NYC’s New School rejects student senate’s vote to defund and cut ties with Hillel |
NEW YORK — The New School, a private university in New York City, on Saturday rejected a student government vote to defund and cut ties with the campus chapter of Hillel.
The New School’s student senate voted on Friday to strip funding and stop collaboration with the campus chapter of the Jewish student organization, claiming violations of “international law” due to volunteer opportunities it has offered with the Israel Defense Forces, along with other Israel programs and trips.
The vote appeared to be the first time a university’s student government has severed ties with its chapter of Hillel, long seen as the main address for Jewish life on most American campuses.
For years, and especially since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and start of the Gaza war, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel students have called on their universities to stop working with Hillel, citing its connections to Israel. Hillel International and other Jewish groups have said that efforts to shut down the premier Jewish student organization are antisemitic.
A statement from the student senate at the New School, which has a historical reputation for radical politics, said the senate’s registered student organization compliance committee designated Hillel “not in good standing,” and that it was ineligible for funding from or collaboration with the senate, in any capacity, effective immediately.
The senate justified the decision by claiming “extensive ties to violations of international law” by Hillel due to its connection to the IDF, citing trips where Hillel members volunteered on Israeli military bases.
A 38-page report from the committee also cited Hillel’s promotion of 10-day Birthright trips and other programs in Israel.
Israel has been accused of war crimes in international courts in cases that are still pending, but........