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Last week, we gathered at WashU in St. Louis for Hillel International’s New Professionals Institute (NPI), welcoming 208 new Hillel staff members. As I shared at the NPI opening, this convening is one of my favorite times of the year.
May marks a season of both beginnings and endings. As we celebrate the graduating class of 2025, we also prepare to welcome the class of 2029, who, on May 1st, committed to schools on National College Decision Day.
It’s that time of year again. And I don’t mean tax season, Passover, or the NFL draft. I’m referring to college decision time. Millions of prospective college students and their families will be making a final decision on where to attend school ahead of College Decision Day on May 1st, as part of the “regular decision” admissions process.
What we do have at Hillel is unmatched expertise regarding Jewish life on campus, thanks to our 100-plus years of serving Jewish college students.
As the weather starts to turn toward spring here in Washington D.C, and we look ahead to the cherry blossoms beginning to bloom, a host of meaningful Hillel activities are blooming across our movement. Some of that activity remains dedicated to addressing ongoing antisemitism impacting Jewish college students, through initiatives including our Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (CALL), Campus Climate Initiative, and Campus for All student resource site. That said, since the topic of campus antisemitism is being covered so extensively in the news, I’m focusing this update on the many other aspects of our work that support, inspire, and empower the Jewish students we’re privileged to serve.
With the new semester underway, our Hillel teams are building on momentum from the fall term to advance our core work in creating thriving Jewish life on campus, while continuing to forcefully address the issues of antisemitism and hostile campus environments that can undermine the ability of Jewish students to fully express their identities.
At Hillel, we celebrated our 100th anniversary during the 2023-2024 academic year. It was a record-setting year for us, during which more college students and young adults participated in Jewish life experiences through Hillel than ever before — more than 180,000 in total. At the same time, it was unfortunately also a record-setting year relative to antisemitism on our college campuses.
Dear Friends, We will soon be celebrating the holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot represents both a conclusion and a beginning. With the receiving of the Torah, the Israelites concluded a critical phase in their journey toward Jewish peoplehood. Shavuot also concludes the counting of the Omer, 50 days after the start of Passover. At the same time, Shavuot […]
Dear Friends, Spring is upon us, which means it is also the season of Passover. Passover is often described as Z’man Heruteinu, the season of freedom, as we recount and celebrate the journey of the Israelites from slavery to liberation during the Seder. However, in light of current circumstances, it is particularly difficult to think […]
Dear Friends, Leadership matters. This maxim applies in all contexts, though it’s especially true in times of challenge. Unfortunately, Jewish college students are familiar with such difficult times, as they continue to face extreme conflict and related violence, harassment, intimidation, and threats directed at them on campus. In this context, it was truly inspiring to […]
