Latest News from Campus

The U.S. Justice Department filed a third lawsuit against UCLA alleging the university has shown it is “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitic harassment of Jewish and Israeli students following the October 7, 2023 attacks and subsequent campus protests. The suit focuses on incidents tied to a 2024 anti-Israel encampment and alleges the university failed to adequately respond to reports of harassment. In response, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk cited actions the university has taken to confront antisemitism this past year, saying, “The suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong.”

Three Hadar Institute rabbis will begin work at Rutgers University, New York University, and UMass Amherst starting this summer as part of a campus expansion initiative. The rabbis, who will be embedded with campus Hillels, will engage in leading Jewish learning, prayer, and student programming. Hadar says the partnership aims to deepen pluralistic Jewish life and increase access to Torah learning for Jewish college students of all observance levels.

Harvard University asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the federal government that accuses the school of violating civil rights law by failing to adequately address antisemitism on campus. In its filing, Harvard argued that the government’s claims mischaracterize its response and ignore the steps it has taken to address harassment and protect Jewish and Israeli students under Title VI.

In a recent interview with the Cleveland Jewish News, Hillel International President and CEO Adam Lehman shared that Hillel is expanding leadership development and community-building programs for students as campuses continue to confront antisemitism. He said the most effective response to anti-Jewish hate is “creating opportunities for Jewish joy, purpose and meaning through… pluralistic, inclusive communities.”

A UCLA antisemitism task force released a report urging the university to strengthen disciplinary processes, clarify consequences for violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and improve enforcement of existing antidiscrimination policies. Julio Frenk, the UCLA chancellor who created the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, said the recommendations reflect a commitment to ensuring antisemitism has no place at the university. Hillel at UCLA Executive Director Daniel Gold, a member of the task force, said “While initial work of our initiative has concluded with the release of this important report, the work of everyone else at UCLA now begins to implement these changes and uphold the commitment towards a campus free of antisemitism.”

In this opinion piece, Jay Solomon, chief advancement officer for Hillel Ontario, describes how Canadian Jewish communities are confronting rising antisemitism, including on college campuses. He explains that Hillel Ontario is responding by “doubling down” – investing in Jewish confidence, literacy, and joy, and empowering students to contribute “openly and proudly to university life.”