jewish bruin campus climate
This is a recap of community-wide messages sent after October 7th.
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Oct 9, 2025
Hope Restored: We Can Finally Say We Are Bringing Them Home
For two years, our community has carried the weight of October 7, 2023 — a day that changed so much, especially for Jewish Bruins on campus. We have prayed, cried, gathered, and held fast to hope through unimaginable pain. We have spoken the names of the 251 hostages taken that day, refusing to let the world forget.
And now, at long last, hope has broken through.
As you know last night, it has been announced that a deal has been reached to free the remaining Israeli hostages and bring an end to the war in Gaza. While we wait anxiously for these sacred reunions to become reality in the coming days, we can finally say what we have prayed for all along:
We are bringing them home.
This news transforms the meaning of tonight’s gathering. What was planned as a night of solemn remembrance will now also become a night of profound gratitude, renewed faith, and collective hope.
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Community Vigil of Hope and Homecoming
TODAY: Thursday, October 9, 2025
6:00 PM — Silent Remembrance Walk begins at Hillel at UCLA (574 Hilgard Ave)
7:00 PM — Vigil at Meyerhoff Park
Dress: Blue and white, in solidarity and hope
This community-wide vigil is being held in partnership with the full coalition of Jewish organizations at UCLA, including Hillel at UCLA, Chabad, Olami, Bruins for Israel, Bruins for Israel Public Affairs Committee, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Mishelanu, Students Supporting Israel, and the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group.
Together, we will remember those we lost, honor the courage of those who endured captivity, and pray for their safe return — soon, in our own days.
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This week, Jewish students at UCLA have already filled the campus with moving symbols of resilience:
1,200 white roses laid in a spiral, representing lives cut short.
251 mirrors engraved with the names of hostages — yellow for those freed, white for those still in captivity, red for those lost.
A honeycomb-shaped memorial, reflecting the wholeness that we now begin to rebuild.
Inside Hillel, students gathered for Sukkot, sharing favorite recipes of October 7 victims, lighting a yahrzeit candle, and spreading its flame — a light of remembrance that now grows into a light of redemption and renewed hope.
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Tonight, we will gather to hold both truths: the heartbreak of loss, and the healing that begins as we look toward homecomings long prayed for.
Please join us for this historic evening of unity, gratitude, and faith. Your presence will help mark this turning point for our community, our people, and our shared future.
Thank you,
Daniel Gold
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair, Executive Director
Aug 19, 2025
Reflecting on the Financial Cuts to UCLA
Like many of you, our Hillel and our Hillel community have been processing the news that the federal government has suspended hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for UCLA, as well as reports of demands for a remarkably high settlement.
Given the rampant and problematic antisemitism at UCLA and on campuses across the country, we have been one of the leading organizations calling for and working for change. We have noted positive steps forward under Chancellor Frenk’s leadership, and we continue to advocate for additional measures.
These devastating financial cuts to the University do not improve the campus climate for Jewish students and faculty. Even more, we have heard from numerous Jewish faculty whose research and departments are severely affected and who are now feeling marginalized from two sides. Fighting campus antisemitism, and improving the campus climate, need not come at the expense of research and scholarship that makes UCLA one of the world’s preeminent universities.
Last September, our Hillel expanded our strategic reach to include supporting and building community for Jewish faculty at UCLA. Our commitment to aligning with Jewish faculty is guiding our response to these recent developments. To that end, our Hillel, in partnership with the Jewish Faculty Resiliency Group (JFrg) at UCLA, which has been, and continues to be, at the forefront of fighting campus and academic antisemitism, has formed a Jewish faculty working group focusing immediate efforts on advocating to restore all funding to UCLA, as well as working with and supporting UCLA and the UCOP to reach a quick, yet reasonable settlement. Under the leadership of these faculty, we are calling for solutions that protect UCLA Jewish students, staff and faculty while avoiding measures that unintentionally harm them, We continue to take action on the ground every day to combat antisemitism and support UCLA’s Jewish community.
We thank all those who have reached out and those who have stepped up to work together for the sake of our community. We will share more as the situation unfolds and our group’s efforts proceed.
Daniel Gold
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair, Executive Director
Jul 29, 2025
Today's Settlement is a Meaningful Step Forward
his morning it was made public that the UC system has reached a settlement in the federal lawsuit filed by Jewish Bruins who were excluded from parts of campus in April of 2024. I wanted to share with you what this means for our Hillel community and how we plan to move forward together.
This settlement represents an important and meaningful step forward in addressing the very serious challenges that Jewish students have faced at UCLA. We are grateful for this acknowledgment of the wrongs that occurred and that it outlines a commitment to better protect Jewish students from anti-Zionist discrimination, in addition to other forms of discrimination and harassment. With this positive step, there is still much more work left to be done to build a safer and more welcoming campus that is free from antisemitic harassment and intimidation and we look forward to continuing our work with the university and the UC system to counter antisemitism and anti-Jewish bias at every turn.
As the largest Jewish organization on campus and the central address for Jewish life, Hillel at UCLA works tirelessly every day to nurture our vibrant Jewish community. Over the last seven months we have been especially grateful for Chancellor Frenk’s leadership at UCLA. In their brief time, Chancellor Frenk and his wife, Dr. Felicia Knaul, have built strong connections to Hillel, attending Shabbat dinners and other programs. Hillel is also included at the table for the new Initiative to Combat Antisemitism at UCLA. Their leadership has helped make UCLA safer for Jewish students by clarifying university policies and enforcing the ruIes when those policies are violated.
As part of the settlement, Hillel at UCLA is among eight organizations set to receive funds with the specific goal of promoting Jewish life and fighting antisemitism on campus at UCLA. The settlement’s resources for Hillel will boost our ability to support Jewish students and advocate for their rights on campus. Additionally, the funds empower us to continue our mission to build an even more robust, pluralistic Jewish community across denominations.
Hillel’s longstanding commitment to pluralism is highlighted by our partnership with the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC), another organization rightfully set to receive resources as part of the settlement. Hillel holds formal partnerships with several of the beneficiary organizations also including The Jewish Federation of LA and the Academic Engagement Network. Our partnership and integration with JLIC ensures our Hillel is a vibrant hub for all Jews on campus.
This unprecedented development demonstrates the importance of having strong Jewish institutions on campus and reinforces why Hillel is essential every day, and especially during times of crisis. We are especially grateful for the courage and selflessness of the four plaintiffs in this lawsuit, as well as all Jewish Bruins at UCLA – past and present – who show every day that their Judaism and connection to Israel is non-negotiable.
Moving forward, we will continue to be the home away from home that Jewish students deserve while working to beat antisemitism on campus. Thank you for your continued support as we begin a new school year with an even stronger foundation for Jewish life at UCLA, backed by both community solidarity and institutional commitment to change.
With gratitude,
Daniel Gold
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair, Executive Director
May 21, 2025
UCLA Celebrates Jewish American History Month
Over the past five months, Hillel at UCLA has welcomed UCLA’s new Chancellor, Dr. Julio Frenk, and his wife, Dr. Felicia Knaul, the Associate of the Chancellor, to our building and into our community on multiple occasions. Their physical presence in our Jewish home away from home has allowed students and staff to build rapport with our new campus leader. And the Chancellor’s clear articulations and actions which prioritize campus safety and stand firmly against antisemitism have enabled some degree of healing in our Jewish community.
The month of May is designated as Jewish American Heritage Month. In recognition of this celebration, UCLA connected with Hillel to consider ways to showcase Jewish campus life, Jewish leadership and Jewish unity. We appreciated the opportunity to give UCLA guidance in this regard, and we had the perfect event in mind to showcase…our Interfaith Seder.
Today this video was released on social media – it was filmed at Hillel’s Interfaith Seder and it reiterates the values of encouraging Jewish vitality, lifting up Jewish tradition, encouraging Jewish leadership, and promoting Jewish solidarity between students and campus administrative leaders.
Naturally there is much healing on the horizon – as active participants in the Initiative to Combat Campus Antisemitism, Hillel is in a position to advise and inform the University on matters pertaining to Jewish well being. We are grateful to be known as trusted partners to UCLA.
Your support has bolstered us and enabled Hillel to dedicate resources to building and sustaining key connections to UCLA administration, faculty and staff (all in support of our Jewish Bruin student community). Thank you for all you do for Jewish life at UCLA!
Apr 4, 2025
JEWnity is the only way!
This week we reveled in the return of Jewish Bruins to campus following Spring Break. With the one-year anniversary of the encampments approaching, and as we head into Passover, Hillel is empowering Jewish students to reclaim our campus and heal the wounds that festered in times of campus division and disorder.
We capped off the Winter Quarter with an intentional call for Jewish Unity, aka JEWnity, through the Month of Adar and our celebration of Purim. In partnership with Chabad, Olami and the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, this was an important moment for us to model for all Jewish Bruins a simple message: we are stronger together. And the holiday of Purim was the perfect time to set out on the very mitzvot that proves it. Through giving donations to the poor and gifts to one another in the form of mishloah manot, Jewish Bruins celebrated their shared peoplehood which reigns supreme, even when we disagree. Now, especially, JEWnity is needed to successfully navigate widespread upheaval.
Reverberating from the impact of greater Jewish bonds are Spring Quarter programs that serve to further unite. In just over a week we will host multiple Passover seders including the 2nd annual Interfaith Seder. Later in the quarter we will execute on a full suite of Israel Week programs, at Hillel and on campus. And we will cap off the school year with enhanced JGRAD activities to recognize the matriculation of our Jewish seniors. There’s so much to look forward to.
As you enter Shabbat, I wanted to offer some additional food for thought. Last week fellow colleagues in the Hillel movement published a thoughtful piece that articulates, in a refreshed way, the steps that are required to achieve Jewish maturation. With caring Jewish educators and professionals as their guide, this piece details how students are invited to pass through three Threshold gateways: Becoming, Building and Belonging. Hillel at UCLA offers myriad opportunities for students to stretch and grow through each of these Thresholds on their journey to Jewish adulthood. Your support makes this possible.
I invite you to read this article and share your thoughts on this framing with me.
Just a few days ago we hosted our legendary Wonderful Wednesday BBQ. Starting off Spring Quarter with 100+ students in the building always fills our cup and we hope that yours will all be overflowing knowing that your support of Hillel is leading to a thriving JEWnified Bruin community of strength and pride.
Shabbat shalom,
Mar 10, 2025
UCLA’s Initiative to Combat Antisemitism
The Bruin Community awoke this morning to an email detailing the latest effort made by Chancellor Julio Frenk to stymie the corrosive impact of antisemitism on campus (you can read it on the UCLA Newsroom site). In this announcement, the Chancellor set forth plans to establish an Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, led by Distinguished Professor, Stuart Gabriel (his name may ring a bell – he is also the Chair of the Task Force for Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Bias and took a lead role in producing the Antisemitism Report, released in October 2024).
Chancellor Frenk has articulated unequivocal intolerance for antisemitism at UCLA. Reflecting on history, he notes how the presence of antisemitism in a (campus) community is often an indicator of the presence of a more viral hate-rot on campus. It is because of this correlation that antisemitism must distinctly and urgently be addressed through actions, many of which have been outlined in the recommendations made in the Antisemitism Report.
We welcome Chancellor Frenk’s formation of an Initiative to Combat Antisemitism at UCLA. As it is anticipated that Hillel will be among a small group of organizations advising the Initiative, we look forward to working alongside UCLA and Prof. Stuart Gabriel to achieve the goals of the Initiative. Chancellor Frenk’s strong leadership inspires, in our community, a feeling of deep appreciation and hope for the future. We share his vision that UCLA will become a place where all students, faculty and staff can learn and express themselves without fear or discrimination.
As we approach the Jewish holiday of Purim, our community remembers and celebrates the lessons of the holiday: that we are stronger united than when we are divided. Hillel’s commitment to pluralism is elemental in building a strong society that fends off hate. Hillel at UCLA will always advocate for the rights and best interests of Jewish Bruins. In that spirit, we laud this step forward at UCLA.
As our community continues to heal and build strength and resilience, your support truly sustains the Jewish flame. We invite you to make a contribution as a signal of your appreciation and shared optimism. Your donation now sends a clear message to our students that their Jewish future, and their leadership, is worthy of investment.
Thank you for being a part of our community who cares and gives from the heart! Wishing you Chag Purim Sameach.
Shabbat shalom,
Feb 14, 2025
Chancellor Frenk Affirms Right to Safety
This week’s Torah portion, Yitro, offers a powerful lesson: that community will unite when the messages sent by strong leadership rings far and loud. Upon hearing about God’s miracles and the strength of Moses’ leadership, Jethro left his home to join Moses and the Israelites in the desert. This is the beginning catalyst in the story about receiving the foundational tenets of our beliefs, the Ten Commandments.
This parsha is timely for Jewish Bruins at UCLA. Throughout this school year, Hillel has aimed to lead and support our students during campus leadership transition. On January 1st, a new era of leadership commenced, as Dr. Julio Frenk left his home in Miami to begin his tenure as the seventh chancellor at UCLA. Under his leadership, we have started to feel a new sense of guidance.
The Chancellor and his wife, Dr. Felicia Knaul recently made a special visit to UCLA Hillel joining our community for Kabbalat Shabbat services and staying through dinner. They took time to connect with a full room of students and Hillel lay leaders. We were all touched when they donned UCLA Hillel-branded sweatshirts and addressed the group. Their comments to the group affirmed their commitment to safety, to order, to freedom of expression and to building a campus climate conducive to learning and thriving.
This week the Chancellor demonstrated decisive and clear leadership, following the hostile protest of UC Regent Jay Sures, at his private family home. The action, organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, included vandalism and threatening taunts, frightening and disrupting the neighborhood. In response, Chancellor Frenk issued a statement along with a video condemning any acts that make campus feel unsafe – and he took action, immediately suspending both the undergraduate and graduate student SJP groups.
I offered the following comment to the media: “Hillel at UCLA commends Chancellor Frenk’s strong stance against violence and violence-inciting rhetoric, which has no place at UCLA, or any other campus. Our organization champions open discourse and dialogue. Our pluralistic Jewish Bruin community thrives on these principles and is grateful for Chancellor Frenk’s commitment to ensuring that we can do so free of any threats or other forms of antisemitism.”
This event follows the resignation of UCLA’s Cultural Affairs Commissioner, a student government leader who was days away from facing a student-led Judicial board hearing for blatantly blacklisting Jewish students from serving in staff roles within student government.
Hillel welcomes these actions and maintains hope that they are indicative of a new tide of fairness and safety for Jewish Bruins – something that Parshat Yitro teaches us will enable all Jews to come together and become stronger than ever. Our community feels a sense of gratitude and also caution. Jewish Bruins still regularly experience systematized antisemitism and we know there is still so much work to be done.
I hope this message awakens your motivation this Shabbat to continue to support strong Jewish leadership at a time when our community needs it the most. Our Hillel works overtime to create strong partnerships at the top as well as grassroots organizing for lasting change – and we cannot do this without your support.
As our community continues to heal and build strength and resilience, your support truly sustains the Jewish flame. Your donation now sends a clear message to our students that their Jewish future and leadership is worthy of investment.
Shabbat shalom,
Feb 5, 2025
WELCOME RESIGNATION: Student Government Hiring Discrimination
Late yesterday evening, the Cultural Affairs Commissioner announced their resignation from UCLA student government (USAC) rather than face a Judicial Board hearing regarding their rampant Antisemitism. Specifically, this hearing would have addressed their role in preventing Jewish students from getting hired for roles within student government.
This story, which has garnered media attention (The Daily Bruin, The Jewish Journal, Jerusalem Post, Fox News, just to name a few) involved the systematic rejection of Jewish students who applied for positions in student government leadership. This discrimination had an impact on the broader Jewish Bruin community, many of whom are vulnerable to the deep, insidious presence of campus antisemitism.
The Hillel Student Board has released the following statement:
“We welcome the resignation of the Cultural Affairs Commissioner (CAC) from the Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC). It is no surprise that this comes ahead of this week’s Judicial Board hearing that intended to hold them responsible for a pattern of antisemitism, including the most recent incident of clear discrimination against Jewish students when hiring for roles within USAC. We commend and stand with Bella Brannon, who courageously took a stand publicly against the CAC to call for this Judicial hearing, as well as with all other Jewish students who have faced similar antisemitism hate and antisemitic discrimination on our campus. Antisemitism has no place at UCLA and we hope that the CAC’s resignation stands as an example that we will not stand idly by to those who continue to think they can get away with promoting antisemitic rhetoric and discriminatory actions. We also continue to call on our administration – including Chancellor Frenk and Vice Chancellor Gorden – to do their part in supporting Jewish Bruins by taking more proactive action in holding offending students and faculty responsible for these offenses. The CAC’s resignation was the result of the student community taking a stand and rallying behind what is right and just.”
We understand you want to help. Based on student feedback, the most impactful support you can offer includes:
- Leverage your contacts within the UCLA administration and others who have influence at UCLA to amplify student voices and urge the administration to take more proactive steps to hold all offenders responsible for any and all antisemitic acts or rhetoric.
- Make meaningful contributions to Hillel at UCLA which will immediately be invested in Jewish Bruin care, leadership development, and the strengthening of Jewish pride and community. Gifts made now will be doubled by a matching grant challenge.
We can’t thank you enough for standing alongside Jewish Bruins every day.
Jan 15, 2025
UCLA Hillel Check In: Caring for Community in Times of Crisis
Just one week ago fires and intense winds began to ravage heavily populated areas of Los Angeles and, though the fires are still burning and the winds are precarious, we are beginning to enter into the “aftermath” phase of this city-wide tragedy.
Thanks to everyone who has reached out to let us know how you are faring and to offer support for impacted Jewish Bruins. As a result of UCLA moving classes to remote learning this week, many students have left the Westwood area. Campus is quiet and we are, at present, a safe zone for any who seek refuge. If you need a place to hang out, charge up, or otherwise rest/recover, please let us know how we can help. UCLA has also been doing their best to keep everyone updated on how campus is impacted; that includes hosting a town hall zoom call for parents yesterday and holding a town hall zoom that will be for the broader community tomorrow.
It has been remarkable to see so many Angelenos rise to the occasion to offer help. The volunteer efforts, contributions and overall compassion have been inspiring. May we each continue to remain anchored to compassion, courage and perseverance.
There are so many outlets for supporting the victims of the fire and we are particularly appreciative that our partner, JFEDLA (Jewish Federation Los Angeles) has swiftly organized to create the Wildfire Crisis Relief Fund. 100% of donations received will be distributed to support disaster relief in Los Angeles and to lift up those in need.
Thank you for your ongoing support of UCLA Hillel and for your extensive generosity toward the at-large Los Angeles community in need.
Sincerely,
Jan 9, 2025
Crisis Response: Celebrate Shabbat at Hillel at UCLA
Whether you’re a regular at Hillel or a first timer, let us be a place of respite, if you need one. We have comfortable space, hot food, and electricity available, and we would love to offer a warm and welcoming environment for you to celebrate Shabbat with our community.
Whether you’re looking for a place to relax, find comfort, or connect with others, UCLA Hillel is here for you.
Meals:
- Friday, January 10th: Hot Shabbat Dinner at 6:00 PM
- Saturday, January 11th: Shabbat Lunch at 12:00 PM
We look forward to sharing Shabbat with you and providing a space of comfort, warmth, and connection.
Stay safe, and we hope to see you soon!
Warmly,
Hillel at UCLA team
Jan 8, 2025
UCLA Hillel Is Here For You
Our doors will be open to the general community all day for free coffee at our Coffee Bean and even a BBQ lunch buffet from 11:30-2 today (Wednesday January 8).
Please join our Jewish Bruins for WiFi and warmth and safety. You have taken such diligent care of us, now it’s our honor to return your kindness.
Dec 6, 2024
EXPOSED: Student Government Hiring Discrimination
Just before Thanksgiving, Ha’am, the Jewish Student Literary magazine, broke a story that reveals an egregious (yet sadly familiar) act of discrimination against Jewish students perpetuated by a student member of USAC (UCLA’s student government).
This story, which has garnered the attention of additional media (The Daily Bruin, The Jewish Journal, Jerusalem Post, Fox News, just to name a few) exposes a plan to categorically reject Jewish students who apply for positions in student government leadership (citing leaked text messages). This discrimination directly impacted Jewish students who had applied for these “student senate” positions. And it has a reverberative impact on the broader Jewish Bruin community, as it validates the lived experience of Jewish Bruins who are vulnerable to the deep, insidious presence of campus antisemitism.
Bella, a fourth year student and Hillel’s former co-president, officially filed a petition to the USA Judicial Board citing violations of UC and USAC policies as well as violations of state and federal law. In response, the Judicial Board has granted the petition and a preliminary hearing will take place on Tuesday December 10th via Zoom. This is the first time in two years a Judicial hearing has been granted.
We know how deeply you care about rooting out systems of Jewish discrimination at UCLA. The students feel your backing as you support Hillel. In turn, Hillel wants to ensure that you are well-informed about the state of campus climate.
Incidents of hiring discrimination against Jewish students is sadly familiar. Witnessing this in 2025 affects echoes of similar incidents in 2015 and in the 1990s. The leaked text messages show how openly and knowingly the anti-Israel and anti-Zionist activists discriminate against Jewish students in academic, social and communal settings.
This particular student leader in question has consistently shared antisemitic hate on social media and through their on-campus activism. While we continue to support Bella and navigate this latest egregious incident, we also remain committed to our work with and advocacy toward UCLA’s administration to create a campus environment that rejects all forms of antisemitic discrimination and calls it out whenever and wherever it might rear its ugly head. We need UCLA to do more and we expect those in leadership to heed our call to action.
We know you want to help. Per the students, the best support you can lend comes in these forms:
- Leverage your contacts to UCLA administration and others who have influence at UCLA for the sake of amplifying the students’ voices (in other words, the bullet points above).
- Make meaningful contributions to UCLA Hillel which will immediately be invested in Jewish Bruin care, leadership development, and the scaffolding of Jewish pride and community. Gifts made now will be doubled by a matching grant challenge.
We will continue to keep you updated as the story continues to unfold. And we can’t thank you enough for standing alongside Jewish Bruins every day.
Nov 15, 2024
Thank you UC Regents: Antisemitism Report Update
On Thursday the University of California Regents convened in a session which centered around the topic of the recent Antisemitism Report issued by the Task Force on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias. We encourage you to watch the session (beginning at the 14 minute mark) and hear, for yourselves, their impassioned and critical insights.
As we approach Shabbat, we invite you to join us in lighting a special candle of appreciation to all who were involved in contributing to the UCLA Antisemitism Report and to the insistent demands made by those in the halls of the Regents meeting which call for campus antisemitism be taken seriously, with urgent recourse and new approaches to education and enforcement of policies to curb hate and promote freedom of Jewish expression.
Particular thanks goes out to Chair Janet Reilly; President Michael Drake; Regents Rich Leib, John Pérez, Gregory Sarris, Jay Sures; Student Regent Josiah Beharry, and Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis for their expanded remarks. Their articulations give our community assurance that we are seen and not forgotten.
May this be a Shabbat of peace and restoration,
Oct 23, 2024
NEWLY RELEASED: UCLA Antisemitism Report
On Monday the UCLA Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Bias (headed by UCLA Prof. Stuart Gabriel and composed entirely of UCLA staff, faculty, and students) released a researched-based Antisemitism Report detailing key findings on the state of antisemitism at UCLA.
We can not overstate the importance of this report and invite you to take a moment to thank the Task Force for their incredible efforts on this project. We’ve created THIS FORM for you to fill out to offer them words of gratitude. Their work was entirely professional and 100% voluntary. Your words of appreciation will let them know how much their efforts mean to us.
Among the Report headlines:
- Two-thirds of respondents reported antisemitism as a problem, and three-quarters saw anti-Israeli bias as a serious issue
- 40% experienced antisemitic discrimination, with over 100 reports of physical threats or attacks
- 74.6% felt antisemitism was treated less seriously than other forms of hate
- 49% of student respondents reported facing discrimination or hate from their Teaching Assistants
- 41% considered leaving UCLA due to bias
- Over 70% believed the Spring 2024 encampment fueled antisemitism
Hillel at UCLA has consistently partnered with campus administrators to ensure a safe and fruitful learning environment for Jewish students, though, as the findings indicate, there is more to be done. With a new Chancellor set to begin in January, we know there is even more opportunity for impact.
In service of achieving shared goals around improving campus climate, Hillel encourages you to join alongside students and faculty to promote reforms to combat hate and antisemitism on campus including:
- More public acknowledgment from University leadership regarding the troubling experiences for Jewish Bruins on campus
- Dramatically overhauling the reporting and investigations for students and faculty who report hate or discrimination
- Creating a plan to end non-normalization and exclusion of Jewish students and faculty from anything based on Zionism/Politics
- Addressing the problems that come from faculty, especially Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants.
Read on to view the formal Press Release with quotes from students and faculty related to this report. And please take the time to read the comprehensive Antisemitism Report.
As we approach Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we know there is much work to be done. Hillel is proud to align with Jewish Bruin students and faculty in leading the way. Your support is our strength – thank you for standing alongside our community as we claim our rightful place to study and express our identity as Jews at UCLA.
Chag Sameach.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2024
UCLA Task Force Report Underscores Rise of Antisemitism Against Jewish Students on Campus
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – This week, a report commissioned by UCLA Interim Chancellor Dr. Darnell Hunt and conducted by the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias at UCLA released findings that underscore the shocking rise of antisemitic incidents in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. The task force, which consisted of university faculty, staff, and students, provided a comprehensive look at on-campus incidents following October 7 and how they were fueled by encampments and protests.
The team used surveys and analysis to gather data on the experiences of Jewish and Israeli community members at UCLA, reporting key findings which included:
- Two-thirds of respondents reported antisemitism as a problem, and three-quarters saw anti-Israeli bias as a serious issue
- 40% experienced antisemitic discrimination, with over 100 reports of physical threats or attacks
- 74.6% felt antisemitism was treated less seriously than other forms of hate
- 49% of student respondents reported facing discrimination or hate from their Teaching Assistants
- 41% considered leaving UCLA due to bias
- Over 70% believed the Spring 2024 encampment fueled antisemitism
Hillel at UCLA, the largest Jewish organization on campus, distributed the survey among Jewish students. Hillel at UCLA has consistently partnered with campus administrators to ensure a safe and fruitful learning environment for Jewish students, though, as the findings indicate, there is more to be done. Dan Gold, Executive Director, Hillel at UCLA has called on UCLA administrators to adopt additional reforms to combat hate and antisemitism on campus, including:
- More public acknowledgment from University leadership regarding the troubling experiences for Jewish Bruins on campus
- Dramatically overhauling the reporting and investigations for students and faculty who report hate or discrimination
- Create a plan to end non-normalization and exclusion of Jewish students and faculty from anything based on Zionism/Politics
- Address the problems that come from faculty, especially Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants.
“We applaud Prof. Stuart Gabriel, the members of UCLA’s Task Force on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias for their dedication to helping the experience of Jewish Bruins and for their tireless efforts,” said Dan Gold, Executive Director, Hillel at UCLA. “The report is exemplary in its quality, fairness, and relevance, as well as its potential impact in shining a light on the experiences of Jewish students and faculty at UCLA. The report reflects the discrimination and deep challenges that Jews face at UCLA. Most unacceptable is how the vast majority of Jewish students, faculty, and staff respondents report a dynamic of blatant discrimination from their fellow students and faculty. We have appreciated the University’s efforts over the past few months to better implement and tighten up their own policies and we look forward to this report helping accelerate additional needed changes to make UCLA a safe and comfortable place to be Jewish.”
“The clear, documented rise of antisemitism on campus reported by the UCLA Antisemitism Task Force underscores the challenges that Jewish students and faculty members have experienced in the months that followed October 7,” said Adam Lehman, President and CEO, Hillel International. “This data only crystallizes Hillel’s commitment to countering campus antisemitism and working closely with university presidents and administrators to create safe, inclusive, and joyful spaces for Jewish students at UCLA and at colleges and universities around the world.”
Additional UCLA Voices:
- Prof. Stuart Gabriel, Chair of the Task force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias:
“New data we collected make clear that a sizable majority of UCLA Jewish faculty, students, and staff survey respondents see antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias as a problem on the UCLA campus. A large number of respondents personally experienced antisemitic discrimination. Further, most survey respondents did not have confidence that reporting discrimination to UCLA administrators would lead to any effective action by the campus.”
“The report recommends a range of adjustments that UCLA must immediately undertake — including educational, training, reporting, and enforcement initiatives — to help assure a safe and non-discriminatory environment for all UCLA community members — Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Jewish and Israeli members of the UCLA community take pride in their identities and wish to make UCLA a welcoming place for all. Yet, it is hard to imagine that UCLA will succeed in its educational and research missions if some communities feel safe on campus and others do not.”
- Prof. Richard Steinberg, member of the Task Force:
“Everyone on the Task Force agrees that the free exchange of ideas is central to the mission of the University. But we also recognize that there is a difference between protected speech, on one hand, and unprotected speech or illegal, rule-violating conduct, on the other.”
“Last year, campus leadership largely failed to enforce campus and University rules, and the law, which would have greatly reduced anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli conduct on campus. A central question this year is whether that will change — whether campus leadership will enforce the rules and the law, and discipline those who violate them.”
- Kian Kohanteb, Undergraduate 4th Year Political Science Major, Jewish Student leader and student member of the Task Force:
“I am incredibly proud of the work our task force has accomplished over the past several months in addressing the urgent issue of antisemitism on UCLA’s campus. The comprehensive report we’ve produced highlights the extent of this hatred and provides detailed recommendations for the administration to implement, ensuring that Jewish students feel safe, included, and valued. I look forward to continuing our collaboration with the administration to elevate UCLA into the campus it has the potential to become.”
- Ellie Cohen, Undergraduate 3rd Year Public Health Major, Co-President of the Hillel Student Board:
“I am grateful that the events on campus that I and the entire Jewish Bruin community have experienced are finally formalized and compiled in a way that reflects our reality. This past year as a Hillel student leader has been filled with constant texts and phone calls from students experiencing stressful, antisemitic incidents without accountability from the administration.”
“On a campus where student leaders can say ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Resistance is Justified’, where professors can offer attending encampments for extra credit, where a anti-semitic pig effigy is proudly erected and not condemned by administration, and on a campus where Jewish students are harassed, threatened, and excluded, FINALLY having these incidents comprehensively written in a report feels like the beginning of justice.”
“It has been tremendously difficult to be a Jewish student at UCLA, and I’m grateful for this report’s ability to put these hard feelings into writing.”
A copy of the report can be found HERE.
Hillel International
For over 100 years, the Hillel movement has been uniquely focused on serving all Jewish students, no matter who they are or how they express their Judaism. Today, Hillel is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, serving more than 180,000 Jewish students each year at 850+ colleges and universities around the world.
Hillel at UCLA
Founded in 1940, Hillel at UCLA aims to be the home away from home for all Jewish students to build their identities through Jewish life, learning, and Israel.
Aug 16, 2024
Court Orders to UCLA
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi ruled that Jewish students at UCLA MUST be assured equal access to ALL areas of campus and to their classes. This ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by three Jewish students who, around the time of the Spring Quarter anti-Zionist encampments, were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their Judaism.
Hillel at UCLA is unwavering in our commitment to the welfare of the Jewish Bruin community and we applaud any and all steps taken to ensure that Jewish Bruins are protected from campus discrimination and alienation.
The below images were recently posted to the Hillel International Instagram account, which is a great source of information about the national landscape of Jewish life, learning, leadership and connection to Israel. If you’re on Instagram, give them a follow.
Aug 2, 2024
Summertime on Campus
Campus is quiet during the summertime – students are mostly away, doing internships, traveling, and working. However Hillel professionals…we never sleep (hyperbole, kind of). While our students are off campus, Hillel professionals are diligently paving the path for the upcoming year of programs and strategic Jewish Bruin engagement. If you were to come by the office you’d find us workshopping concepts for attracting new students to Hillel and contemplating ways to deepen the involvement of our current community members. With just around 50 days until the return of students, our energetic Student Life team has attended every first year orientation fair, meeting members of the incoming class and promoting a wide array of ways to get advanced notice about Welcome Week and High Holy Days activities. We are eager to welcome our community back to their home away from home on Hilgard.
In early July I had the honor of co-leading Hillel’s annual Perspectives Trip, formerly known as the Fact Finding Journey (see above image from the trip). What a privilege it was to accompany 22 influential undergraduate campus leaders to Israel (including 18 non-Jewish and 4 Jewish student leaders). Our deeply impactful journey took us from the holy sites in Jerusalem to Israel’s southern communities most impacted by the horrific terror attack on 10/7 and, ultimately, to experience the vibrant city of Tel Aviv and diverse communities in the north. We met with Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, religious and secular to hear the many myriad perspectives of Israelis in times of war. Overall the experience had an enriching and positive affect, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of Israel, its people, and the Jewish community.
In current events, we know that many of you have been following the recent headlines regarding a lawsuit brought by three students, which led a federal judge to mandate that UCLA draft a plan to ensure equal access for Jewish students on campus. We want to assure you that we are in close communication with the administration about this ruling and on issues related to equal access, anti-bias, and other matters that impact Jewish students. Our commitment remains unwavering to ensure that Jewish students can freely express their connections to Israel and their Jewish identity without fear of discrimination.
As always, we remain dedicated to fostering vibrant Jewish campus life at UCLA. And we can only execute on the fulfillment of our mission thanks to your moral support and generous donations.
Let’s continue to stay connected! Shabbat Shalom.
Jun 17, 2024
It took a village - thanks for being with us (2023/24 school year in the books)
As we reflect on this past year, we want to express our deepest gratitude for your unwavering commitment to the well-being of Jewish Bruins during these tremendously challenging times. Our school year began with the observance of Yom Kippur, setting a tone of reflection and renewal. However, not more than two weeks later, our reality was tragically shattered by the horrific terror attack on October 7th. In the aftermath, UCLA’s campus has become increasingly hostile for Jewish students, with anti-Zionist and antisemitic sentiments becoming alarmingly commonplace.
The need for Hillel at UCLA has never been more urgent or important. With your help we have expanded our breadth and depth of services to meet the pressing needs of our community, ensuring safety, mental wellness, intellectual enrichment, and the pursuit of Jewish identity and community. We hosted guest speakers, including NOVA survivors and Israeli and American elected officials, provided increased access to mental health support and counseling, created safe spaces, organized vigils, rallies, and interfaith events, and offered never-ending free food. All these efforts were in addition to our usual programs that nurture a young adult’s enduring commitment to Judaism.
Our year culminated in a memorable J-Grad (Jewish Graduation), made possible by the visionary leadership of five Jewish Bruin graduates (and around 140 donors who contributed just over $35,000). They, on behalf of their graduating class, organized a commencement dedicated to celebrating the achievements of the Class of 2024. This event was a testament to our community’s resilience, free of anti-Zionist disruption and full of Jewish pride, featuring remarks from prominent leaders including UC Regent John Perez and California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to this school year’s success. Although the students are now on their summer break, our work continues. In the weeks ahead, we are excited to bring a group of 22 Jewish and non-Jewish campus leaders to Israel, onboard new staff, and prepare for the next school year. We look forward to reconnecting with you as news about the campus unfolds.
For now, we hope for a calm and peaceful summer of rejuvenation.
With gratitude and best wishes, on behalf of the entire Hillel team.
Jun 13, 2024
Wrapping up the school year with BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS!
As we approach the end of a challenging academic year, we are filled with immense pride and gratitude for the resilience and courageous leadership demonstrated by our Jewish Bruin student leaders in the past three quarters. In the face of a campus climate that has grown increasingly hostile toward Israel and Jews, Hillel students have stood strong, advocating for their beliefs and fostering an inclusive environment that champions diversity and mutual respect. Their unwavering commitment to their identity and their community is a testament to their strength and a beacon of hope for the future.
Sadly, and unsurprisingly, UCLA was once again confronted by the persistent presence of anti-Zionist protesters, whose strident disregard for the rule of law and order was made evident again this week through multiple attempts to set up a third wave of encampments in various campus locations on Tuesday night (as the UC Regents were beginning their meetings at UCLA). During these take-over attempts, flagrant verbal assaults on a Jewish campus leader and UCLA administrators occurred – the menacing taunts leave nothing to the imagination as they proclaim, “You are not safe.” We must take them at their word.
With graduation happening on Friday, we feel cautious. Countless graduation ceremonies around the nation have been disrupted (or even canceled) by anti-Zionist agitators. Time will tell what will unfold at UCLA.
Following UCLA’s general commencement, Hillel will proudly support student leaders in producing Jewish Graduation, an event designed to guarantee a joyous and disruption-free celebration, well-supported by ample security. This momentous occasion, wholeheartedly supported by Hillel and generously backed by UCLA and 131 donors who have contributed over $33,000 to their Jewish Graduation GoFundMe, marks not only the academic achievements of our graduates but also their steadfast dedication to their Jewish heritage. For this deserving class, who missed their high school graduations due to COVID-19, we are especially excited to host a ceremony that features remarks reflecting their unique experiences and includes special touches to underscore the significance of their journey. We congratulate our graduates and their families on reaching this milestone and eagerly anticipate seeing how they will apply their commitment to Jewish peoplehood and their leadership in the future.
In other significant news, the University of California Regents met at UCLA’s campus on Wednesday, where they announced the appointment of UCLA’s 7th Chancellor, Dr. Julio Frenk, who will join the UCLA community on January 1, 2025. Dr. Frenk, along with his wife, Dr. Felicia Knaul, has been a steadfast ally to the Jewish community at the University of Miami, and we are optimistic about the positive impact he can have on our campus. We believe that his leadership will help temper the current campus climate, fostering an environment of civility and accountability to campus rules of conduct and anti-bias. Hillel at UCLA looks forward to working with Dr. Frenk to create a more inclusive and respectful campus for all students.
This summer, Hillel at UCLA is excited to take a group of Jewish and non-Jewish campus leaders to Israel in July. This journey will provide a unique opportunity for our leaders to connect with their heritage, gain deeper insights into the complexities of the region, and strengthen their capacity for nuance. Additionally, Hillel is deep in the planning stages of expanding our role in combating campus antisemitism by formally organizing community stakeholders who share an interest in healing the campus climate and creating a safe learning environment. Our goal is to ensure that Jewish students can express their Jewish identity with pride and without fear. Together, we will work towards a brighter, more inclusive future for our campus.
With gratitude for your support this school year, and devotion to the work ahead of us.
May 23, 2024
Spotlight on UCLA: Advocating for Jewish Bruins
Earlier today, UCLA’s outgoing Chancellor, Gene Block, testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee about rising antisemitism at UCLA, and in particular, about the recent escalation of the anti-Zionist encampments and protests that have only escalated in frequency and intensity since Passover.
At the exact moment of his testimonial, the anti-Zionist activists again overtook central locations on campus (Kerckhoff and Dodd Hall) with their strategies to occupy, disrupt and demand. As expected, large protests, refusal to disburse, restricted campus access and, ultimately, police intervention ensued. I personally went to the location to check in with students and campus administrators – what I hoped would be a 20 minutes walk from my desk became a two and a half hour event.
Jewish students who seek to navigate campus without being confronted by these activist throngs must carefully plan timing and routes. The presence of these actions are intentionally disruptive and the entire campus is feeling the pressure. Involved anti-Zionist protestors have promised to stay true to their course at all costs. The campus is fatigued and flabbergasted, and the precise issues that the Chancellor was called to account for in front of Congress remain unmitigated.
Meanwhile, just a quarter mile from the on-campus chaos, Hillel’s Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Student Lounge was packed with students playing ping pong and arcade-style basketball, socializing, studying, and enjoying Kosher food. The throbbing beat of overhead helicopters was drowned out by lively conversation and music. Hillel remains a place of respite and support for students, and we are bolstered by your moral and charitable support.
Throughout the day I engaged in conversations with university administrators and students (on campus and at Hillel) and my message was steadfast – the university MUST do more to fight the rising tides of antisemitism and anti-Zionist isolation – Jewish students need and deserve to feel safe and welcome on campus and Hillel will not stop advocating on their behalf.
In solidarity and strength.
May 10, 2024
Touching base before Shabbat
Students who were relegated to remote classes at the end of last week were looking forward to returning to campus on Monday, May 6th. However, before 9am, they were notified that classes would remain remote for the day…and by mid-day they were notified that classes would be remote for the rest of the week. Student Government (USAC) elections, which were set to occur this week, were postponed until next week. All the while the current (outgoing) student government passed a resolution calling for the resignation of Chancellor Block (in addition to articulating a number of additional demands of UCLA that mirror the demands of the encampment). The student activists who align with anti-Zionism are emboldened and holding campus back from typical proceedings with success. The residual impact of the encampment continues to have a limiting impact on UCLA students and Jewish Bruins…and we have no way of knowing what the future has in store.
And, just as Hillel found ways to continue to engage and show up for Jewish Bruins during the times of remote earning during Covid, so too are we rapidly adapting to the unpredictable current campus climate. This week was packed with programming, offering students incentive after incentive to come out of their apartments and be nourished by the benefit of being in community.
To give you a sense of how Hillel’s can’t stop/won’t stop approach to student engagement, here’s a glimpse of our immediate past week and the highlights for the week ahead:
- We began the week with Yom Hashoah programming, including a very well attended event to honor and learn from a child survivor of the Holocaust and social media posts about the Shoah, the modern genocide of the Jewish people.
- On Wednesday we hosted a day-long blood drive in partnership with the UCLA Blood Bank in our building.
- Simultaneously, we welcomed 100 students to the building for our Wonderful Wednesday program aimed at encouraging students to Get Out the Vote and promoting the candidate endorsements made by Hillel student leadership.
- That same evening we welcomed Dalia Ziada, who came to UCLA Hillel on her west coast tour. Ziada, an Egyptian award-winning writer and political analyst specializing in geopolitics and defense policy in the Middle East, impressed upon students that support of Israel extends beyond Jewish people and can and should be a global priority.
- On Thursday Bruins for Israel hosted a screening of the Supernova documentary, featuring testimony of people who escaped the Nova Music Festival massacre. Over dinner, students stayed to hear from Ofri Reiner, a Nova survivor who is touring and speaking about what she witnessed and her relentless pursuit of trauma healing.
- In the coming week we continue the observance and celebration of the Yamim (including Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut). Bruins for Israel has been hard at work planning a party to lift Israel up on the anniversary of its establishment – music, Israeli food, decorations, photo opps, clothing/swag give-aways, temporary body art and remarks from an IDF reservist are only some of the elements of this Hillel take-over event.
- We will end next week with Sababa Shabbat, an Israel-themed Shabbat dinner which is anticipated to draw 200 attendees and is known as one of the most memorable Shabbatot of the school year.
Though we know not what the future holds on campus, we feel certain that Hillel will relentlessly pursue our goals of providing a physical and emotional space for community and Jewish celebration all the way through graduation. In times of uncertainty, Jewish Bruins can count on Hillel – and this is, in large part, thanks to you.
Next week we will message you every day with nuggets of information on the ways you can help Hillel impact Jewish Bruins during our Global Giving Week. Yes, there will be an opportunity to double the impact of your donation thanks to a matching grant challenge that starts RIGHT NOW (CLICK HERE to be among the first to participate). As well, we will share with you other creative, tangible ways you can show your support for students (beyond giving a charitable gift).
Aside from the students, you are our greatest partners. Thanks for being by our side and always showing how you care.
Shabbat Shalom.
May 2, 2024
Statement from Hillel at UCLA
It’s a very sad day for UCLA and Bruins everywhere. Last night was devastating – and the clean-up of this mess has left us reeling. Hillel at UCLA is putting the needs of our Jewish students first and we are wishing for healing for all students. We maintain hope that the campus community can forge together to support their collective well-being in the aftermath of this defining moment. We are grateful to the University leadership and the local authorities for taking the difficult steps to enforce their policies and start the process of bringing order back to our campus. We are praying for continued calm.
We also know there will be a lot to reflect on in the coming days and weeks ahead about the anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist hate and rhetoric that was part of and in parts of the encampment. Our Hillel will always do what’s best for the Jewish students, their pluralistic identities, and the antisemitism they face on campus.
May 1, 2024
In the news for all the wrong reasons
It has been a few tense days since our last message because our resolute focus has been on the well-being of our Jewish Bruin students and the impact of the encampment on campus climate. The purpose of this message is to bring you up to speed on some key events that have taken place and to give a forecast of what is likely to come.
On Tuesday afternoon the University formally notified participants in the encampment of the policies they are violating (CLICK HERE to view the notice) and just this evening has broadcast a disbursal order for those in the encampment. Simultaneously, the Chancellor issued notices to the entire Bruin community which can be read HERE, and Royce Hall and Powell Library were also closed through Friday (these are the buildings which bookend the encampment).
Late Tuesday night, most Jewish Bruins were startled by a violent confrontation at the encampment instigated by a group of non-students from off-campus. Our Hillel, and the Jewish students of UCLA, condemn all forms of violence, especially targeting students. CLICK HERE to read a message written by Hillel student leaders with the intent of distancing themselves from off-campus agitators.
Classes were canceled today and will be virtual for the remainder of the week. The perimeters of campus have been secured and in the last few hours, police and media presence has grown significantly. We hope for the safety of everyone involved, and that next steps taken can occur with peace and cooperation. We expect that this will be a difficult few days ahead. We have increased security at the Hillel facility. We encourage our students to make safe choices and, when possible, avoid areas that are likely to become “hot spots” and we explicitly discourage any off-campus community members, no matter what the goal, from coming onto campus.
While the campus is in an incredible state of dynamism, Hillel remains steady in our commitment to our students. Today we hosted a Town Hall with a high-level member of the UCLA Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement office. And we have a huge host of programs on the docket for the rest of this week and the following two weeks, that will serve to affirm our Jewish pride and commitment to Israel.
Hillel staff are on call 24/7 for students and our building is full of food, fellow community members and ample resources to stay safe in every aspect.
Your support in this moment lifts our spirits and fuels our capacity to keep Hillel secure and fully operable.
Apr 26, 2024
Two Days of Encampments: What We Know and How it’s Going
As we head into Passover Shabbat I wanted to share with you the latest from campus. Hillel students, lay leaders and professional staff have been observing the anti-Israel encampment. Since Thursday morning it has grown to take up more space and include more people. The activists have now camped out for two days and one night.
Hillel fundamentally supports the rights of every student to engage in free speech and right to assembly, however it is clear that this encampment violates a long list of University policies and rules, not to mention it impedes the ability for students – especially our Jewish students – to learn and live freely on campus.
We are in ongoing communication with administration to learn more about a possible timeline for action against these policy violations and have communicated what our community feels: that no exception for the rules and policies should be made at the expense of Jewish students.
We are simultaneously doing our best in this situation to keep the environment around this encampment as calm as possible, and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation in doing so. The vast majority of Jewish students prefer to avoid confrontation and minimize any risk of escalation – this is in service of their big picture goals to safely demonstrate Jewish pride and pursue their studies. To realize this preference, individuals who are external to campus are encouraged to please exercise caution and careful consideration when coming onto campus and showing support for Jewish life and Israel.
As we look forward to welcoming our community to Passover Shabbat services, dinner and Shabbat daytime programming and meals, please know that we will continue to do what we do best – promote community, togetherness and joyful Jewish life.
We couldn’t do it without you!
Shabbat shalom,
Dan Gold
Executive Director
P.S. We are in around-the-clock communication with campus and students, however, due to the final Hag days of Passover, Hillel will refrain from external communication/updates regarding the encampment until Wednesday.
Apr 25, 2024
Important UCLA Hillel Update: On the Ready
Across the country, college campuses are being inundated with protest encampments that intimidate Jews and encourage widespread campus disruption. The intensity of anti-Zionist rhetoric and action has increased to unprecedented levels and the activism aims to take over public campus spaces and fill them with intimidating and harassing tactics.
We have heard from our colleagues at Columbia, MIT, NYU, Minnesota, University of Texas, and USC and are learning from their deeply disturbing campus circumstances. We are vigilantly monitoring UCLA’s anti-Zionist channels so that we will be prepared in the case these encampments make their way to our campus. We are in round-the-clock contact with the top levels of the UCLA administration, UCPD, LAPD, the Jewish Federation’s Community Security Initiative, Hillel International, and others on and off campus, collecting relevant information and coordinating responses to any urgent needs (security, well-being, etc) that our student community has. If you are asked what Hillel is doing in the face of this rapidly spreading crisis, please let others know that we are doing everything possible to help prevent this happening on our campus while also to prepare in the event that it does.
We were able to offer Passover programming without disruption, however as we write this message we are receiving word that encampments are beginning to be built at UCLA.
My, and my professional staffs’, commitment is to the safety and well-being of our students. No matter the nature of the challenge that befalls Jewish Bruins, Hillel offers guidance, support and representation – and we are an organizing institution for the unity and strength of the Jewish Bruin community.
Presently there is no specific advocacy for you to move ahead with, however, your charitable support and words of encouragement to the students and Hillel staff are always appreciated. As soon as we get more complete information about what’s happening at UCLA, we will provide you with additional ideas on how you can take action. It is truly comforting to know that, when the time comes, we can count on you to show up.
Bearing witness to the ever-devolving national campus climate (on social media and the news) is understandably triggering for many of us. It would be impossible to control or respond to everyone and everything that we see. Just as Hillel advises our students, we also encourage you to make space to take care of yourself in the face of these distressing events – and encourage anyone who is motivated to support Hillel and our students, on whatever campus they are called to, in the ways we always do.
Though Hillel is currently in a defensive position, our offensive game is solid. We will never stop our proactive approach to cultivating the best possible Jewish life at UCLA, including efforts to forge connections with other communities on campus, even when a crisis threatens to distract and derail. Hillel is anchored by our core commitment to create a Jewish campus life that celebrates our love of Israel and stokes the flame of Jewish joy. This week of Passover has been punctuated by scary scenes on campuses across the nation, yet there were countless lesser-told stories of vibrant, inclusive, celebratory Seders, holiday meals, enriching gatherings and Jewish leadership.
We are incredibly preoccupied with the immediate needs of our campus community, however your thoughts, questions and feedback are always welcome. We will do our best to respond and thank you, in advance, for your patience and support.
Thank you and Chag Sameach,
Dan Gold
Executive Director
Mar 21, 2024
Big University of California News (must read)
This week, UCLA was bustling with activity related to the UC Regents’ Quarterly Meeting (which was held on campus). While Finals Week is typically quiet, the Regents’ meeting drew many kinds of activists out of the woodwork and onto our public campus spaces. Among them, UC Divest and other BDS activists camped out, installing ugly displays and slogans. This has become routine…yet we can not accept it as normal!
In rejection of normalizing antisemitism, the Regents took time at their meetings to validate our Jewish community’s many comments and reports of discrimination. Beyond words, the Regents were addressed by UC President Drake who shared the news that, effective this spring, all 10 UCs will join Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative – a program UCLA already began at the start of this year.
This is a welcome and necessary step to better address campus antisemitism and take meaningful action to ensure our campuses are free of hate and fully accepting and inclusionary for all Jewish students, faculty and community members. The full press release for this action is shared below.
Wishing you a celebratory Purim and restful time off for those blessed with a spring break.
Dan Gold
Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UC President Drake announces UC-system-wide participation in Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative to Combat Antisemitism on Campus
Campus administrators, alongside Hillel professionals, continue their shared efforts to counter antisemitism and create an inclusive and safe environment for Jewish students at UCLA through their work with the Campus Climate Initiative.
LOS ANGELES – As Jewish college students across the United States and Canada experience an unprecedented rise in antisemitism following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D., announced (in the March 20 Board of Regents meeting) that all UC schools will participate in Hillel International’s flagship Campus Climate Initiative (CCI) program.
University of California, Los Angeles, is among four UC campuses which started this program in the summer of 2023. They will be joined by the remaining 10 University of California campuses in the spring of 2024.
A unique effort to strengthen ties among university leaders, Hillel at UCLA, and Hillel International, CCI provides tools to address the challenge of antisemitism on campus and to ensure a safe climate for Jewish Bruins where they can feel greater confidence and safety while expressing their identity and values.
Senior members of the Hillel at UCLA team, including Dan Gold, Executive Director and Rachael Petru, Chief Development Officer, serve as partners for campus administration toward the shared goal of a safe and vibrant campus community for Jewish students.
With the addition of the largest group of participants to date, a total of more than 75 schools across the United States and Canada are now participating in this landmark Hillel program, which launched in 2020. By enrolling in CCI, participants express a commitment to working closely with Hillel International and their campus Hillels to improve the climate for Jewish students on their campus.
The CCI program combines education about Jewish student identity and contemporary antisemitism with rigorous campus data collection and action planning to help higher education administrators and professionals lead their campuses to become more genuinely inclusive of Jewish students’ needs. In a moment when UCLA’s long-standing commitments to creating welcoming campus environments for all students have fallen short, this project integrates Jewish students and Hillel professionals into broader university efforts to combat bias and discrimination.
Since October 7, Hillel International has tracked more than 1,100 incidents of antisemitism on college campuses – a nearly 10-fold increase compared to the same period last year. Additionally, a recent poll released by Hillel finds that 57% of Jewish students are not satisfied with the response of their campus administration to acts of violence and hate on campus, up from 50% in October.
More information about CCI and participating universities can be found on the website.
Feb 21, 2024
BDS at UCLA: Campus Climate Update
On Monday, we shared that the UCLA Undergraduate Student Associated Council (USAC) would be entertaining a hateful resolution to demand for BDS at UCLA on Tuesday evening. Despite our community’s extensive efforts to educate, advocate and advise against passing this resolution (CLICK HERE to view our letter which was signed by almost 200 students, read by brave Jewish students at the USAC meeting, and which was distributed widely on various digital platforms), we are deeply disappointed to report that the resolution passed.
Last night’s vote comes on the heels of the passing of the Graduate Student Association’s own BDS resolution that similarly aims to divide our campus and hold Israel and the Jewish community to a double standard.
To confront the deterioration of campus climate at UCLA, the Jewish Bruin Community needs our support!
CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT HILLEL at UCLA’s CAMPUS CLIMATE CRISIS FUND
The IMPACT OF BDS:
A resolution in favor of BDS at UCLA has no impact on the actual policies of UCLA, which has long asserted that they, in no uncertain terms, will not boycott, divest from, or sanction the State of Israel. Following each student government vote, UCLA administration reaffirmed these votes are non-binding, have no consequence and that the university rejects BDS against Israel (you can view the statements here and here)
Indeed, passing this resolution serves to promote a distorted, overly simplistic reality that, for all intents and purposes, displaces Jews from participating in critical conversations about Israel’s right to self determination by promoting “non-normalization,” the policy of prohibiting engagement with Zionists.
ANTISEMITISM HAS NO PLACE AT UCLA:
Our Hillel continues to offer support to all students impacted by this decision in the form of processing groups, free access to food/space to be in community, education, advocacy guidance and access to mental health resources.
Though the passing of BDS is not a reflection of the opinion of all students, faculty or administration, it highlights a larger problem about the rot of antisemitism that exists at UCLA. Students, who are represented by student leaders, are facing the terrible truth that their electeds prefer to prioritize exclusionary resolutions that promote hatred and bias, rather than focus on mechanisms to empower all students and promote campus healing.
IN THE WORDS OF OUR STUDENTS:
“The BDS movement intentionally manipulates our history to turn people against Israel’s existence and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination…BDS supporters on this campus have gotten away with their strategy of non-normalization towards Zionists and Jews. It is a destructive violation of our community, not to mention a clear form of discrimination.
We will not be marginalized. And we will continue to stand up against all forms of hate including the BDS movement.”
HILLEL NEEDS YOU:
Thank you for standing by Hillel’s side in our community’s time of tumult. Your charitable donations and moral support mean more than you can imagine. Hillel at UCLA is not an official on-campus organization and receives zero funding from UCLA. Over 50% of Hillel At UCLA‘s budget comes from individual donors like you. To join our community of benefactors, click here or contact Rachael Petru to learn more.
Support the Campus Climate Crisis Fund
uclahillel.org
(310) 208-3081
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Los Angeles, CA 90024
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Feb 19, 2024
Campus Climate Update
Today, campus is closed (for Presidents Day) and, as is the case with most long weekends, many students have left Westwood. It’s a moment of situational quiet, but for those of us leading the Jewish Bruin community, we are painfully aware that we are in the eye of a storm.
After the shock and exhaustion of Fall Quarter (and the deterioration of campus climate for Jewish students), we returned from winter break to reprieve. In the first weeks of the Winter Quarter, Jewish students enjoyed the ability to walk about campus without being confronted with intrusive anti-Zionist marches and misinformed accusations that repetitively exposed terrifyingly familiar, generations-old antisemitic tropes.
Disappointingly, that period of calm has expired, and it is certainly no surprise. In the past few weeks, the Jewish Bruin community has been subjected to:
- Daily Bruin articles and headlines with obvious antisemitic tropes around money and corruption
- Bullying and intimidation at the faculty level
- Open, uninhibited antisemitism being shouted in public rallies and campus marches
- Anti-Zionist vandalism on prominent campus buildings and walkways
- A forthcoming student government motion to demand that UCLA boycott, divest from, and sanction against Israel (BDS) happening tomorrow
The anti-Zionist hate movement continues to push their dangerous activism on every level of our campus environment. We see antisemitism within the inflammatory demonstrations, the hate speech, brazenly destructive tactics, the academic intimidation, the student discrimination and even the institutional bias.
All the while, Jewish Bruin students continue to inspire through their leadership and commitment to Israel and Jewish peoplehood. Though, as Jews, they feel more isolated on campus than ever before, their sense of comfort comes from being there for one another in the context of Jewish community. Examples of resilience include:
- Hillel students penning opinion pieces to call attention to the presence of antisemitism and bias in the Daily Bruin
- Attending free lunches and safe spaces at our Hillel home as a mechanism of avoiding the hostile and emotionally triggering on-campus anti-Zionist marches
- Planning thoughtful, multi-tiered responses to the student government BDS motion
- Accessing mental health and wellness programs and services to help mitigate the cumulative impact of this stressful time
- Coming together each week for Hillel programs such as Shabbat, Jewish learning, challah baking, Bruins for Israel events, and more.
With each obstacle – and with every incident – our students have rallied, strategized, found common ground, responded and have stood stronger than ever.
And you have been there for them, too. Hillel at UCLA is not an official on-campus organization and receives zero funding from UCLA. Over 50% of Hillel at UCLA‘s budget comes from individual donors and we are abundantly grateful that people like you make charitable gifts to sustain our student engagement work. To contribute to our campaign to boost support, and bring light for students during these dark campus days, we invite you to support the Campus Climate Crisis Fund.
And stay tuned for more – we will continue to update you on our challenges and our achievements as the school year progresses.
Nov 17, 2023
Campus Climate Update
Last week, a disturbing video circulated on social media, showing individuals on campus beating on pinatas with the images of Israel and American elected officials. These unapologetic public displays of hostility only deepen a sense of vulnerability for so many Jewish Bruins. In case you have not yet seen it, we are linking a statement that was made by UC President Drake, and a lead-up statement made by UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, on Friday November 17th. While we know these are only words, we look forward to seeing a move into an actionable stage.
On Monday, November 13th, we co-hosted an in-person panel event featuring three Hillel student leaders in conversation with Jodi Rudoren, the Editor in Chief of The Forward. Though we weren’t able to have the program broadcast or professionally recorded, we offer you this rudimentary recording as a mechanism to hear, directly from the students, how they are doing, what it is like to be on campus since October 7th, and what type of support they need from you at this moment.
On Tuesday we live-streamed the March for Israel in Washington, DC in our building. Even from afar, we were enlivened by the solidarity of our people. Thanks to the generosity of an angel benefactor, a 12-person UCLA delegation of our most active student leaders was able to travel to DC to join (and be nourished by) this historic event. Later that day, Hillel hosted a group of UC Regents for a conversation/listening tour of Jewish students. Six Jewish Bruin students bravely and honestly shared the ways in which their campus experience has been challenged in the face of unchecked anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
On Wednesday, UC Regent Chair, Rich Lieb, made a powerful public statement to the Regents, directing Chancellors throughout the UCs to enforce rules for holding to account blatant violations of Jewish students’ rights. We thank the Regents for calling attention to this serious matter and applaud the Chair’s insistence that this issue be handled with urgency! To view his remarks CLICK HERE (at the 53 minute mark). A subsequent response from UC President Michael Drake announced new systemwide efforts focused on campus safety, civil rights, community education and employee training — several of which focus squarely on curbing anti-Jewish hatred.
Today (Friday) UCLA Hillel students will be attending the annual Rivalry Shabbat, hosted this year at USC. While the long-standing competition between these cross-town rivals is fully intact, it is tempered by that which our Jewish students share in common.
In the coming weeks (starting with Giving Tuesday, on November 28th) we’ll be launching our End of 2023 Fundraising Campaign, where the impact of all new gifts will be doubled by a matching grant challenge. As we shift gears, we offer our most heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us since October 7th, enabling Hillel to keep up with student needs and extra-budgetary organizational demands. Your ongoing investment in our Jewish Bruin community, in times of emergency and in times of calm, is critical to our success.
**Important note: Hillel staff are overwhelmed by the hundreds of phone calls and emails from concerned community members who want to be sure we are aware of what’s happening on campus (we are) and that we are doing something to help (thank you). We appreciate your understanding that our staffs’ bandwidth is limited and devoted, primarily, to supporting the students as they navigate campus at this moment of acute vulnerability. While you may not hear back from us, we want you to know that we are continuing to flex our relationships with campus influencers/policy makers and are making headway in holding to account antisemitism when it rears its hideous head. As ever, campus climate is a top priority.**
Nov 08, 2023
Campus Climate Update: Rally for Israel
Today’s campus climate update is heavy and we invite you to take a few deep breaths as you read about how this week is going at UCLA.
After weeks of organizing, Jewish Bruin students planned and executed a flawless and powerful Rally for Israel: #NoHostageLeftBehind on the 30-day anniversary of the Simchat Torah massacre. With the greatest consideration, they staged an “Empty Shabbat Table” with a seat for every hostage who remains captive as well as a haunting display of blue and white balloons flying from empty strollers for the child hostages.
The 700-person crowd waved flags and adorned posters of the hostages. Our refrain: Bring Them Home Now. Campus Rabbis led us in prayer for the protection of the state of Israel, for the return of the hostages and for the souls of those who were brutally murdered. Students, alongside State Assemblymember Rick Zbur and UCLA alumna and acclaimed actor, Mayim Bialik, delivered rousing remarks condemning antisemitism and calling for campus administration to take action to condemn and stop the hateful campus vitriol that has been boiling over in the past weeks.
We marched around campus, feeling a sense of camaraderie and closeness, a much needed moment of unity in a time when we are otherwise feeling so vulnerable and exposed.Thankfully, there were no organized counter-protests.
However, within an hour of the rally, some of the ugliest antisemitic social media posts were made, aimed at sparking fear of Jews on campus. And word began to circulate that the coming days on campus would, again, be punctuated by loud and insistent anti-Zionist actions. Today we heard chanting from the UC Divest action on campus and tomorrow we are bracing for another organized walk-out style demonstration they have titled “Shut It Down.”
Indeed, the pressure is intense – and Hillel’s work to support students is as important as ever (as is your support to make it happen). We remain grateful to everyone who has made a donation to support our Bruins for Israel Crisis Fund. If you are inclined to participate, we will gratefully use your gift to provide for the students’ needs as they are ever-evolving.
Support the Bruins for Israel Crisis Fund
We are proud to report that Hillel at UCLA Executive Director, Dan Gold, was nominated by his Hillel colleagues to represent the Hillel Directors and the 10,000s of Jewish students on campus throughout the state to be part of a few conversations with our California elected officials. Earlier this week, Dan joined the CA Legislative Jewish Caucus to plan a strategy for possible legislative action. Yesterday, he was on a call (alongside a small group of representatives from the Jewish world) with Gov. Newsom wherein Dan encouraged him to take immediate action to respond to the rise of anti-Jewish hate on our campus. See JPAC’s X (Twitter) post about it, here.
Thank you, as always, for your care and concern. If you’re local to Los Angeles, don’t forget to come to Hillel on Monday, November 13th for an in-person event: “Being Jewish on Campus Since October 7th.” CLICK HERE to learn more and register.
P.S. In case you missed our previous statements, click here to view them.
Oct 27, 2023
Statement on Antisemitic Rhetoric on Campus
Yesterday and today Hillel at UCLA has been flooded with emails and phone calls from constituents and stakeholders from every corner of our community. Already on edge, our community is responding to a social media post that captured the hateful rhetoric being chanted during the October 25th “Walk Out for Gaza” rally at UCLA. While many social media posts misquoted the chant as “we want Jewish genocide” the actual rhetoric and language against Israel and Jews were equally unacceptable — “we charge you with genocide”.
We know that this was triggering and no matter the specific words used, the anti-Jewish messages are undeniable. While we rarely do so, today we are compelled to issue the statement below.
Thank you for being with us in our time of campus strife.
Dan Gold
Executive Director
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair
Hillel at UCLA stands in support of every Jewish Bruin and all the Jewish students, faculty, and allied students and faculty at UCLA who remain horrified at the terror attack on October 7th and condemn Hamas’ massacre in the strongest possible terms. We mourn deeply for the 1400 innocent lives taken in the most barbaric ways, and we demand the over 220 children, women, men and elderly hostages be returned now.
We are equally disturbed that faculty and students at UCLA continue to refuse to condemn this attack, and worse, have taken to public forums and to campus to defend it or even celebrate it. Make no mistake, the rhetoric that we have heard at the many anti-Zionist, anti-Israel rallies and sessions over the last few weeks is antisemitic and wrong. We 100% reject it and we refuse to normalize it.
We know the Jewish Bruin community – current students, faculty, parents and alumni – are outraged and scared. We know that this inflamed environment on campus and this antisemitic rhetoric is a direct attack on our identity as Jews. It’s done to intimidate us and, worse, is done to divide and weaken us.
Therefore, our response has been – and will continue to be – to show our strength. There has been programming, and prayer; learning and loving; and debate and demonstrations that have happened every day at our Hillel and throughout campus.
With each passing demonstration, hateful rhetoric points further and further toward the greatest fears of our Jewish people. While we acknowledge and appreciate the First Amendment protections, upheld by the university, we strongly believe there is a conscientious obligation to state and take appropriate action over what is immoral.
We are directly engaged with UCLA administration. We know our voices are being heard and we know that we have their support. Yet, after these most recent public events on campus have continued with the same hateful behavior, our message is clear and direct: it is unequivocally wrong to fan the flames of antisemitism, it is wrong to intentionally make Jews feel unsafe or unwelcome, and it is wrong to suggest Israel should not exist.
To our allies: now is the time we need to hear your voices. Now is the time to help us provide moral clarity in our community. Now is “never again.”
To the supportive community outside of campus: we hear your voices and we feel your support. We thank you for reminding us that we are not alone. While our lived experience on campus and the specifics of everything that happens here is sometimes distorted or misreported through social media that doesn’t change what we know to be antisemitic and anti-Jewish hate.
Please continue to have faith in our incredible and resilient Jewish student leaders. They are working through every issue, reaching out to bring every corner of our community together, and they are showing up every hour of every day to lead by example. We invite you to continue to show your support by sharing this story and by joining our Jewish Bruins at UCLA on November 7th on campus where we will mark one month since this nightmare attack. We will join to honor the lives lost, demand the hostages’ return home and show our UCLA community and beyond that we are strong, we are united, and we are not going to be intimidated.
Oct 26, 2023
Update on Jewish Bruin Life at UCLA
We’re committed to keeping you updated on UCLA campus life and how Jewish students are doing as events continue to unfold. Assessing communal needs and meeting them is at the center of our focus.
Wednesday brought to campuses around the country (including UCLA) another aggressive form of anti-Israel protest: the walkout (masses of students leaving class in coordinated form and gathering for on-campus protest). These are painful times – our students continue to be confronted by vitriolic campaigns that promote the SJP’s victimhood agenda, targeted chants, blaming Israeli victims for their fate and vehemently denying a future two-state solution. Between the constant disruption and the hateful rhetoric (in-person on campus and in media), students are understandably stretched thin.
On a promising note, UCLA was aware of and prepared for the walkout. Campus was full with UC police and other security and Hillel staff were on site, alongside UCLA administrative partners, to bear witness, bring comfort and give guidance to Jewish students. At our building, we have doubled our commitment to physical security – read to the end for more information.
Hillel is here to support all Jewish students in a myriad ways – and it has never been as important as in the past few weeks. We are restoring students’ sense of safety and agency. Below are a few of the programmatic ways that we’ve been taking care of our Jewish Bruin family in the past week:
- Building stronger connections between students and faculty: When students shared how exposed they felt in the classroom, not knowing which professors would relate to them with compassion and which might act punitively toward them for being Jewish or supporting Israel, we responded by inviting professors and students to “speed network” with each other at Hillel. More than 100 students and faculty have participated in two mixer/organizer convenings and we are on a path to building out this new project.
- Celebrating and empowering leadership: An annual event tradition, the Bruin Leadership Dinner has taken on new urgency and importance in this time of crisis. Taking place in early November, our student leaders have secured the attendance of three powerful California elected officials; Congressman Ted Lieu, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and Assembly Majority Leader Issac Bryan. When a room full of influential students pairs with leaders of this caliber (and who have the Jewish community’s back), we reconnect to our potential and power.
- Marking the anniversary of the Simchat Torah Massacre: With an eye on the one month anniversary of the massacre, our Hillel community is preparing for a large-scale convening of 1300+ people on campus to keep the names of the hostages in our hearts and stand in solidarity. We hope you will join us, save the date for November 7th in the middle of the day on campus (more details to follow).
- Nurturing the heart of Judaism: Hillel continues to provide “regularly scheduled” programming ranging from Shabbat programming, Learning Fellowships, pastoral care, community service and challah baking.
Earlier this week our Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair, Executive Director, Dan Gold, published an OpEd in eJewishPhilanthropy which calls on communities to continue gathering, sharing our stories and telling our truth. He underscores a collective call to action, one in which we must all play a part during the days and months to come. Click here to read it.
Thank you to everyone who has made a charitable contribution to Hillel in the past couple of weeks. Here are some ways that your investment in our community is at work:
- Doubling security presence by ensuring that an armed security guard is on site whenever the building is open to the student public, as well as sending security to protect offsite Hillel programs. When needed, we are hiring two security guards, and UC Police also visit Hillel on rotation to keep us protected.
- Maintaining and expanding critical security infrastructure around the building.
- Increasing access to mental health services including individual therapy, pastoral care and group processing spaces.
- Sending influential students to receive expert training to create their own online social media content.
- Launching new initiatives that bridge students, faculty and administration to each other, paving the path for a stronger and more positive campus climate for Jewish students.
We will not be repressed. Will will continue to show up. Am Yisrael Chai.
Oct 18, 2023
An Update on Jewish Bruin Life at UCLA
Last week was a rollercoaster for our Jewish Bruin community and most especially for our Jewish students. Surrounded by around 500 fellow Bruins, we grieved together at our Bruin Plaza Vigil and were nourished by the power of community. We will never forget those whose lives were taken in a brutal act of terrorism and we will continue to say the names of those who are missing and held hostage.
Difficult days on campus followed. On Thursday, what started as a pro-Palestinian rally, became an intrusive and aggressive march through campus, stoking feelings of insecurity among Jewish students. Simultaneously, a national “day of rage” was promoted widely on social media for Friday and many Jewish students were left to worry for their physical safety.
At Hillel, we knew coming to Friday night Shabbat services and dinner would be medicine for the soul. We encouraged students to join us for Shabbat with assurances that their safety was our foremost concern. Hillel organized walking groups from campus to Hillel so no student would feel isolated during this uncertain time. Hillel hired extra security and stayed in close contact with campus police and the LA Jewish Federation’s Community Security Initiative (which works directly with the FBI). Despite the lack of any credible threat, we were on edge.
Shabbat began with soulful prayer and culminated with a room filled with hundreds of Jewish students and allies breaking bread together for dinner. The presence and participation of more than a handful of UCLA administrators was an irrefutable display of solidarity. Even Chancellor Block, Jewish himself, took the extra effort to spend Shabbat with our Jewish Bruin community in this moment of collective vulnerability. Despite how exposed and scared we felt, we did not let it come in the way of gathering and we will not let anything stand in our way of feeling Jewish pride and togetherness.
Chancellor Block offered a second statement further condemning terrorism and showing support for our Jewish students on Friday.
Israel needs us right now and supporting Israel and Israelis is the most important thing we can do (see links below). At the same time, Hillel at UCLA needs you in this moment of intense campus volatility. We are deepening our investment in security, working overtime to provide pastoral and mental health care, offering essential programming and bringing in experts on the topics that matter most right now. We invite you to help make sure Hillel at UCLA has what it needs to do all this and more for our Jewish students in this most vital moment. Click here to support the Bruins for Israel fund.
Oct 13, 2023
Hillel is here for Jewish Bruins
Earlier in the week we connected with you to share the “state of Jewish Bruin Life,” and today we are inviting you to learn more about how our week progressed. Scroll down to see our initial message.
This has been a week full of heartache and corresponding communal support. On Wednesday night, nearly 500 members of the Bruin community gathered on Bruin Plaza for a “Vigil for Israel” that was organized by students, backed by UCLA administration, protected by UCPD and spearheaded and sponsored by Hillel at UCLA in collaboration with other campus Jewish organizations. We grieved and held each other up despite impossible heaviness. We came together united.
On Thursday our community was confronted by a “national day of resistance” in which students gathered on campus to protest Israel. This demonstration, which began in one central location and then morphed into a march through campus, served as an affront to many Jewish students who are already feeling exposed and vulnerable, particularly in light of widespread social media claims that Friday would be a “day of rage”. The impact of psychological warfare may be invisible to the bare eye, however, it is deeply felt and is difficult to rebound from.
We have increased our security at Hillel in several ways and are staying up to date by the hour on any new developments. We are in close contact with members of UCLA administration who are acting as partners to our community in our time of need (including by meeting Jewish Bruins on campus to walk alongside them on their way to Shabbat dinner at Hillel tonight). We are sharing and reiterating connections for mental health support offered by Hillel, campus and other partners. While you may not hear the details (and you may hear other bits of information and rumors), please be assured that we are leaning into these close connections at this uncertain and delicate time.
Safe spaces, services, vigils and rallies in support of Israel and mourning the victims help Jewish students (and allies) feel understood and embraced by the community. Hillel is at the helm of organizing all of this. Among many other things, we are coordinating Jewish faculty on campus. Their involvement is a demonstration of their own personal need for community and their determination to show up for students now and in the future.
As a public institution, UCLA is barred by the Constitution from prohibiting expression based on the viewpoint of the speaker or content of the speech. Members of the Hillel community have direct ties to UCLA administrators to support them in upholding a campus climate which does not tolerate antisemitism, and we are using them. Many of you want to know how you can help. Again, we invite you to please join Hillel and our students by focusing our attention and energy on showing up for the Jewish community and stay in touch with UCLA Hillel for more opportunities to strengthen the Jewish Bruin community. While we and the University cannot always stop some of the hate expressed in our campus, all of us CAN show up for students who are afraid, exposed and in need of context and community.
Am Israel Chai
Oct 10, 2023
State of Jewish Bruin Life (in light of the war in Israel)
As a member of the UCLA Hillel community, you know that campus is, historically, a hotbed for proxy war activity in times of crisis in Israel. In addition to your worry about the most vulnerable people in Israel, you’re probably also wondering about how students at UCLA are faring – to that end, we are sending this message with important information about the state of our Jewish Bruins in light of the war in Israel.
The last few days have been tragic for the Jewish people, Israel and our community as we continue to learn the horrific details of the massacre that left so many innocent dead, kidnapped or injured. On Saturday morning, we awoke to the unsettling and shocking news and, in the blink of an eye, our weekend plans for celebrating Shabbat and Simchat Torah were reconfigured to make space for the emotional and physical needs of our Jewish Bruin community.
Our Jewish Bruin community is in a state of deep collective concern and Hillel is working overtime to understand and provide for our students’ needs. Presently this looks like:
- Hiring extra armed security as a measure of abundant caution and to ease feelings of exposure and vulnerability among students and staff.
- Organizing meetings of Jewish students representing the broadest swath of identities and affinities to learn more about how students are feeling and how we can adapt programming as needs become known and evolve.
- Hosting a range of programs (at Hillel and on campus) to provide comfort, education, companionship and opportunities for activism. Highlights include “safe spaces” at Hillel for communal processing, Lunch and Learns with rabbis and professors, Shabbat prayer circle, and multiple vigils (including one that you can attend on Wednesday, October 11th at 7pm on Bruin Plaza).
- Referring students to resources to support mental health needs in a particularly stressful time (pastoral care, peer counsel and private therapy through the Ezra Network).
While we can’t predict everything that will happen in the coming days/months, we are vigilant and prepared for a wide range of eventualities. At the time of writing this message, campus is relatively calm. Hillel will continue to work in tandem with organizational partners to monitor the possibility of security threats or anti-Israel campus activity, and support the students, come what may. Should campus climate become hostile for Jewish students, Hillel will be (and has always been) an unwavering source of support for Jewish Bruins, hosting educational programs, communal gatherings, leveraging community resources and guiding students as they engage campus administration and advocating for their right to education free of intimidation.
We know that some of you are eager to do something to help…and we are learning ways to get much needed support to the people of Israel (see below for links). At a local level, we invite you, our Hillel family, to join us in supporting the Jewish Bruin community as we face this emergency. Providing this extra level of communal care is Hillel’s honor…we are going beyond our budget to provide extra food, space and security. Your generous donation to the UCLA Hillel Bruins for Israel Fund will support programs and associated costs – please give today so that we can fully fund and support every effort they seek to strengthen our Jewish people and soothe our concern for Israel.
Last night, Chancellor Gene Block issued a message regarding recent violent attacks abroad and shared a statement from UC President Michael Drake and UC Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib. To read the statement, click here. (REVISED: click here to read an additional statement provided on Fri. Oct 13th.)
Thank you for aligning with our Jewish Bruin community every day and especially in our more challenging moments.
Am Israel Chai,
Naomi Hochman
President, Board of Directors
Dan Gold
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair, Executive Director
P.S. Here are the Los Angeles-based funds that are directly supporting Israelis in need:
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles Israel Crisis Fund
The Los Angeles Jewish Community Foundation’s vetted nonprofits providing vital emergency services
