New School Rejects Student Senate Vote To Defund Hillel Over Israel-Related Programming

The New School rejected a student government vote to defund and cut ties with its Hillel chapter after the University Student Senate approved the action on Friday and the university responded on Saturday, according to multiple outlets covering the dispute in New York City.

“New School rejects student government vote to cut ties, defund Hillel Hillel called the vote ‘deeply painful and antisemitic’; the New School said it would ensure the student government ‘acts within its actual purview’ moving forward Getty Images The New School rejected a student government vote on Saturday to defund and sever ties with the private New York City university’s Hillel chapter, a vote that prompted condemnation from local lawmakers and Jewish groups, while drawing praise from a controversial Muslim advocacy organization”

Jewish Insider

The student senate’s resolution followed a 38-page report by its Registered Student Organization (RSO) Compliance Committee that alleged Hillel violated “international law” through Israel-related programming, including “Birthright trips and volunteer opportunities with the Israel Defense Forces,” as described by Jewish Insider.

Jewish Insider

The Media Line and The Jerusalem Post both reported that the USS voted to declare the Hillel chapter “not in good standing” over Israel-related programs and trips, with the Media Line quoting the compliance committee’s rationale that “To continue to fund Hillel at the New School would mean that your student fees would be used to support violations of international law.”

The New School said the student senate lacked authority to determine recognition, funding eligibility, or official status for registered student organizations, with a spokesperson telling The New York Post that “The student senate does not have the authority to determine the recognition, funding eligibility, or official status of registered student organizations.”

The Times of Israel similarly quoted the university’s position that “Our Hillel chapter remains, as it always has been, in good standing, eligible for funding, and supporting Jewish life at The New School.”

The dispute was framed by outlets as the first time a student government has severed ties with a Hillel chapter, with The Media Line saying the vote was believed to be “the first such action against a Hillel chapter in the US,” and The Times of Israel describing it as “the first time a university’s student government has severed ties with its chapter of Hillel.”

After the university rejected the student senate vote, the dispute continued over whether the University Student Senate could withhold funding, with The New School Free Press reporting that the USS would continue to withhold funding from The New School’s Hillel chapter until it ends “direct material collaboration with a foreign military.”

The Free Press said the USS posted its position on Instagram on May 3, describing the pause as a response to an email from administrators sent on May 2 to students, faculty, staff, and parents that said the funding was never paused because the USS had no authority to do so.

Mondoweiss

The Free Press quoted the USS statement saying the university’s email “made no mention” of Hillel at TNS’s ties to international law violations, and it also said the USS was “deeply troubled by the claims that our resolution is meant to target anyone for their identity or political beliefs.”

The USS cited sections 9 and 10 of its university-authorized Funding Guidelines, which it said gave it authority to audit Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and apply sanctions, including withdrawing funding eligibility.

The Free Press reported that the guidelines also say the USS is “granted decision-making authority to allocate” funds, while also noting that “the university retains ultimate legal and fiduciary responsibility for [funds’] stewardship.”

The Free Press added that RSOs are not due funds from the USS if they do not apply through the USS, and it described the university’s communications director Will Wilbur as maintaining that funds must follow the Funding Guidelines but cannot be withheld from RSOs.

The dispute drew sharply contrasting statements from Hillel leaders, the student senate, and elected officials, with outlets quoting multiple voices.

“Students at NYC’s woke New School voted to strip funding for its campus Hillel chapter — an unprecedented move critics ripped as “despicable” and school officials insisted was unauthorized”

New York Post

Hillel at TNS said the USS decision was an “attempt to exclude a Jewish student group from campus life,” and it argued that “For many Jewish students, a relationship with Israel is a core part of identity … targeting that connection, and only that connection, is discriminatory and sets a dangerous precedent,” according to The New School Free Press.

The Free Press reported that the statement was signed by Hillel at TNS President Liora Gold, Vice President Maya Glass, Secretary and Social Media Coordinator Michael Valdes, Treasurer Cate Childress, and Hillel E-Board member Miri Liebman.

In response to the student senate’s framing, the USS said it was “deeply troubled by the claims that our resolution is meant to target anyone for their identity or political beliefs,” while also insisting that the pause was “legitimate and still in effect,” per the Free Press.

Lawmakers and Jewish community leaders condemned the vote, with Jewish Insider reporting that Rep. Ritchie Torres called “the attack on Hillel … an ominous sign of the times we live in,” and that Rep. Dan Goldman said, “This is hateful and vile antisemitism, plain and simple.”

On the other side, CAIR-NY’s executive director Afaf Nasher welcomed the suspension, with Jewish Insider quoting her: “We welcome The New School’s decision to suspend funding for Hillel as a necessary step toward accountability and adherence to international human rights principles.”

Coverage diverged in how outlets characterized the student senate’s action and the university’s response, even when they described the same underlying dispute about funding and authority.

The New York Post described the vote as a move by “Students at NYC’s woke New School” and said critics ripped it as “despicable,” while also asserting that school officials insisted the action was unauthorized, quoting the spokesperson that “The student senate does not have the authority to determine the recognition, funding eligibility, or official status of registered student organizations.”

The Jerusalem Post

The Jerusalem Post emphasized the procedural conflict, writing that the student government voted to suspend funding and collaboration “even though TNS said on Saturday that the student government lacked the authority to make such decisions,” and it quoted the administration’s statement that the USS does not have authority to determine the “official status of registered student organizations.”

The Media Line similarly focused on the university’s position that “The university said the administration, not the student senate, controls recognition, funding eligibility, and official status,” and it described the senate’s allegations as claims that Hillel’s ties to Hillel International, Birthright Israel, Onward Israel, and programs involving visits or volunteering on Israel Defense Forces bases linked the chapter to violations of international law.

Jewish Insider, by contrast, foregrounded the condemnation and the student senate report’s allegations, describing Hillel’s response as calling the vote “deeply painful and antisemitic” and quoting lawmakers’ reactions, including Rep. Dan Goldman’s “This is hateful and vile antisemitism, plain and simple.”

The New School Free Press added a timeline and internal governance detail, reporting that the USS would continue to withhold funding as of May 3 and citing the USS’s reliance on Funding Guidelines sections 9 and 10, while also quoting the university’s communications director Will Wilbur about how funds must follow the Funding Guidelines.

The sources describe immediate next steps as the university tries to address the USS action while Hillel and its allies prepare to respond, and the USS maintains that its funding pause remains in effect.

“New School Rejects Student Senate Vote To Defund Hillel Chapter The New School said Saturday that its University Student Senate had no authority to defund or cut ties with the university’s Hillel chapter, after student leaders voted Friday in New York City to declare the Jewish campus organization “not in good standing” over Israel-related programs and trips”

The Media Line

The Times of Israel reported that the New School’s administration was taking “immediate steps” to address the USS’s action and ensure it acts within its “actual purview, now and going forward,” quoting the university’s statement that “The administration is taking immediate steps to address the USS’s action and ensure it acts within its actual purview, now and going forward.”

The Media Line

The New School Free Press said the USS stated the pause would remain in effect as of May 3, and it described the university as maintaining that funds must follow the Funding Guidelines but cannot be withheld from RSOs, while also saying NSFP was awaiting a response from the university about how it would enforce its stance and resume funding to Hillel.

The Media Line and The Jerusalem Post both reported that the USS said Hillel could return to “good standing” if it cut ties with Hillel International and ended participation in several Israel student trips, with the Jerusalem Post stating that USS claimed Hillel TNS could supposedly return to “good standing” if it renounced its status as a chapter of Hillel and ended participation in several Israel student trips.

Hillel International said it was in talks with the New School following the vote, and The Times of Israel reported that “Hillel International said it was in talks with the New School following the vote,” while also quoting Adam Lehman’s statement that “Demonizing Hillel with false charges rooted in age-old antisemitic tropes is wrong, plain and simple.”

The New School Free Press reported that the dispute was expanding across The New School as organizations publicly took sides, including the Leadership Council of the New School chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-TNS) saying it would “defend their advocacy role in matters of conscience.”