{"id":228600,"date":"2026-05-12T15:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/228600\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T15:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:01:14","slug":"citing-israels-international-crimes-nyc-student-government-trying-to-defund-hillel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/228600\/","title":{"rendered":"Citing Israel’s ‘international crimes,’ NYC student government trying to defund Hillel"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 The student senate at Manhattan\u2019s New School announced its \u201clandmark decision\u201d to defund its Jewish students\u2019 club earlier this month. Ironically, the decision came down shortly before Shabbat.<\/p>\n

\u201cHillel at the New School is ineligible for funding from or collaboration with the [student senate] in any capacity,\u201d the announcement said<\/a>, accusing the Jewish club of \u201cextensive ties to violations of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vote \u2014 rejected by the university administration<\/a> \u2014 marked the first time a US university\u2019s student government had cut off its Hillel, long seen as the main address for Jewish life on most American campuses.<\/p>\n

The announcement surprised the campus Hillel director, but the student senate had been quietly working toward the move for months, basing its decision on an anti-Israel base built in forums from the United Nations and human rights groups to medical journals and City Hall.<\/p>\n

The process illustrated how a global network can come to bear on individual Jews, sparking fear in students and setting a precedent that could be used against Jewish clubs on other campuses.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI saw all of my classmates posting, reposting and cheering,\u201d an Israeli New School student said of the announcement against Hillel. \u201cI thought, I\u2019m not going to have a Jewish club anymore, which for me, is really home away from home and they supported me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the only place I felt safe as a Jewish student on campus,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tThe New School in New York City, May 6, 2026. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

Building a case<\/p>\n

Hillel is the leading international Jewish student organization, with around 850 chapters. The New School\u2019s chapter is part of a network centered at the nearby Baruch College that serves students at nine colleges. Following the war in Gaza, launched by the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, anti-Zionist activists have targeted that network<\/a> due to its ties to Israel.<\/p>\n

The New School is a private university in Manhattan, known for its progressive politics, with around 9,000 students. The student senate in 2024 attempted to block funding<\/a> to all student groups, demanding \u201cdivestment from industries implicated in military and police violence in Gaza and the West Bank,\u201d but the university\u2019s administration circumvented that vote. Weeks later, the senate attempted to cut off Hillel<\/a>, but was blocked by the administration, a Jewish student said.<\/p>\n

Those campaigns unnerved Jewish students, but failed to produce any concrete effects, such as banning Hillel or stripping its funds.<\/p>\n

In January, the student senate posted<\/a> a declaration including a commitment to \u201cinternational law.\u201d A week later, the student senate established<\/a> a committee tasked with ensuring that student organizations were in \u201ccompliance with international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tMasked protesters wearing Hamas headbands protest against Baruch College\u2019s Hillel student group, in New York City, June 5, 2024. (Luke Tress\/JTA)<\/p>\n

In April, the committee put Hillel under review<\/a>, saying the club \u201cpotentially collaborates with foreign militaries to violate international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

That months-long process ended on Friday with the statement from the senate and a 38-page report<\/a>, condemning Hillel for activities such as preparing a barbecue for IDF soldiers and packing food for troops. The report reused some of the evidence and language from the failed 2024 resolution against Hillel.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo continue to fund Hillel at the New School would mean that your student fees would be used to support violations of international law,\u201d the report said, implicating the student body in Hillel\u2019s alleged crimes. \u201cOur shared values require us to enforce our policies until Hillel agrees to affirm and abide by international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

To reinstate funding, Hillel must sever all ties with and renounce Hillel International, and end participation in Israel programs, the student senate said.<\/p>\n

Global foundations for a purge<\/p>\n

The students accused Hillel of several crimes, including complicity in the \u201cextrajudicial execution\u201d of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and \u201cillegal territorial seizure\u201d in visits to the Golan Heights.<\/p>\n

The core of the students\u2019 argument was that Hillel participated in war crimes, apartheid and genocide by volunteering on IDF bases.<\/p>\n

The report cited organizations like UN bodies, Amnesty International and international courts to make its case \u2014 groups that have had an outsize focus<\/a> on Israel that critics say is biased<\/a> and discriminatory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tAnti-Israel signs are seen posted on windows as The New School faculty set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the university\u2019s campus May 08, 2024 in New York City (Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images\/AFP)<\/p>\n

The report also claimed authority<\/a> from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s declaration that the city \u201cstands up for international law,\u201d stating that the senate was \u201cdelivering on that commitment.\u201d Mamdani made the statement while vowing to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an International Criminal Court warrant, despite lacking legal authority<\/a> to make such an arrest.<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 report relied on other anti-Israel sources, claiming up to 680,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, citing speculative claims online<\/a> and in a medical journal<\/a> that vastly inflate Hamas figures.<\/p>\n

On top of those foundations, the students erected their argument for cutting off Hillel.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Hillel at The New School\u2019 has materially supported a foreign army engaged in gross human rights abuses, including war crimes, apartheid, and genocide,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

The senate added that its determination was \u201cnot based on political opinion, religious identity, ideological disagreement, or disagreement over free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Totally made up\u2019<\/p>\n

Eugene Kontorovich, an international law expert and professor at George Mason University\u2019s Scalia Law School, said the argument was baseless.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no international law prohibition on volunteering at IDF bases or any army bases. This is totally made up,\u201d Kontorovich said. \u201cMoreover, the US government, which determines US positions on international law matters, has never said anything like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tStudent activists and their allies protest in front of the New School in support of an encampment for pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters on April 21, 2024 in New York City. (Stephanie Keith\/Getty Images\/AFP)<\/p>\n

No international court has convicted Israelis of war crimes. The International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice are investigating alleged Israeli crimes, but have not issued final rulings.<\/p>\n

The student senate report, however, treats the investigations as criminal convictions. But even if soldiers at the bases where students volunteered were convicted of war crimes, the New School students would not be criminally liable. That would require proof that individual students knowingly and purposefully helped facilitate a specific crime \u2014 a far cry from hosting a barbecue or packing foodstuffs. (The student senate did not respond to requests for comment.)<\/p>\n

Resolution underlines years of hostility<\/p>\n

Students who spoke with The Times of Israel, requesting anonymity due to fears of retaliation, said the resolution came after years of hostility.<\/p>\n

The Israeli said that when she presents in class, other students exit the room, and classmates who work with her are harassed. She is derided as a \u201cNazi\u201d and she says her friends have stopped wearing their Star of David pendants.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA protester flashes an inverted triangle, a symbol associated with Hamas, at Jewish counter-protesters, during a rally against the Hillel chapter at Baruch College, in New York City, June 5, 2024. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very liberal school where if you are racist to Black people, LGBTQ, Asians, you will be canceled, but to be racist to Jews, it\u2019s okay,\u201d she said. \u201cI could never imagine before moving here that I would be part of such an antisemitic institute, and that\u2019s something that still exists.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Israel, she had been a leftist non-Zionist and participated in Israeli-Palestinian coexistence programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if they know that, I\u2019m Israeli and I was in the IDF \u2014 that\u2019s enough. I\u2019m a \u2018Nazi,’\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re doing what they are saying they are against. They are racist and not looking at people as human beings, which is what they say they are fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now months into her studies, her anti-Zionist views had changed. While she still supports the Palestinians, she realized, \u201cThank God I have a country to escape to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me be Zionist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Another member of Hillel added that the senate\u2019s report indicated the student government had been monitoring Hillel for years.<\/p>\n

He attributed the hostile atmosphere to a relatively small but vocal cadre that is \u201cable to easily influence people who might not know what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just need a few crazy people to indoctrinate an entire school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fears for the future<\/p>\n

A day after the resolution passed, Hillel International said it was communicating with the New School, and a spokesperson for the university said the student senate did not have the authority to cut off Hillel and that the Jewish club remained \u201cin good standing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tPolice stand between protesters targeting the Hillel at Baruch College and counter-demonstrators, in New York City, June 5, 2024. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

University President Joel Towers sent a message to the campus community, saying the senate was \u201cdistorting a qualified student organization and characterizing it as something it is not,\u201d and was \u201cusing its platform to target fellow students in a misguided attempt to hold those students responsible for the acts of governments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Towers told The Times of Israel in a statement that the administration was meeting with Hillel student leaders \u201cto ensure Jewish students feel supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery New School student, regardless of identity, background, or affiliation, is welcome, valued and respected as a member of our university community,\u201d Towers said. \u201cThey are entitled to full participation in campus life without fear of bias, discrimination, intimidation, or harassment. That\u2019s why the University Student Senate\u2019s action was unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Towers added that the student senate\u2019s vote was \u201cmoot, having no actual effect on Hillel\u2019s status,\u201d and that a formal review was underway.<\/p>\n

The Hillel members supported the administration\u2019s response, but sought more action, including consequences for the students involved or structural changes at the school. The Israeli student said there was a \u201chuge gap\u201d between the administration and the positions of faculty and students.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIllustrative: An anti-Zionist protester in New York City, May 5, 2026. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

The non-Israeli Hillel member feared the deteriorating atmosphere could foment violence. Recent polls have shown that younger<\/a>, more leftist, and better-educated<\/a> Americans are more open to political violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very worried for the students who are going to continue after me. I don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to handle this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s everyone. It\u2019s so extreme that it\u2019s got to the not extreme [people],\u201d the Israeli student said. \u201cThe students and the teachers, or the faculty, are getting more extreme and it\u2019s going really to a bad direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ilya Bratman, the head of the campus Hillel, said the resolution was \u201ca symptom of a much bigger movement.\u201d He and other Jewish leaders<\/a> fear student governments elsewhere will prosecute their Hillels using the same blueprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these entities are going after Jewish life on campus. New School, it\u2019s just the beginning. It\u2019s a precedent that\u2019s set for a bunch of campuses,\u201d Bratman said. \u201cWe will see this as an epidemic of hate and exclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Makings of a movement?<\/p>\n

The New School resolution has already energized<\/a> a movement to \u201cDrop Hillel,\u201d including at New York University<\/a>, and some New School professors have backed<\/a>\u00a0the student senate. An open letter<\/a> supporting the resolution against Hillel has garnered more than 330 signatures, including from faculty at the New School and other universities.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA student, left, meets with a social worker at the Hillel at Baruch College. (UJA via JTA)<\/p>\n

After the administration rejected the senate\u2019s resolution, the students doubled down<\/a>, saying the senate \u201cwill continue to sanction Hillel.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a virtual meeting on Friday, Hillel student leader Michael Valdes told student senate representatives, \u201cPolitical disagreement cannot become the justification for excluding a student club from campus life,\u201d and that the vote sent a chilling message to other student groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen leadership contributes to the exclusion of a specific community from campus life, we have to seriously ask what message that sends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Senate members on the call told Valdez there would be an appeals process, and that the vote was not based on religious identity or political identity, but part of a \u201cuniversal process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The senate did not indicate any change in direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a matter of international law and the violations that we found are extremely serious,\u201d a senate leader told Valdes.<\/p>\n

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