A Message from Wayne Harris

The Presidents’ Challenge starts TODAY!

Yesterday, we launched our Jewish Networking Hub, which links current Hillel students with Jewish alumni looking to mentor and support the careers of our future leaders.

Now, more than ever, it is critical to prioritize safety and security because that investment matters. It makes a difference, just like it did last Thursday.

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’.”

Yesterday was October 7th-

Yesterday Hillel of San Diego supported on-campus vigils and education programs at each of our four campuses- SDSU, UCSD, CSUSM, and USD. We then paid for buses to take students to the incredible Community Vigil at the JCC.

This past weekend, I was in Washington D.C. at the Hillel/AJC University Presidents Summit on Campus Antisemitism. The Summit brought together Hillel Executive Directors, AJC Regional Directors (including San Diego’s Sara Brown) and 150 University leaders including UCSD’s Chancellor Khosla and Vice Chancellor Petitt, to address antisemitism productively and focus on what institutions can do to create positive change.

On Friday, we celebrated the Melvin Garb Hillel Center’s 10 Year Anniversary at Shabbat with students and some special guests. We hosted a tour of the beautiful center with students who shared how each of the spaces impacted their Jewish experience. Students shared the business plans they created in the Sophie and Arthur Brody Library and the Jewish women’s club, Achayot, explained that they are working to establish an AEPhi Chapter at SDSU in the Harold R. Stern Student Leadership Room.

Jewish pride and Jewish joy is alive and well at Hillel of San Diego! Over 200 students kicked off the start of the new school year at Hillel, thanks to YOU!

Everything is different. Everything is the same. As we enter a holiday that reminds us to look to Jerusalem, welcome the stranger, and remember our heritage, one can’t help but think how this year feels different, especially on campus. Yet Hillel of San Diego is a constant—deeply committed to supporting Jewish life for our collective future. And so, I invite us to think about a new set of four questions for our Hillel Passover this year.