Hillel President to Talk BDS with J Street Students
Hillel President Eric Fingerhut will address J Street students about combating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel on campuses.
Fingerhut, who pulled out of addressing a J Street conference in March, reportedly under donor pressure, will address the summer leadership institute of J Street’s Campus affiliate, J Street U, on Aug. 17, a Hillel statement said.
The statement issued Thursday said Fingerhut would “discuss issues of mutual concern and importance to both organizations and the pro-Israel community on campus.”
Matthew Berger, a spokesman for Hillel, said Fingerhut “looked forward to meeting the students and engaging with them.”
“All Hillel professionals value opportunities to speak to as many Jewish students as possible,” Berger said.
J Street and Hillel officials have met since Fingerhut pulled out of the March conference to discuss means of working together.
J Street U opposes the boycott movement, but its openness to engage with entities and individuals that some centrist and right-wing Jewish groups consider hostile to Israel and Jews has created tensions among pro-Israel groups.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.