Latest News from Campus

At UMass Hillel, Rabbi Alex Goldfarb is helping students engage with Jewish texts and traditions as an ongoing conversation. Goldfarb is one of three rabbis joining campus Hillels in the Northeast through a new partnership between Hillel International and the Hadar Institute, bringing Hadar’s approach to pluralistic Jewish learning into Hillel communities. Through classes, learning cohorts, and mentorship, the pilot gives students more opportunities to engage deeply with Jewish tradition while building their own relationships with Jewish learning and community.

In a recent opinion piece, Hillel International Senior Vice President of Campus Solutions Jon Falk examines how antisemitism on college campuses has evolved in the three years since Oct. 7, 2023. Falk identifies three shifts in the campus experience: overt antisemitism has become ambient, more antisemitic activity occurs in digital spaces, and anti-Israel activism and Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns extend into broader efforts to exclude Jewish students.

UC Berkeley Hillel will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, marking the occasion with “Shabbat Across Berkeley,” a series of Friday night dinners where alumni will host current students, as well as a Hillel tailgate during the annual California-Stanford Big Game.

Clemson University’s first professionally staffed Hillel will open this fall, expanding Jewish programming, support, and leadership opportunities for its growing community of Jewish students. Jewish student participation at Clemson has increased fivefold in recent years, with an estimated 500 Jewish undergraduates now on campus. “Clemson’s growing Jewish student community deserves a professionally staffed Hillel that can provide Jewish students their fuller opportunities for Jewish joy, pride, and leadership,” said Hillel International President and CEO Adam Lehman.

In an opinion piece, Hillel Ontario CEO Jay Solomon examines rising antisemitism on Canadian college campuses and calls on administrators to do more to protect Jewish students. At the same time, Solomon says these students need more opportunities to explore their Jewish identities and live joyful Jewish lives on campus.

Northeastern University honors the life of Richard Lesser, a 1957 graduate, longtime university trustee, philanthropist, and co-founder of Reebok USA, who passed away recently at age 91. Lesser supported Northeastern Hillel since its founding in 1962 and remained deeply involved for decades, regularly checking in to ensure Jewish students had a strong campus community available to them. He also encouraged connections between Hillel and other campus groups, believing in the importance of building bridges across differences.