Latest News from Campus

The California Faculty Association is backing legislation to repeal a 2024 state law that requires public universities to enforce time, place, and manner limits on campus protests These limits prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination. Jewish advocacy groups supported the original law in response to concerns about campus antisemitism and student safety during protests related to the Hamas-Israel war. Dozens of local Jewish organizations have submitted a joint opposition letter against the new bill.

The Hillel at the University of Arizona appointed Shoshi Lipschultz as its next executive director. Lipschultz, an Arizona native and University of Arizona alum, returns to Tucson with more than 20 years of experience in Jewish communal leadership, including campus engagement work at York University in Toronto. She said her early experience with Hillel at the University of Arizona shaped her path in Jewish professional leadership.

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) police launched an investigation after an unrecognized campus group painted anti-Israel slogans alongside the phrase “By any means necessary” on the university’s landmark Fence. CMU President Farnam Jahanian denounced the messages, saying,  “[It] is categorically unacceptable for an anonymous message painted on CMU property to incite or imply support for violence, and it is equally unacceptable for members of our campus community to feel physically threatened or unsafe.” Jahanian’s statement prompted a second round of graffiti on the structure, this time directed at the university administration.

The Seattle Colleges District Compliance Office initiated a review of tenured Spanish language and literature professor David Quintero after he sent an email to a faculty listserv arguing against the hiring of Israeli citizens. In the message, Quintero questioned how “Zionist Israeli dual-citizens” pass security background checks and characterized them as criminals and killers. District officials confirmed the matter is under human resources evaluation to determine appropriate action under institutional policies governing discrimination and workplace harassment.

Following the indictment of eight anti-Israel activists, a federal judge released six of the defendants detained by the FBI on bond. The defendants, who were indicted by the Justice Department last week, have been accused of carrying out acts of vandalism against homes and businesses, and making threats against university leaders, law enforcement officials, and Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Detroit. The defendants pled not guilty to the charges, which prosecutors argue included breaking windows, spray-painting walls with anti-Israel messages and symbols, and leaving threatening notes at victims’ homes.

Rabbi Miriam Hoffman will join George Washington University Hillel in July as its senior Jewish educator after serving as program director at Am Kolel Jewish Renewal Community in Rockville. She previously worked at Brandeis Hillel and interned at USC Hillel. Rabbi Hoffman will focus on supporting students in exploring their Jewish identity, community, and spirituality.