doesn’t mean the constant efforts to undermine and indoctrinate aren’t happening– they just stopped getting news coverage because they have become normalized. It’s no longer newsworthy that an inverted red triangle shows up all over campus every day. It’s no longer newsworthy that another BDS speaker is presented in an academic setting as educational. I think if we learned anything, it’s that this isn’t dying down; it’s shape-shifting in ways that are even more invidious. But again, Hillel isn’t going anywhere.
We are doubling down on our mission to connect Jewish students to Jewish life, learning, and Israel. We are preparing them to live Jewishly as adults. We are building them up and fostering a community. We are uplifting STUDENT VOICES and STUDENT LEADERSHIP.
We are their advocates, their mentors, their JOY space, their home-cooked meals… we are their Hillel. And that is never going to stop, no matter how hard anyone tries.
Am Yisrael Chai,
Karen
