Latest News from Campus

A student affiliated with Hillel of San Diego created “Project Nitzan” to honor his friend Nitzan Libstein, who was murdered during Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. The initiative involved distributing black poppy pins to students, and participating in a Yom HaZikaron event at the Lawrence Family JCC, where attendees wore sweatshirts commemorating Nitzan and his father, who was also murdered on October 7.

Hillels of Georgia hosted 400 students, alumni, donors, and campus leaders to celebrate the organization’s role in supporting Jewish life on campus. The ‘Stand with Hillel’ event featured discussions on student-led programs, initiatives to combat antisemitism, and the importance of Jewish identity in the university environment. Hillels of Georgia CEO Rabbi Larry Sernovitz emphasized, “The real story tonight is empowering our students to be leaders and providing connections across the state…”

Ithaca College Hillel hosted a card-writing event for 100-year-old Holocaust survivor and educator Judith Altmann, who was hospitalized for heart failure and unable to attend a scheduled Yom HaShoah event on campus. Students wrote messages of support to Altmann, who survived the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps and continues to educate others about the Holocaust.

Emory University recently hosted its annual Israel Fest co-organized by Emory Hillel and other Jewish student groups. The event featured Israeli music, food, and cultural displays, including tables where attendees wrote letters to families of hostages held by Hamas, and Israeli Defense Force soldiers. Emory Hillel President Maya Rezak emphasized the festival’s role in fostering community and sharing Israeli culture.

Boston University Hillel organized its annual “Reading of the Names” program, where students, faculty, and staff publicly read aloud names of Holocaust victims throughout the Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah. Sociology professor Deborah Carr urged attendees to remember each victim as a person with a life, family, and story. Students from BU’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies program also shared reflections on the importance of personal remembrance.

Penn Hillel hosted Penn alum and Holocaust survivor Michael Katz for  Holocaust Remembrance Day. During his talk, Katz recounted his escape from the Janowska concentration camp and his involvement in the Polish underground resistance during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.