Why Hosting “Breaking the Silence” at Columbia U Violates Hillel Int’l Guidelines
The Jewish Voice
Wed Mar 30 2016
J Street – through its students group, J Street U – has been engaged in a campaign to hold events at Hillel Houses across the country featuring the radical organization Breaking the Silence (BtS).
In 2013, J Street U hosted BtS at U Penn Hillel. In March 2014, J Street U hosted BtS at Washington University in St. Louis Hillel. In 2016, J Street U decided to devote substantial resources to promote and to bring BtS to several campuses. So far, they were able to secure Hillel’s approval to host two BTS events this month, at Brown University (on 3/17) and at the Kraft Center for Jewish Students Life at Columbia University (3/31).
J Street U was scheduled to host BtS at the Kraft Center for Jewish Students Life last month (February). However, in response to widespread outrage from donors and community members, Columbia Hillel’s Executive Director Brian Cohen postponed the event. Brian Cohen has now convinced his board to bring BtS back to Columbia for an event inside the Kraft Center for Jewish Students Life....
