‘Local, programmatic decision,’ Hillel International says of University of Michigan chapter breaking with Israeli advocacy groups

(Oct. 9, 2026/ JNS)

The University of Michigan Hillel made a”regional, programmatic choice that does not effect or govern any other Hillel “when it decided last month to sever ties with groups that lobby or arrange politically, consisting of pro-Israel groups, a spokesperson for Hillel International informed JNS on Thursday.

The choice of the Hillel on the general public Ann Arbor, Mich., school was very first reported in Jewish Insiderwhich recommended that it decided to separate itself from J Street U, an arm of J Street.

The leader of J Street, which calls itself pro-Israel, has stated that he had actually “been convinced logically by legal and academic arguments that worldwide courts will one day discover that Israel has actually broken the global genocide convention.”

“Consistent with the Hillel motion’s leading function in Israel engagement, Michigan Hillel stays dedicated to significant Israel shows, education and travel experiences,” the Hillel worldwide spokesperson informed JNS.

Asked if regional Hillels might set their own policies about connecting with anti-Israel groups, the Hillel International spokesperson directed JNS to its Israel standards, which specify that Hillel will not “partner with, home or host companies, groups or speakers that as a matter of policy or practice reject the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state with safe and acknowledged borders,” to name a few anti-Israel actions.

Cindy Hughey, interim executive director of the University of Michigan Hillel, revealed its policy in September.

According to Hughey, the Hillel will continue to co-sponsor programs with pro-Israel nationwide companies, simply not have any official trainee club associations. Hughey informed JNS she is “the most pro-Israel Hillel director” and will “support trainees’ enthusiasm to be loud and happy pro-Israel supporters.”

She informed JNS she wished to “set the record directly about false information.”

J Street U was the only advocacy group impacted at the time, however the limitation now uses to future associations with nationwide advocacy companies, according to Jewish Insider

Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of neighborhood relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, informed JNS that “while in basic I favor Hillel having as huge a camping tent as possible, I leave it approximately the Hillel experts and the Hillel trainee management to identify the size of that camping tent and whether nationwide advocacy companies ought to be within it.”

Other Hillels openly note J Street U amongst their supported trainee groups, consisting of the George Washington University Hillel and Brandeis University Hillel

“Although the Hillel states it will continue Israel education and cultural programs, it has actually drawn a brand-new line in between appealing with Israel and openly protecting it,” Seth Mendel, school editor at CAMERA, informed JNS.

“Pro-Israel groups have actually likewise successfully been pressed outside Hillel’s institutional structure,” Mendel stated. “The outcome is that trainees facing anti-Zionist hostility are progressively anticipated to construct the facilities for their own defense, while the main Jewish organization on school actions back from advocacy– a core part of the trainees’ requirements.”

Mendel informed JNS that the policy is “administrative retreat” which the Michigan Hillel need to choose “not whether it deserves to narrow its objective however whether doing so in fact serves the trainees who depend on it.”

“If Michigan Hillel wishes to stay the center of Jewish life on school, it can not pull away from among the main and difficult parts of being Jewish there,” he stated.