[pullquote align=right] Bennett is censoring critical discourse on American college campuses. Just as Israeli students will not be silenced, neither will we.
[/pullquote]On Sunday July 30th, Open Hillel students and supporters will gather at 12:30pm across the street from the Israeli Consulate in New York City, to call on Hillel International to cut ties with Naftali Bennett’s Mosaic United project.
Open Hillel has long called for Hillel to embrace open discourse and build Jewish campus communities that reflect the plurality of student voices and perspectives. Instead of moving forward toward that goal, Hillel took a step backward in August 2016, when it announced a $22 million partnership with Mosaic United, an initiative headed by Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Naftali Bennett. Mosaic aims to “combat critical discourse” around Israel on college campuses and in the wider Jewish community.
In June, Bennett proposed an “ethics code” for Israeli universities that would bar professors from expressing their political views and establish units to monitor political activity on campus. In response, Israeli students took to the streets to protest. Now, through Mosaic, Bennett is censoring critical discourse on American college campuses. Just as Israeli students will not be silenced, neither will we.
[pullquote align=left] Hillel must keep pluralism at the center of its mission.
[/pullquote]Mosaic and Bennett also aim to promote a singular, Orthodox-only vision of Jewish identity that excludes and alienates countless Jewish students. At a time when Jewish leaders are calling on the Israeli government to affirm its commitment to pluralism, we demand that Hillel do the same. As the world’s largest Jewish campus organization, Hillel must keep pluralism at the center of its mission.
In recent years, Hillel has repeatedly abandoned the needs of its students in favor of the ideological projects of its major donors. Now, Naftali Bennett — Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs — is one of the largest and most influential of these donors. So, we will gather at the Israeli consulate to demand that Hillel cut ties with Mosaic and affirm its commitment to pluralism.

Where: The Consulate General of Israel in New York, 800 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10017
When: Sunday, July 30, 2017, 12:30pm
Who: Open Hillel students, community members and supporters
What: Protest calling on Hillel to cut ties with Naftali Bennett and Mosaic United
Why: Hillel must stand for pluralism and open discourse!
Facebook event: http://bit.ly/2uBGY9E

Open Hillel is a movement of students and community members working to promote pluralism and open discourse in Jewish communities on campus and beyond.