Latest News from Campus

A multifaith dinner at the University of Houston brought together Jewish, Bahá’í, and Muslim students for shared food, honest conversation, and bridge-building. The program, supported by an Interfaith Outreach Grant from Hillel International, allowed students to have conversations in a relaxed setting to better understand each others’ identities and religious practice.

Following a federal investigation, Pomona College reached a settlement with Hillel International, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The agreement includes significant campus reforms, including adopting the IHRA framework for defining antisemitism, prohibiting masked protests, and strengthening time, place, and manner rules for demonstrations.

UC Berkeley and Pomona College have reached settlement agreements with Jewish groups and individuals who filed complaints about how the schools handled incidents of antisemitism stemming from anti-Israel protests in 2023 and 2024. As part of the deal, Berkeley is paying $60,000 to an Israeli professor who says she was not rehired due to her nationality, despite teaching a successful class. The university also issued a formal apology to the professor and said she has been invited back to teach the same class in the future. Separately, Pomona College agreed to hire a Title VI civil rights coordinator and create a task force on Jewish life and antisemitism on campus.

Former hostage Noa Argamani, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and rescued by Israeli forces after 245 days in Hamas captivity, shared her story of survival and resilience with the University of Texas – Austin (UT Austin) Jewish community. Texas Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Stephanie Max facilitated the conversation with Argamani and shared, “The act of telling them [hostage stories] will remain critically important.”

Harvard University recently appointed Elom Tettley-Tamaklo, an anti-Israel activist, as a graduate teaching fellow. Tettley-Tamaklo, an undergraduate student at the time, assaulted a Jewish student during an anti-Israel protest in 2023 and did not face disciplinary charges from the university. In related news, Columbia University promoted history professor Manan Ahmed from associate professor to full professor. In May 2024, Ahmed prevented Jewish students from entering a pro-Palestinian encampment.

85% of Jewish students reported experiencing or witnessing antisemitic activity on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, according to a survey by Penn Hillel. The survey also showed that while 96% of respondents reported pride in their Jewish identity, more than one in three Jewish students felt the need to hide their identity on campus.