Global Jewish student organization
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, alternatively Hillel International or simply Hillel, is the largest Jewish student organization in the world. Founded in 1923 and headquartered in the United States, it is represented at more than 850 higher education institutions and communities throughout Eurasia and the Americas, including 30 communities in the former Soviet Union, nine in Israel, and five in South America.
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History.
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. By then, it encompassed 120 Hillel foundations and affiliates at an additional 400 campuses.
Beginning in 1988, under Director Richard M. Joel, Hillel underwent an organizational shift in mission and structure. 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&amp;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.
In September 2024, the organization launched the "Campus for All" initiative to support Jewish students on taking "action against antisemitism, discrimination, and misinformation about Israel on campus", alongside the "MitzVote" initiative to encourage voter registration ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections.
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".
Hillel International and local Hillels play a role to fight anti-Semitism on college campuses. Hillel provides security training to local Hillels and engages in dialogue with university administrations about how to recognize and confront anti-Semitism on campus. 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.
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.
State of Israel.
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, the event violated Hillel International's Standards of Partnership. As such, Hillel International threatened legal action against Swarthmore Hillel, with the Hillel International President and Chief Executive Officer at the time Eric Fingerhut saying that it was "not acceptable" to host certain speakers under the Hillel banner, and 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.
General.
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 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."
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."
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's 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.
In March 2017, a queer Jewish student organization called "B’nai Keshet" (“Children of the Rainbow”) affiliated with the Ohio State University Hillel hosted an on-campus fundraising event for refugees in partnership with the local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an anti-Zionist Jewish organization. Hillel cut all financial and organizational ties with B'nai Keshet following the event, explaining that it violated the "Hillel International Standards of Partnership" due to JVP's pro-BDS stance.
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.
In November 2023, an independent contractor associated with the British Columbia chapter of Hillel 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. Hillel BC later confirmed that its "independent contractor" was responsible for the stickers, and that Hillel had terminated its relationship with them. The Social Justice Centre subsequently sued Hillel BC for defamation of character.
Specific.
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