Tensions build surrounding Hillel's presence on campus

The recent cancellation of Janet Mock’s lecture at the Brown RISD Hillel is the second event this semester in a long string of debates between Palestinian rights groups and Hillel-related groups on campus.The first event occurred on January 28, when Brown Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) protestors rallied outside Solomon Hall while “Jewish Journeys: A Conversation with Michael Douglas and Natan Sharansky” happened within. The Jewish Journeys event was co-sponsored by the Brown RISD Hillel, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Genesis Prize, and Hillel International. As the audience filled the auditorium, a member of SJP handed out small fliers, which stated the following: “Today’s lecture is part of a ‘hasbara’ (propaganda) campaign by the Israeli government via Brown RISD Hillel to smear pro-Palestinian activists as anti-Semites, and to turn attention away from Israel’s apartheid regime.”SJP, in a BDH op-ed published on March 21, further expressed that Brown RISD Hillel, by not fully disaffiliating from Hillel International, "has a clear policy of supporting Israel."The op-ed also criticized President Paxson's campus-wide email, in which she addressed some of the above, as well as the discovery of homophobic and antisemitic graffiti in Marcy House on the night of March 17th. SJP took fault with Paxson "[attempting] to implicate Mock's cancellation with the anti-Semitic and homophobic graffiti," as well as using "her position of power... to silence the discussion under the guise of promoting free speech."Paxson noted in her email that there is "absolutely no evidence that the cancellation of the Mock event is related to the homophobic and anti-Semitic graffiti that appeared in Marcy Hall last week."Unlike the "Jewish Journeys" event, the Mock lecture had no direct involvement from Hillel International. Brown RISD Hillel receives no funding from Hillel International. The Mock lecture was planned by Moral Voices, a Hillel-affiliated organization that is "funded by a private donor," according to a blog post written by Moral Voice's co-chairs Natalie Cutler '16 and Rachel Levy '16. In the post, Levy and Cutler expressed that they were "deeply shocked and saddened" by the petition to call for Mock to "accept Brown students' sponsorship instead of Hillel's." "Does simply engaging in a Jewish space render one unfit to do justice work?" Cutler and Levy asked in the post.While Brown RISD Hillel does not receive funding from Hillel International, they also have not taken as dramatic steps as other universities' Hillel chapters to distance themselves from Hillel International. Swarthmore's Hillel, for example, decided to completely separate from Hillel International in 2013 over issues involving bringing anti-Zionist speakers to campus (interestingly, Brown RISD Hillel did bring PLO Ambassador Maen Areikat to campus in 2014 and still remains affiliated with Hillel International).Hillel International's "Israel guidelines" imply that affiliation, not just funding, necessitates that Hillel chapters adhere to similar institutional positions on Israel. Hillel International’s website reads: “Local Hillels are encouraged to convene their stakeholders to review these standards and create their own Israel guidelines that are consistent with this document and reflect the local environment. These guidelines should be shared with students, partners, speakers, and other stakeholders to ensure they are aware of and adhere to Hillel’s Israel guidelines.”Marshall Einhorn, Executive Director of the Brown RISD Hillel, does believe that despite this, Brown RISD Hillel acts with relative leeway.“We are an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit,” he said. “We have our own Board of Trustees. We have a good working relationship with Hillel International, and we certainly have the approval to use the Hillel name, but we certainly make independent decisions in terms of what’s best for our community.”Einhorn noted that the Brown RISD Hillel is funded by donations from parents, alumni, and other independent benefactors. Should Brown RISD Hillel receive any sort of funding from Hillel International, it would have to apply for a grant, which they have not done. They do, however, sometimes cosponsor events, such as “Jewish Journeys.”"We look to use Hillel International's standards of partnership as a starting point, but look for ways to match those to our community needs. There are some gray areas and we certainly are eager to explore those gray areas and create a broad set of opportunities for students," Einhorn said.The question is: does any affiliation with Hillel International preclude Brown RISD Hillel from meeting community needs?Image via.