tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29261241716795251722024-03-19T04:59:19.424-07:00Harvard College Progressive Jewish AllianceDon't kvetch. Organize.Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03376317606449859579noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-33491729333073198262015-05-06T14:50:00.001-07:002015-05-06T14:52:53.156-07:00<span id="docs-internal-guid-6c88ff55-2b35-5673-e321-c010ee255c3b"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, Tamid, an Israeli investment group affiliated with Harvard Hillel, coordinated to tear down posters in dorms that announced a Palestine Solidarity Committee event and listed rights that Palestinians lack in Israel. We condemn this action. These posters were a perfectly legitimate attempt to call attention to the oppression Palestinian-Israelis face, and Tamid’s actions undermine the spirit of inclusion and tolerance to which Harvard Hillel is supposedly committed. Campus dialogue should not involve silencing or removing opposing voices, but rather engaging in meaningful conversation. </span></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-36464447422313175712015-03-29T19:24:00.003-07:002015-03-29T19:27:40.362-07:00PJA Condemns Hillel International's Legal Threats Against Swarthmore <br />
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The Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance condemns Hillel International’s threats of legal action over Swarthmore Hillel’s plans to host longtime Jewish civil rights activists in their Jewish community.<br />
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Earlier this month, we were proud to host one of these activists, Dorothy Zellner, on an interfaith panel on religious traditions and racial justice in Harvard Hillel. This conversation, convened by PJA, the Black Students Association, the Harvard Islamic Society, and the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, brought together four activists from a variety of backgrounds who discussed their work on civil rights and racial justice fights past and present. Dorothy Zellner also discussed how her experiences in the U.S. civil rights movement have led her to support boycotts, divestment, and sanctions to end the Israeli Occupation and achieve full civil rights for Palestinians. </div>
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We strongly believe that American Jews must not shy away from conversations about civil rights and social justice, but rather must engage with these key issues of our day. <br />
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We are shocked and outraged by Hillel International's attempts to stifle these conversations and intimidate their own students into silence. We support Jewish students at Swarthmore -- as well as Jewish students at MIT and UMass Amherst, who were barred from hosting Jewish civil rights activists in their Hillels -- who are working to bring conversations about civil rights and racial justice into their Jewish communities. We call upon Hillel International to withdraw its threats against Swarthmore. We further call upon Hillel International to eliminate its exclusionary Standards of Partnership, which stymie open discourse in Jewish spaces on campus.</div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-68990491508033411382014-12-22T15:44:00.001-08:002014-12-22T16:11:12.499-08:00Progressive Jewish Alliance Statement of Solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />We, the Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance, condemn the recent grand jury decisions to not indict the police officers responsible for killing Michael Brown and Eric Garner. We condemn the racist police violence that has killed not just Brown and Garner but also Aiyana Stanley Jones, Islan Nettles, Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride, Rekia Boyd, Tamir Rice, Deshwanda Sanchez, and countless others. We are horrified that in the United States, police kill a black person <a href="http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/1-black-man-killed-every-28-hours-police-or-vigilantes-america-perpetually-war-its">once every twenty-eight hours</a>.<br /><br />We condemn the many aspects of the American criminal justice system that have given rise to these injustices: an overly militarized police force, minimal police accountability, rampant and unchallenged racism in policing communities. Recent events remind us once again that racism quite literally kills and that the fight for racial justice is far from over.<br /><br />We stand in solidarity with black student organizers at Harvard who have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1522505174663482/?ref_dashboard_filter=past">brought the Harvard community together</a> to say that #<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/05/harvard-students-ferguson-response_n_6263766.html">BlackLivesMatter</a> and to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/676467282451393/?ref_dashboard_filter=past">protest</a> these recent decisions and the systemic problems from which they stem. We were deeply disappointed by the brevity of President Faust’s recent <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2014/statement-by-drew-faust-on-recent-events?fb_action_ids=10201836494033807&fb_action_types=og.shares">statement</a>, which failed to address the grave and pressing nature of the issue at hand. We call upon Harvard to follow the lead of students of color at this university and lend its institutional power to the fight for racial justice in the Boston area and around the country.<br /><br />We stand in solidarity with protesters <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1559794327598726/">in the Boston area</a> and <a href="http://fergusonaction.com/">across the United States</a> who are taking to the streets to demand change. In a world in which “normalcy” consists of white supremacy and systematic state violence inflicted upon communities of color, we applaud efforts to disrupt this normalcy to pressure national, state, and local governments to <a href="http://fergusonaction.com/demands/">change their policies</a> and promote racial and economic justice. <br /><br />We further commend the many individuals and organizations in the Boston Jewish community and the American Jewish community who have taken action to address the issue of racist police violence. We are proud to have signed the <a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5149/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18942">Jewish communal letter</a> calling for police accountability and we urge all other Jewish organizations to sign on as well. We are proud to have participated in the national #BlackLivesMatter <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/408880829267381/">Chanukah action</a> last week and look forward to participating in similar actions in the future. We urge all Jewish leaders and community members to address this issue through actions as well as words. <br /><br />Finally, we call upon Harvard Hillel and Hillel International to stand in opposition to racist police violence and in support of recent racial justice protests around the country. As the self-proclaimed Center for Jewish Life on Campus, Hillel must stand in support of black Jewish students, as well as Jewish students of color more generally. Furthermore, as Hillel International seeks to <a href="http://www.hillel.org/about/news-views/news-views---blog/news-and-views/2014/12/10/hillel-international-launches-civil-rights-initiative">honor</a> historical civil rights struggles and the role that American Jews played in these fights, it must unequivocally affirm this commitment to anti-racism by standing up for racial justice and civil rights today. </span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-14422567088184140432014-02-18T17:52:00.002-08:002014-02-18T18:10:08.960-08:00Congratulations to the Vassar Jewish Union, the world's second Open Hillel! Earlier tonight, the Vassar Jewish Union voted to declare their community the world's second Open Hillel! PJA wishes a hearty Mazal Tov to the Vassar Jewish Union, and we hope that many schools will follow. Check out their statement below!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">FOR IMMEDIATE <span style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #222222;">RELEASE</span>:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">SUMMARY: The Vassar Jewish Union is an Open Hillel: Statement adopted by the Vassar Jewish Union on February, 18th 2014</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">CONTACT: <a href="mailto:vju@vassar.edu" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">vju@vassar.edu</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://vsa.vassar.edu/orgs/vju/2014/02/18/vassar-jewish-union-is-an-open-hillel/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://vsa.vassar.edu/orgs/<wbr></wbr>vju/2014/02/18/vassar-jewish-<wbr></wbr>union-is-an-open-hillel/</a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">POUGHKEEPSIE, NY--The Vassar Jewish Union is a Hillel-affiliated student organization that provides a pluralistic space for Jewish life at Vassar. The mission statement of the Vassar Jewish Union calls on us to commit to strengthening our pluralistic Jewish community. We recognize that identification with Israel is not necessarily an integral part of every individual’s Jewish identity. We commit to providing a spiritual and cultural home for Jewish expression in any form.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">The Standards of Partnership at Hillel International currently prohibit partnering with, housing, or hosting organizations, groups, or speakers who: “1) Deny the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state with secure and recognized borders; 2) Delegitimize, demonize, or apply a double standard to Israel; 3) Support boycott of, divestment from, or sanctions against the State of Israel; and 4) Exhibit a pattern of disruptive behavior towards campus events or guest speakers or foster an atmosphere of incivility.” </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">We believe that this policy censors and delegitimizes the diverse range of personal and political opinions held by Jewish students. As a result, organizations such as JStreet and Jewish Voice for Peace have been excluded from campus Hillel organizations, and individual speakers have been barred from addressing students at Hillel chapters around the country. Hillel International advocates identification with Israel as a core element of Jewish life, and a gateway to Jewish identification for students.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">We believe that Hillel International’s goal to “inspire every Jewish college student to develop a meaningful and enduring relationship to Israel” does not represent the diverse opinions of young American Jews. We believe that fostering a pluralistic community and supporting all Jewish life on campus cannot be achieved with Hillel International’s Israel Guidelines in place. According to our constitution the VJU is a non-partisan organization and will not advocate any particular political opinions. In the interest of educating and serving the VJU community, however, the VJU will support individual members’ expressions of their own political views, and will seek to represent this diversity with its programming. In that regard, we welcome open discourse concerning Israel, Palestine, and any other relevant and critical issues, and will not exclude on the basis of political opinion.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 16.309091567993164px;">As an Open Hillel, the Vassar Jewish Union will not endorse any particular political view. The Vassar Jewish Union will not exclude organizations, groups, speakers, individuals, or events on the basis of political opinion. Rather, we seek to represent the diverse views held by our members and to provide a space for meaningful and respectful debate and discussion. This position is in accordance with our desire to enrich our political, spiritual, and cultural lives at Vassar through free and open discourse.</span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-3054860496208441752013-12-26T08:58:00.002-08:002013-12-26T08:58:05.939-08:00Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance stands with Swarthmore Hillel<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On December 8th, Swarthmore Hillel unanimously </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/openhillel/posts/689538151080255" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">decided </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to become the first </span><a href="http://www.openhillel.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Open Hillel</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We, the Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance, applaud Swarthmore Hillel’s resolution to “encourage dialogue within the diverse and pluralistic Jewish student body” on campus. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-487d3b43-2fd7-5bfe-31be-f62fe1d438bd" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hillel International’s “</span><a href="http://www.hillel.org/jewish/hillel-israel/hillel-israel-guidelines" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standards of Partnership</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” for Israel activities have </span><a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/11/8/hillel-israeli-palestinian-event/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">twice</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://harvardpja.blogspot.com/2013/11/press-release-burg-barred-from-speaking.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">prevented</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> us from co-sponsoring events with the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee in Hillel. We believe that Jewish-Palestinian dialogue is essential to working towards peace and justice in Israel/Palestine, and are saddened that Hillel’s rules have prevented this sort of dialogue from occurring within Jewish spaces on campus. Moreover, we have also seen how, on other campuses, these standards have been used to exclude Jewish students and Jewish student organizations, and we firmly believe that all Jewish students must be equally welcome in Hillel. Ultimately, Hillels and their students can only engage with the full complexity of issues relating to Israel/Palestine in a productive and meaningful way if we allow a full range of political views to be expressed, discussed, and debated. We congratulate Swarthmore Hillel for living up to Hillel’s self-proclaimed </span><a href="http://www.hillel.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mission </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of being a foundation for Jewish campus life rather than restricting conversations to those whose political views fall within red lines.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last November, we joined with students around the country to </span><a href="http://harvardpja.blogspot.com/2012/11/an-open-letter-to-hillel-community.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">start</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the Open Hillel </span><a href="http://www.openhillel.org/petition.php" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">campaign</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, asking Hillel International to remove its Standards of Partnership. Swarthmore’s recent resolution to become an Open Hillel is an enormously positive step towards making the “Center for Jewish Life on Campus” genuinely pluralistic. We hope that Swarthmore is the first of many Open Hillels, and we urge Harvard Hillel to follow Swarthmore Hillel’s lead and adopt a policy that welcomes all voices and allows for co-sponsorship with all groups on campus. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In his </span><a href="http://www.hillel.org/about/news-views/news-views---blog/news-and-views/2013/12/10/hillel-president-responds-to-swarthmore-college-hillel-resolution" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">letter </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">responding to Swarthmore Hillel’s announcement, Hillel International’s President and CEO Eric Fingerhut quoted our namesake Rabbi Hillel as saying, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” But President Fingerhut neglected to include the remainder of the quote: “And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” If the Jewish community does not listen to dissenting voices within our own community - or to Palestinian voices - are we truly making just decisions or having productive conversations? And if we do not act for change now, then when? </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We thank Swarthmore Hillel for their inspiring decision and hope their action encourages Jewish students nationwide to stand up and demand a more inclusive Jewish community on campus.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In solidarity,</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">an affiliated group of Harvard Hillel</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please join us in signing the </span><a href="http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/i-stand-with-swarthmore-hillel" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">petition </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in support of Swarthmore Hillel’s decision and the Open Hillel </span><a href="http://www.openhillel.org/petition.php" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">petition </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to Hillel International.</span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-84788531694003123492013-12-10T06:07:00.005-08:002013-12-10T06:08:59.045-08:00An Open Hillel!On Sunday night, Swarthmore Hillel declared itself an Open Hillel!<br />
<br />
Read their statement, posted online at <a href="http://newvoices.org/2013/12/09/swarthmore-hillel-declares-itself-an-open-hillel/">New Voices</a> and <a href="http://jewschool.com/2013/12/09/31325/swarthmore-hillel-declares-itself-an-open-hillel/">Jewschool</a>! And here's their resolution:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Swarthmore Hillel is an Open Hillel </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Unanimously adopted by Swarthmore Hillel Student Board, December 8, 2013 </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Whereas Hillel International prohibits partnering with, hosting, or housing anyone who (a) denies the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state with secure and recognized borders, (b) delegitimizes, demonizes, or applies a double standard to Israel, (c) supports boycott of, divestment from, or sanctions against the State of Israel; </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And whereas this policy has resulted in the barring of speakers from organizations such as Breaking the Silence and the Israeli Knesset from speaking at Hillels without censorship, and has resulted in Jewish Voice for Peace not being welcome under the Hillel umbrella; </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And whereas this policy runs counter to the values espoused by our namesake, Rabbi Hillel, who was famed for encouraging debate in contrast with Rabbi Shammai; </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And whereas Hillel, while purporting to support all Jewish Campus Life, presents a monolithic face pertaining to Zionism that does not accurately reflect the diverse opinions of young American Jews; </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And whereas Hillel’s statement that Israel is a core element of Jewish life and a gateway to Jewish identification for students does not allow space for others who perceive it as irrelevant to their Judaism; </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And whereas Hillel International’s Israel guidelines privilege only one perspective on Zionism, and make others unwelcome; </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And whereas the goals of fostering a diverse community and supporting all Jewish life on campus cannot be met when Hillel International’s guidelines are in place; </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Therefore be it resolved that Swarthmore Hillel declares itself to be an Open Hillel; an organization that supports Jewish life in all its forms; an organization that is a religious and cultural group whose purpose is not to advocate for one single political view, but rather to open up space that encourages dialogue within the diverse and pluralistic Jewish student body and the larger community at Swarthmore; an organization that will host and partner with any speaker at the discretion of the board, regardless of Hillel International’s Israel guidelines; and an organization that will always strive to be in keeping with the values of open debate and discourse espoused by Rabbi Hillel. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Contact:<br />
Joshua Wolfsun<br />
Swarthmore Hillel Communications Coordinator<br />
wolfj13@gmail.com<br />
413-687-1809</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
Also, this has gotten some wonderful press coverage in <a href="http://thebeaconmag.com/2013/12/featured-article/swarthmore-hillel-declares-itself-an-open-hillel/">The Beacon</a>, <a href="http://forward.com/articles/189013/swarthmore-hillel-defies-headquarters-on-boycott-i/#ixzz2n2MVptLj">the Forward</a>, <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2013/12/swarthmore-chapter-zionists.html">Mondoweiss</a>, <a href="http://muzzlewatch.com/tag/open-hillel/">Muzzlewatch</a>, and <a href="http://www.jta.org/2013/12/10/news-opinion/united-states/swarthmore-hillel-reject-hillel-israel-guidelines">JTA</a>.<br />
<br />
Finally, check out this <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/sep/26/american-jewish-cocoon/">back </a><a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115611/peter-beinart-do-american-jews-live-cocoon-answer-no">and </a><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/04/yes-tnr-there-really-is-an-american-jewish-cocoon.html">forth </a>- latest installment <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/09/is-it-good-for-the-jews-is-not-the-question.html">yesterday </a>- between Peter Beinart and Shany More in the New York Review of Books, New Republic, Daily Beast that extensively discusses our Avraham Burg event. If only folks had read our press release, perhaps some of this confusion could have been cleared up?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-23576815479926616952013-12-07T06:10:00.000-08:002013-12-10T06:11:37.263-08:00Congratulations to the PJA Board for 2014! The Progressive Jewish Alliance is excited to announce our board for the upcoming year. Mazel tov to all!<br />
<br />
We look forward to another great year of things that are progressive, Jewish, and allied.<br />
<br />
<b>Progressive Jewish Alliance Board 2014</b><br />
Elena Hoffenberg '16, Chair<br />
Ann Finkel '15, Vice-Chair for Israel/Palestine<br />
Joshua Blecher-Cohen '16, Vice-Chair for Programming and Parliamentarian<br />
Justin Szasz '17, Vice-Chair for Campus Outreach<br />
Shai Szulanski '17, Vice-Chair for Corporate Responsibility<br />
Nancy Ko '17, Vice-Chair for Finances<br />
Miriam Rich (GSAS), Grad Student Liaison<br />
Sam Wohns '14, Member-at-Large<br />
Rachel Sandalow-Ash '15, Chair Emerita<br />
Allison Gofman '14, Vice-Chair Emerita for Holidays<br />
Sandra Korn '14, Vice-Chair Emerita for EducationAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-26833476520688116472013-11-22T07:11:00.000-08:002013-12-10T06:15:00.567-08:00PRESS RELEASE: Burg Barred from Speaking at Harvard Hillel<b>PRESS RELEASE: Israeli Politician Avraham Burg Barred from Speaking at Harvard Hillel</b><br />
<br />
<i>November 20, 2013, Cambridge, MA</i>— Avraham Burg, the former speaker of Israel's Knesset, spoke in an undergraduate dormitory at Harvard College last week after being barred from speaking at Harvard Hillel.<br />
<br />
"It's such a shame that Harvard Hillel would not allow an open discussion about Israel to take place within its walls," said Sandra Korn '14, who helped organize the talk. "Hillel should be a space for students to engage with Jewish issues, regardless of religious or political beliefs."<br />
<br />
Burg was allowed to attend an invitation-only dinner in the Hillel building, but was forbidden from hosting the event there since it was co-sponsored by the Harvard College Palestinian Solidarity Committee. The other co-sponsoring student groups included J Street U Harvard and two Hillel-affiliated groups, Harvard Students for Israel and Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance. The event took place in the Quincy House Junior Common Room instead.<br />
<br />
"This is an attack on free speech in its most naked form," said Ann Finkel '15, a Harvard student who attended the event. "I'm not sure what they were afraid of - people with all kinds of political views had a very constructive conversation with Mr. Burg."<br />
<br />
CONTACT:
Rachel Sandalow-Ash<br />
(617) 417-0481<br />
rsandalowash@college.harvard.eduUnknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-11480544809445196232013-11-18T10:00:00.000-08:002013-12-10T06:23:54.841-08:00Thanksgivukkah through a Critical Lens: Discussion and Dessert<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">
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<span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: trebuchet ms,sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><strong>Thanksgiving! Hanukkah! Discussion! Dessert!</strong></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em>What more could you want in an evening, really?</em></span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><strong>Wednesday, November 20th, 8:00-9:30pm. Rabb Hall, Harvard Hillel </strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
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<img alt="Inline image 1" class="" height="189" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=b4f05558cb&view=att&th=1426c39b47b4403f&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_142696af0aed7454&zw&atsh=1" style="min-height: 377px; width: 397px;" width="200" /><br />
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<span style="color: #500050;"><span style="color: #ff9900; font-size: medium;"><strong>In honor of this year's rare convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, join the Progressive Jewish Alliance for a discussion about what these holidays mean for Jewish identity, oppression and justice in the United States and Israel/Palestine.</strong></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #500050;"><span style="color: #ff9900; font-size: medium;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: #ff9900; font-size: medium;">Find out more and RSVP on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/227259444116247/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>!</span></strong></div>
</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-41298788193807073522013-11-13T09:36:00.000-08:002013-12-10T06:13:16.241-08:00EVENT: The Soldier and the Refusnik<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" class="GH" height="62" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=b4f05558cb&view=att&th=1423402e1ad8a437&attid=0.0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_1423105592a58318&zw&atsh=1" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgb(229, 229, 229) 0px 0px 0px 1px; box-shadow: rgb(229, 229, 229) 0px 0px 0px 1px;" width="400" /></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">The Soldier and the Refusenik</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Harvard Hall 201</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday, November 13th, 6-7:30</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Come hear Eran Efrati, a former IDF soldier, and Maya Wind, an Israeli activist imprisoned for her conscientious objection to military service, as they share their thoughts and personal experiences on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Visit their website at <a href="http://www.soldierandrefusenik.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>soldierandrefusenik.com/</a> for more details. </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Sponsored by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, <span style="color: black;">Progressive Jewish Alliance,</span> Harvard Law School Justice for Palestine and Harvard Divinity School Connect with Palestine</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-89853733948232131482013-11-11T09:34:00.000-08:002013-12-10T06:14:03.594-08:00EVENT: Open Conversation on Israel with Avraham Burg<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;"><b>An Open Conversation on Israel with Avraham Burg</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Monday, November 11</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>6:30-8pm
Quincy House JCR </b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763;">talk and Q&A with former Speaker of the Israeli Knesset and author of <i>The Holocaust is Over</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Inline image 1" class="" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=b4f05558cb&view=att&th=1423d99108293e95&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_1422b60252e7abf9&zw&atsh=1" style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17px;" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
This conversation will happen just a day before Burg gives the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture at the Weatherhead Center, entitled "Israel and Palestine: From Iconic Conflict to Iconic Solution or, Is It Time for New Paradigms?"<br />
<br />
<b>Avraham Burg</b> is an Israeli author, social activist, former politician, and a leading voice for peace in the Middle East. He was an adviser to Prime Minister Shimon Peres on diaspora affairs; speaker for the Israeli Knesset from 1999 to 2003; chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel; cofounder of Molad, a progressive think-tank dedicated to the advancement of Israeli democracy; chairman of Mifalot, a sport -for-peace project; an international coordinator of the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue in Vienna; and a teacher at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.<br />
<br />
His bestselling book, <i>The Holocaust is Over; We Must Rise from Its Ashes</i>, delineates a path for the Jewish people to come to live in greater peace and security in the Middle East and in the world.
Hosted by: Progressive Jewish Alliance, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Harvard Students for Israel, and J Street U HarvardUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-76806668820852989152013-10-22T09:51:00.000-07:002013-12-10T06:12:46.749-08:00EVENT: Advancing Peace through Environmental Research<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;"><b>Nature Knows No Borders: Advancing Peace through Environmental Research in the Middle East</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Come hear graduate student Leila Hashweh share her experiences as a Palestinian environmentalist working for water restoration in Israel-Palestine</span></b></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" height="103" src="http://action.nif.org/images/Leila%20Hashweh.png" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; min-height: 155px; width: 158px;" width="100" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday, October 27th</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">7:00-8:30pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hillel</span></div>
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Cosponsored by Harvard’s Progressive Jewish Alliance, J Street U Harvard, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, and The New Israel Fund</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-58750118424808578432013-10-14T10:16:00.000-07:002013-12-10T06:14:31.973-08:00EVENT: Our Harsh LogicThe Progressive Jewish Alliance, J Street U Harvard, Friends of Breaking the Silence, and the New Israel Fund New Generation present:<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;"><b>Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers' Testimonials from the Occupied Territories</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;"><i>Breaking the Silence</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/about/organization">Breaking the Silence</a> is an organization of veteran combatants who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Harvard Hillel</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Tuesday October 15th</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">7-9pm</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">RSVP on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/524228860998114/">Facebook</a>!</span></div>
<br />
Avner Gvaryahu from Breaking the Silence will speak about the book "Our Harsh Logic," a collection of testimonies by soldiers who served in the occupied territories.
Professor Gabriella Blum, Rita E. Hauser Professor of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at Harvard Law School, will deliver introductory remarks.
Question and answer session to follow.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"....they said to me, 'it doesn't matter. They took six of ours, we are going to take six back." (IDF soldier, testimony 36)
</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-29921831268288515312013-10-04T09:56:00.000-07:002013-12-10T06:15:15.306-08:00PJA boycotts Insomnia CookiesPJA has pledged to boycott Insomnia Cookies until they settle all outstanding labor disputes. According to the Student Labor Action Movement:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
At Insomnia, "drivers" were paid only $5 an hour plus tips, riding their own bikes, and still weren't making minimum wage. On deliveries, they were also pressured to minimize delivery time, which led to unsafe biking conditions. Bakers, who were paid $9 an hour, were doing double duty as bakers and cashiers, and were not being paid accordingly. Workers also noted that they weren't always allowed their legally mandated break time and a general lack of respect for workers in the store. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In response, at 12:00 am on Sunday, August 18, the night shift at the Harvard Square Insomnia Cookies voted to initiate a strike for higher wages, healthcare, better job stability, and freedom to build a union. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As Insomnia's target market, we as college students have an important role to play in this struggle. By choosing not to buy from Insomnia Cookies, we can put pressure on management to give its workers the power they deserve. Our actions have consequences, and there is no neutral ground here. </blockquote>
Your organization can also sign to boycott using this form: <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10JguQpA6uu-FjJDUvbZDK1v0GWmktva6cMXOuJb3kMY/viewform">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10JguQpA6uu-FjJDUvbZDK1v0GWmktva6cMXOuJb3kMY/viewform</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-4402564434217889372013-09-20T07:49:00.000-07:002013-12-10T06:12:21.350-08:00Tie-Dye in the Sukkah!<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #663366; color: #33ccff; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Want to let our your inner hippie? </span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #330033; color: #33cc00; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Getting tired of having plain white socks? </span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: #ffcc00; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Want your clothes to look progressive AND Jewish? </span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">C</span><span style="color: red;">o</span><span style="color: #ff6600;">m</span><span style="color: #ff9900;">e</span> <span style="color: #cc9933;">t</span><span style="color: #ffcc00;">i</span><span style="color: yellow;">e</span><span style="color: #33ff33;">-</span><span style="color: #009900;">d</span><span style="color: #006600;">y</span><span style="color: #336666;">e</span> <span style="color: #339999;">w</span><span style="color: #33ccff;">i</span><span style="color: #3333ff;">t</span><span style="color: #330099;">h</span> <span style="color: #6600cc;">P</span><span style="color: #6666cc;">J</span><span style="color: #cc66cc;">A</span><span style="color: #663366;">!</span></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #993399;">When:</span></b> Sunday, September 22nd, from <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_636412805" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">3-5 pm</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #009900;">Where:</span></b> The sukkah in the Hillel courtyard, 52 Mt. Auburn St.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We'll have ties, dye, instructions, and snacks! The first ten people to come get a free PJA t-shirt, plus you can bring your own clothes to dye.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">Sponsored by the Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">For more information, contact Ann at <a href="mailto:annfinkel@college.harvard.edu" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">annfinkel@college.harvard.<wbr></wbr>edu</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-17022569048651574002013-05-23T10:46:00.000-07:002013-12-10T06:12:07.707-08:00J Street U student leaders endorse Open HillelSimone Zimmerman, UC Berkeley '13 and president of J Street U, and Alexander Rofes, Brown '13 and a student representative on Hillel's board, wrote an op-ed in JTA yesterday in which they explained the importance of Open Hillel's call.<br />
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They wrote:<br />
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Too many of our friends left Hillel because they felt alienated and stifled in raising questions or voicing their views on Israel. Too many have opted to disengage entirely rather than conforming to a community that tells them they do not fully belong.</blockquote>
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As many Jewish organizations frantically try to attract more young Jews into their buildings, it is counterproductive, counterintuitive and, frankly, un-Jewish to deny full participation to any Jews simply because of their political beliefs.</blockquote>
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If Hillel fails to make political pluralism a priority, we fear the ominous vision some have about the Jewish community’s future will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those alienated will choose to build their families and communities outside of what they see as outmoded institutions or, worse, simply check out of Judaism entirely. This is not a price anyone who cares about Hillel and Jewish life on campus should be willing to pay.</blockquote>
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You can read the rest of their article here: <a href="http://www.jta.org/2013/05/22/news-opinion/opinion/pluralism-in-hillel-must-extend-to-israel">http://www.jta.org/2013/05/22/news-opinion/opinion/pluralism-in-hillel-must-extend-to-israel</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-21884340794930556622013-04-06T08:08:00.000-07:002013-04-06T08:08:00.870-07:00NUJLS and Jewish Voice for Peace conferences!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The weekend of April 19-21 is a big one for Jewish conferences!<br />
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NUJLS (the National Union of Jewish Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Intersex Students) is holding its 2013 conference at Rutgers Hillel in New Jersey. Registration closes on April 12th, and you can register at <a href="http://www.nujls.org/">http://www.nujls.org/</a>.<br />
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Jewish Voice for Peace is also holding its National Members' Meeting the same weekend, in Berkeley, California! You can register at <a href="http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/campaigns/2013-jvp-national-member-meeting">http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/campaigns/2013-jvp-national-member-meeting</a>, and student scholarships are available for travel and registration. If you're concerned you won't get enough queerness at the JVP conference, though, don't worry -- you can join me at the "Resisting Pinkwashing and War Culture: Critical queer and feminist politics in action" workshop on Sunday!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-47662043283252013982013-04-06T07:58:00.003-07:002013-04-06T07:59:46.664-07:00EVENT: Ethical Kashrut with Uri L'Tzedek<br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ethical Kashrut: Uri
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">What if keeping kosher
were not just a matter of ritual purity, but of justice in the workplace as
well? <b> Rabbi Smuly Yanklowitz</b>, the
founder and president of the Orthodox social justice organization Uri L'Tzedek,
will speak about the Tav HaYosher initiative, which certifies kosher resturants
on the basis of their labor standards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; text-align: center;">Tuesday, 4/9: </span><st1:time hour="19" minute="0" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">7pm-8:30pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Cambria; text-align: center;"> in Rabb Hall</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Co-sponsored by Progressive
Jewish </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Alliance</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> and the Orthodox Student Minyan </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-5657645179550243342013-03-27T22:42:00.000-07:002013-03-27T22:46:48.631-07:00Progressive Passover Seder!On Tuesday, PJA celebrated Passover with our annual Progressive Passover seder. The PJA seder takes the Passover tradition and the story of the Exodus and expands them to discuss modern-day issues of oppression and liberation.<br />
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A reading from the PJA haggadah to reflect on during Passover:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Dayenu," says the haggadah, "it would have been enough." A rewriting of this tradition from the Freedom Seder, held on the first anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, identifies the insufficiencies in the world and calls us to act.</i></span>
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<span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">So the struggles for freedom that remain will be more dark and difficult than any we have met so far. For we must struggle for a freedom that enfolds stern justice, stern bravery, and stern love.</span>
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<span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">For if we were to end a single genocide but not to stop the other wars that kill men and women as we sit here, it would not be sufficient;</span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we were to end those bloody wars but not disarm the nations of the weapons that could destroy all mankind, it would not be sufficient;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we were to disarm the nations but not to end the brutality with which the police attack people it would not be sufficient;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we were to end outright police brutality but not prevent some people from wallowing in luxury while others starved, it would not be sufficient;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we were to make sure that no one starved but were not to free the daring poets from their jails, it would not be sufficient;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we were to free the poets from their jails but to train the minds of people so that they could not understand the poets, it would not be sufficient;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we educated all men and women to understand the free creative poets but forbade them to explore their own inner ecstasies, it would not be sufficient;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we allowed men and women to explore their inner ecstasies but would not allow them to love one another and share in the human fraternity, it would not be sufficient.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">How much then are we in duty bound to struggle, work, share, give, think, plan, feel, organize, sit-in, speak out, hope, and be on behalf of Mankind!</span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>-Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 1969</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-90273898000473063392013-03-22T08:34:00.001-07:002013-03-27T22:44:37.488-07:00Criticism of Israel is Not Anti-Semitic <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the past week, a dangerous rumor has circulated accusing the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) of targeting Jewish students in its campaign to raise awareness about the demolition of Palestinian homes. We, the Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance, strongly refute these lies and affirm that Jewish students were not targeted. While we do not endorse PSC’s campaign, we support their right to draw attention to problematic Israeli policies and believe that flyering is a legitimate and reasonable way to do so.</span></b></span><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As part of Harvard Israeli Apartheid Week, PSC flyered student dorms with mock </span><a href="http://www.harvardpsc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Eviction-notice.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eviction notices</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in order to raise awareness about the demolition of Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories. Such flyering is a common means of advertising and campaigning utilized by a wide variety of student organizations. PSC placed these notices on all suite doors in any given dormitory. However, in response to these flyers, several publications began </span><a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/wap/Item.aspx?type=0&item=165975" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">circulating the falsehood</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that PSC specifically targeted Jewish students in its campaign. This claim is completely wrong, and it is clear to students who live in the dorms that Jewish students were not targeted.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Moreover, several publications have accused PSC of employing anti-Semitic rhetoric in its campaign. These claims are baseless; as PSC </span><a href="http://www.harvardpsc.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">affirms</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in a public statement on its website, these accusations “conflate [PSC’s] criticism of Israeli human rights violations with hatred of the Jewish people.” Indeed, in its </span><a href="http://www.harvardpsc.com/about/mission/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mission,</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> PSC “condemn[s] </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">any hatred or discrimination against any racial, ethnic, or religious group."</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Anti-Semitism is a serious problem, and these claims minimize the seriousness of real anti-Semitism as well slander and harm the falsely accused. </span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We condemn all organizations and publications both within and outside Harvard that continue to spread lies about PSC, and we ask them to immediately publish corrections stating that PSC did not target Jewish students or engage in other anti-Semitic behavior. In light of the anti-Semitic and racist </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/education/oberlin-cancels-classes-after-series-of-hate-related-incidents.html?_r=0" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">incidents at Oberlin College</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over the past month, we hope that individuals and organizations devoted to fighting anti-Semitism will not diminish the significance of true anti-Semitism by branding criticism of Israeli policies as anti-Semitic.</span></b></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-86263325886577913822013-02-09T07:53:00.000-08:002013-04-07T22:30:58.704-07:00EVENT: Israeli Democracy after the Elections with the NIF<br />
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The Progressive Jewish Alliance is excited to co-sponsor a discussion on "The Left, the Right, and the Center: Israeli Democracy after the Elections" with the <a href="http://www.nif.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">New Israel Fund</a>, an organization promoting social justice in Israel. This event will be held on Sunday at 7pm in Beren Hall (2nd floor of Hillel), and you can RSVP <a href="http://action.nif.org/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=71582" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">here</a>. We hope to see you there!</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Left, the Right, and the Center:<br />Israeli Democracy after the Elections</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">A discussion with Dr. Sara Hirschhorn</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Please join us for learning, schmoozing and conversation as Dr. Sara Hirschhorn leads us through an overview of the political scene in Israel. Who are Israel's left wing and right wing, and what do they want? What is their understanding of religion, democracy and the rule of law in Israel? What do the results of Israel’s recent election tell us about the priorities of Israel's citizens, and what do they suggest about the future?<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sunday, February 10, 2012<br />7:00 - 8:30 pm<br />Doors open at 6:45, program to begin by 7:05<br />Harvard Hillel, Beren Hall</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.nif.org%2Fp%2Fsalsa%2Fevent%2Fcommon%2Fpublic%2F%3Fevent_KEY%3D71582" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Click here to RSVP.</a><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Dr. Sara Hirschhorn</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> was born and raised in Western Massachusetts while spending considerable amounts of time in Israel throughout her childhood. She graduated with honors from Yale University and received her M.A. in Middle East Studies from the University of Chicago. Sara recently earned her doctorate in History at the University of Chicago, where she wrote her dissertation entitled “City on a Hilltop: The participation of Jewish-American Immigrants within the Israeli Settler Movement, 1967-1987.” Sara is currently a postdoctoral fellowship at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, where her research focuses on the Israeli ultra-nationalist movement, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the relationship between the U.S./American Jewry and Israel. She is also a regular op-ed contributor to <i>Haaretz</i>, <i>The Times of Israel</i>, and the Israeli conflict resolution webzine <i>Efshar Lahshov </i>(<i>CanThink</i>).<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">New Israel Fund: New Generations</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> is an open and vibrant community of young professionals, social activists, community leaders, and others in their 20s and 30s who are committed to the work of the New Israel Fund, the leading organization promoting social justice and equality for all Israelis. New Gen provides an opportunity to learn about and engage with the most important issues facing Israel today through lectures, group discussions, and social events.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-33853940414586514152013-01-31T20:32:00.002-08:002013-01-31T20:32:54.777-08:00Open Hillel in the Jewish Daily ForwardThe <a href="http://forward.com/">Jewish Daily Forward</a> has picked up on our <a href="http://www.openhillel.org/">Open Hillel</a> campaign! Here's the full article:<br />
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Students Protest Hillel’s BDS Ban</h1>
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Harvard Jewish Students Launch National and Campus Petitions</h3>
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By <a href="http://forward.com/authors/josh-nathan-kazis/" style="color: #217aa6; text-decoration: initial;">Josh Nathan-Kazis</a></h4>
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Published January 31, 2013.<br />
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A Harvard Jewish student group has <a href="http://www.openhillel.org/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #2e87ac; text-decoration: initial;">launched</a> a national protest of Hillel rules barring partnerships with groups that back boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.</div>
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Local campus Hillels have cited the rules in recent decisions to cancel events, deny recognition to student groups, and, in one case, to expel a student from Hillel leadership.</div>
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The clash comes as national Jewish organizations continue to devote substantial resources to opposing BDS on campus. The Harvard students’ effort, which officially launches February 4, could represent a significant student-led challenge to their approach.</div>
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MOSHE SAFDIE AND ASSOCIATES</div>
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“At Harvard, the Palestinian community is willing to have dialogue, and it saddens me to see Hillel as the roadblock to that,” said Emily Unger, a Harvard senior and a former chair of Harvard’s Progressive Jewish Alliance, the group organizing the campaign.</div>
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Harvard’s Progressive Jewish Alliance alleges that Hillel’s Israel guidelines stifle discourse. Harvard’s Hillel, which has circulated a response to the petition, says that they only block institutional support, not conversation.</div>
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“I firmly believe that there is a very important distinction to be drawn between allowing and fostering dialogue, on the one hand, and underwriting and supporting institutional partnerships, on the other,” Harvard Hilllel executive director Jonah Steinberg wrote in an email to his Hilllel’s board in response to the petition. “That does not mean that we should exclude from Harvard Hillel, or brand as traitorous, the very committed Jewish young people who seek meaningful interactions with their Palestinian and pro-Palestinan counterparts.”</div>
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A spokeswoman for Hillel’s Washington, D.C. headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Forward.</div>
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The Harvard students’ campaign consists of two online petitions on a <a href="http://openhillel.org/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #2e87ac; text-decoration: initial;">website</a> built especially for their campaign. One, open to all signatories, opposes the guidelines on Israel discourse promulgated by Hillel’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.; another, for Harvard students, opposes Harvard Hillel’s implementation of those guidelines.</div>
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Hillel headquarters first published the Israel <a href="http://www.hillel.org/israel/guidelines.htm" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #2e87ac; text-decoration: initial;">guidelines</a> in 2010. The rules bar Hillels from partnering with organizations or hosting speakers that support BDS. Other categories barred from partnership are vaguer, including those that “delegitimize, demonize, or apply a double standard to Israel.”</div>
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National Hillel does not require campus Hillels to adopt the same rules, but encourages them to create guidelines that are “consistent” with those rules.</div>
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Local versions of the rules have been cited in a handful of recent cases in campus Hillels have banned individuals or groups.</div>
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In December, the Hillel at Binghamton University asked a student to resign from volunteer positions he held with the campus Hillel board after he organized a screening of “5 Broken Cameras,” the Oscar-nominated documentary about Palestinian non-violent resistance. A brother of one of the documentary’s directors, who is Palestinian and supports BDS, spoke at the screening.</div>
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“It goes without saying an [executive board] member of ours can’t bring a speaker like that,” a Hillel student leader told Pipe Dream, the <a href="http://www.bupipedream.com/news/16694/hillel-leaders-oust-e-board-member-hosting-anti-isreal-palestinian-sheridan-hillel8217s-policy-limits-campus-discourse-israel/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #2e87ac; text-decoration: initial;">Binghampton campus newspaper</a> in explaining why the student was asked to resign his Hillel roles.</div>
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At Harvard in November, Steinberg cancelled a Progressive Jewish Alliance event scheduled to be held at the Hillel after learning that a student group called the Palestine Solidarity Committee, which backs BDS, would be a co-sponsor.</div>
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Unger, the Progressive Jewish Alliance member, said that the experience with the cancelled event had spurred her organization to initiate the campaign against the national guidelines. “We were really very disappointed about this, because we thought it was a great opportunity for cooperation,” Unger said. “That’s why we are waging this campaign, to try to make Hillel a community that is open to everyone, regardless of their political views.”</div>
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The petitions already appears to be attracting broader interest. Activists affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace, a national Jewish activist group harshly critical of Israel, have circulated the website on which the petition are posted, and 105 people have signed the petition to Hillel’s D.C. headquarters.</div>
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For Unger and her organization, the effort is in part about building student influence in Hillel decision-making. “We want to make it more accountable to the student body,” Unger said.</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Lucida, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://forward.com/articles/170318/students-protest-hillel-s-bds-ban/#ixzz2JcPjMgC1" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: initial;">http://forward.com/articles/170318/students-protest-hillel-s-bds-ban/#ixzz2JcPjMgC1</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-54149636090428252082013-01-31T16:34:00.000-08:002013-03-27T22:44:49.640-07:00Press Release: PJA Launches Open Hillel Campaign<br />
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">JEWISH STUDENTS ASK HILLEL TO
END POLITICAL LITMUS TEST<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Students at Harvard Hillel and campuses across the United States have begun a
petition asking Hillel International to remove its Guidelines for Campus Israel
Activities, which they say pose a political litmus test for who can belong to
the campus Jewish community.<br />
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The petition, launched Thursday as part of the Open Hillel campaign on
openhillel.org, has already garnered over one hundred signatures.<br />
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The petition states, “we believe that campus Hillels should acknowledge and
engage with a full spectrum of political views on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. We see cooperation with Palestinian groups on and off campus as an
essential step towards peace. Furthermore, if Hillel truly wants to be ‘The
Foundation for Jewish Campus Life,’ it cannot exclude Jewish groups simply for
their political beliefs.”<br />
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Hillel International currently posts</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://www.hillel.org/israel/guidelines.htm"><span style="color: #1155cc;">guidelines<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></a>which
state,</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">"Hillel
will not partner with, house, or host organizations, groups, or speakers that
as a matter of policy or practice... support boycott of, divestment from, or
sanctions against the State of Israel." The guidelines also include other
restrictions on the political views of those who may affiliate with a campus
Hillel.<br />
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“Hillel should be a place for the entire Jewish community, and a space to have
the difficult discussions surrounding Israel and Palestine,” says Elena
Hoffenberg, a first-year at Harvard and board member of the Harvard College
Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA). “It’s especially valuable to have those
discussions in Hillel as it is representative of viewpoints held in the Jewish
community.”<br />
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Students in PJA, an affiliated group of Harvard Hillel, say they first learned
of Hillel International’s Guidelines for Campus Israel Activity when they tried
to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/11/8/hillel-israeli-palestinian-event/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">co-sponsor</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>an
event called “Jewish Voices on the Occupation” with the Harvard College
Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC). PJA was told that the event could not
take place in Harvard Hillel because PSC supports the Palestinian call for
international boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions on Israel.<br />
<br />
And two years ago, the Brandeis chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace was<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://thebrandeishoot.com/articles/9864"><span style="color: #1155cc;">denied<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></a>affiliation with Brandeis
Hillel because of the same guidelines, put in place in December 2010.<br />
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“College campuses are a wonderful place for people from different backgrounds
to come together in dialogue and cooperation,” says Emily Unger, a senior at
Harvard and former chair of PJA. “Hillel is my community, and I want its
policies to fully uphold its values of pluralism and support an environment in
which these important conversations can take place.”<br />
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Please find more information and updates on Open Hillel online at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://harvardpja.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://harvardpja.blogspot.com</span></a>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.openhillel.org/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.openhillel.org/</span></a>, and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/harvardpja"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://twitter.com/harvardpja</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
Contact: Rachel Sandalow-Ash<br />
Cell: 617-417-0481<br />
Email: rsandalowash@college.harvard.edu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.29045925522223115" style="font-weight: normal;"></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-50691164950079349742013-01-30T20:55:00.002-08:002013-01-31T20:34:00.850-08:00Happy Tu B'Shevat, all!<div class="tr_bq">
It's a bit past Tu B'Shevat, but we had a lovely Tu B'Shevat seder with Students for a Just and Stable Future (and other friends!).</div>
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Our seder focused on four themes: Jewish social justice teachings on environmentalism, including ecokashrut; environmental justice, including the work done by Alternatives for Community and Environment in Roxbury; the role of trees in Palestinian justice, including the implications of the JNF; and the action of campus divestment activists against fossil fuels, like those in SJSF at Harvard.<br />
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If you're interested in a copy of the entire haggadah, please email us and we will send it on. Here is the introduction to our haggadah:<br />
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Maimonides reminds us, “In order to serve God, one needs access to the enjoyment of the beauties of nature—meadows full of flowers, majestic mountains, flowing rivers. For all these are essential to the spiritual development of even the holiest of people.”<br />
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The origin of Tu B’Shvat in the Torah was a time for renewal of our commitment to God and sharing of the yield of the land with the poor. Today we celebrate Tu B’Shvat also for renewal of our commitment to serve and protect the trees and all of God’s creation. As those who care about justice and preservation, not only for nature but for all peoples that inhabit this world, we have adapted this Tu B’Shvat seder so that we make take this time to consider and reconsider our interactions with trees, with nature, and with the environment—and how those interactions may and do shape the lives of those around us.<br />
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The Tu B’Shvat seder is arranged around the Four Worlds: Atzilut, the world of emanation; Briyah, the world of creation; Yetzirah, the world of formation; and Assiyah, the world of action. Each of the worlds also symbolizes a season: winter, spring, summer, and autumn.
In this seder, during each of the four worlds, we will drink another glass of wine and eat symbolic fruits. At the same time, during each of the four worlds, we will consider another way in which we may reflect on justice this Tu B’Shvat: first, Jewish social justice teachings about nature; second, environmental justice in our own Boston community; third, the role of trees in promoting injustices in Israel and Palestine; and finally, the actions of students taken to combat climate change.<br />
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We hope that these readings will inspire us, as young people, to think about our own role in perpetuating, critiquing, halting, and reversing the destructive processes of environmental injustice, climate destruction, and displacement.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2926124171679525172.post-18525185049860454632013-01-29T18:10:00.000-08:002013-01-31T20:33:55.804-08:00Tu B'Shvat seder tomorrow!<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 20pt;">Join the Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance and Students for a Just and Stable Future as we celebrate the new year of the trees and explore our spiritual connections to each other and to the earth!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16pt;">Featuring traditional foods and engaging readings that explore the Jewish commitment to sustaining and renewing the environment.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15pt;"><br />Come enjoy wine, figs, dates, almonds, pomegranates, and other delicious fruits of the earth!</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 15pt;"></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16pt;">Wednesday, January 30<sup>th</sup> from 6-7 pm in the Hillel lounge.</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">For more information, please contact <a href="mailto:rsandalowash@college.harvard.edu" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">rsandalowash@college.harvard.<wbr></wbr>edu</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0