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BY ROGER FEIGELSON | AUGUST 2, 2023
As I enter my sixth month as executive director of San Francisco Hillel, I think back to my second week here, when I experienced what is all too common on the campus of San Francisco State University — antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiment. That problem is one of our main areas of concern at S.F. Hillel, but it is not the only challenge for the graduate and undergraduate students we serve at S.F. State, University of San Francisco, UCSF and other schools. Many of our students have trouble meeting their basic needs, some struggling with food insecurity and even homelessness. Students come to us for assistance because they desperately want to focus on their studies and not worry about stretching their work-study earnings to pay rent or purchase groceries. One student at UC Law San Francisco told us that their work-study job was not allowed to exceed 10 hours a week, so their earning potential was capped, forcing them to rely on their limited savings to pay rent. In another case an S.F. State student said, “I have been working 30 hours a week with school, which still doesn’t cover my basic needs, and I’m now accruing debt.” In the most heartbreaking cases, students go hungry. “I’ve been cutting back on my food spending. The food here is very expensive. … I don’t get lunch and usually feel hungry through the day,” a University of San Francisco student told us. One USF student’s family situation weighed heavily on them. Their father was unemployed, and their mother was the sole income provider, which included supporting a younger brother in high school and their 80-year-old grandmother. A Covid-19 layoff forced the mother into early retirement. The student’s anxiety was elevated as they worried about all the bills they had to pay, between living expenses and tuition, jeopardizing their ability to focus both on college and their own health. They took two jobs in addition to enrolling as a full-time student, as well as researching available scholarships. Now I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to eat tomorrow. I can focus on school instead. International students at S.F. State and USF have additional challenges: restrictions on getting jobs in the U.S. As one USF student told us, “I am dependent mostly on food pantries and am not able to buy groceries myself much. I would like to buy some meat and fruits for myself [items not in food pantries] to get enough basic nutrients for the upcoming month. Next month, I should be working on campus, so I can better take care of my needs. However, finding a job on a small competitive campus as an international first-year student was pretty challenging and took me longer than expected.” Thanks to community partners such as the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, we can issue some small grants to assist these students to address these situations. The money also allows us to run grocery “shuks” for students to come to Hillel and shop (for free) for perishable and nonperishable items. We’ve hosted two of these and had upward of 30 students attend each. With this amazing support, we are able to make a difference. After receiving assistance, one student said, “Now I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to eat tomorrow. I can focus on school instead.” And then there’s mental health: Our students continue to face a crisis in securing mental health support. Though campus resources are stretched, we can offer a limited number of sessions to students thanks to a partnership with Jewish Family and Children’s Services. It’s never enough. Some Hillels have funding or endowments to have mental health professionals on staff, but we’re not there yet. This support is a critical part of what we do and is embedded at the start of our new mission statement: “We’re here to support all Jewish college students in San Francisco and fortify the future of the Jewish people.” If you’ve read the Pew reports, you know Jewish engagement has been on the decline. S.F. Hillel is on the front line of solving that problem. While our mission is to meet each student where they are in their Jewish journey — to help them explore their Jewish identity, help them build Jewish community and, in turn, build them into our future Jewish leaders — we can’t do that if they’re hungry and in turmoil. We must support them with their basic needs, too. It’s not only the right thing — the Jewish thing — to do, but it helps exemplify to them the importance of being part of the Jewish community and how important it is to live our Jewish values and be there for one another. jweekly.com/2023/08/02/some-jewish-college-students-face-a-more-basic-problem-than-antisemitism-hunger/ I just hit the 5-month mark in my role as the new executive director at the San Francisco Hillel. One thing I have discovered in my short time here is that the broader Jewish community largely sees Hillel as an abstraction: People know it’s out there, but it’s not their community. It’s an intangible. Maybe they participated in Hillel “back in the day” or their children go to Hillel at some university out there somewhere. But it’s not their synagogue, it’s not their JCC, it’s not their kids’ day school. They peripherally get its importance, but it’s not really tangible since it’s not something in which they participate.
One point I can’t emphasize enough though: SF Hillel has a direct impact on the future of the Jewish people. We’ve all read the Pew reports, we all know Jewish engagement is on a decline. Hillel is on the front line of solving that problem, which is why we have a new mission to keep us focused and show exactly how we address it. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning and prescribes our day as our small but mighty team covers all colleges and universities, both graduate and undergraduate, in San Francisco. Our mission: We’re here to support all Jewish college students in San Francisco and fortify the future of the Jewish people. We learn about each student’s relationship with Judaism and then help them explore their Jewish identity, build Jewish community and develop them into our future Jewish leaders. College is a big juncture in a student’s life and one of the few universally shared experiences among American Jews. It’s when they are exploring, experimenting, and seeking to understand who they really are and who they really want to be. It’s a make it or break it time – college is where they can connect or disconnect from their Jewish Identity. This juncture is particularly complicated in San Francisco and specifically at San Francisco State University, where antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiment percolates below the surface and like a geyser shoots up at random intervals. The administration at State partners well with us during those times, but the sentiment will always be there. Many Jewish students prefer to hide their Jewish identity than deal with confrontation. SF Hillel is here to give them a safe space to find Jewish community and learn that they don’t need to hide their identity -- that they should demand respect and not be forced into the shadows. We are here to support them through these challenging moments. It's not just about finding confidence in one’s Jewish identity, in whatever form that may take…it’s also about meeting basic needs, whether it’s the rampant mental stress our college students face or food insecurity. We run grocery “shuks” for students to come to Hillel and shop (for free) for perishable and non-perishable items to help put food on the table or issue small grants to help with food and rent. Meeting those needs is core to what SF Hillel does and who we are as a Jewish people. Many in the community may not realize that a portion of our students are first generation college students and some struggle with homelessness. There’s not a lot of wealth in this community. In my few months at SF Hillel, I have been inspired by both our dedicated staff and our engaged Jewish students. I’ve been inspired by our many donors that really get it and tell me I have the hardest job in San Francisco (a bit hyperbolic, but I get what they mean). I would be remiss if I did not stand on the rooftop and shout to anyone who will listen (and even those who won’t) about what we do here. That this is important. This is critical. This is our future. Getting the broader Jewish community to rally behind our efforts to help our next generation at this time in their lives would dramatically make solidifying their Jewish connection a lot easier! We need a new building. We can’t offer the services required of a 21st Century Hillel in the old house we have now that has no private meeting space, severe capacity limitations, and is inaccessible to anyone with physical limitations. We need to offer robust, compelling programs to support many students and create a space that is their second home. Parents are sending their kids to us and we need to take care of them. As Joe Pedott of blessed memory says, it’s for the students. It’s for our students – our next generation. Roger Feigelson, Executive Director, SF Hillel Support our work by making a tax-deductible donation here: www.sfhillel.org/donate Dear SF Hillel Community,
After more than a year of work in partnership with San Francisco State University (SFSU), I am pleased to share an important milestone in the Campus Climate Initiative (CCI) at SF State. Today, SF State released a statement with their findings from a campus climate survey and an action plan to combat antisemitism and cultivate a robust Jewish campus life. We are optimistic that this action plan, created in collaboration with the SFSU administration, led by President Lynn Mahoney, will improve the hostile campus environment many Jewish and Zionist students have experienced for decades. You can my read the full statement about this pivotal moment here. This work was the result of a partnership with San Francisco State, Hillel International, the Academic Engagement Network, and San Francisco Hillel. In an effort to counter antisemitism before an incident occurs, Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative and the Academic Engagement Network’s Improving Campus Climate Initiative work collaboratively with university leaders to accurately understand the atmosphere on their campuses and take specific positive steps that enable Jewish students and all students to thrive. Since initiating this partnership 18 months ago, the SFSU administration has undergone a series of educational trainings on antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and how to ensure Jewish students are not just included on campus but celebrated, as every group of students should be. We hope that the Campus Climate Initiative can serve as a model for equity training, to be replicated to enhance campus conditions for students of all backgrounds. We see this moment as a major milestone in the decades-long history of exclusion and hostility towards Jewish students. This is a critical first step in healing the trauma many Jewish students, faculty, and alumni have experienced and an important act of t'shuvah, of repairing the University’s relationships with Jewish students, alumni, and the entire campus Jewish community. We are grateful to the University for taking these critical steps, and will continue to work with them and hold them accountable when antisemitism occurs. I especially want to recognize and thank our previous Executive Director, Rachel Nilson Ralston, who worked tirelessly over the last two years to ensure the progression and success of the initiative. Thank you, Rachel, for your dedicated commitment to equity and inclusion for all students. I also want to acknowledge and appreciate the leadership of SFSU President, Lynn Mahoney, who has made this initiative a priority since arriving three years ago, even as she was leading the university through a global pandemic. And I want to thank you, our supporters, our alumni, and our student leaders, for whom this issue has been a burden of worry for decades. Thank you for your advocacy in the community and care for our students. We hope that no future student will have the experiences many of our alumni share of hiding their Jewishness on campus and instead can publicly and proudly celebrate their Jewish identities. We believe that the work of the last 18 months is the first step to making that vision a reality. Our work is not limited to San Francisco State. Though much of our time is spent addressing and combatting hostility on campus, the primary role of Hillel is not to fight antisemitism on campus. That is, of course, an unfortunate byproduct of our work and because of the environment in which we operate, and we will continue to as long as necessary. But at its core, SF Hillel is where Jewish students come to find community, make meaning in their lives from our rich, ancient traditions, pursue justice, and meet their basic needs. Hillel is where each and every Jewish student is given the tools to make a lifelong commitment to Jewish life, and learning, and to develop a thoughtful relationship with Israel. When Hillel is able to focus on our core mission, our professionals and student leaders are able to create real change in the lives of hundreds of students, helping them to author their adult Jewish identities, becoming Jewish leaders, professionals, and menches. Over 90% of American Jews attend college, making it the single-most unifying experience for Jews ages 18-26. Those four years are the pivotal period when a young adult decides whether or not Jewish life is important to them. Without Hillel as their resource, they could become completely disconnected, and that’s why your support is so vitally important. As a community-funded Hillel, and the only Hillel in the city of San Francisco, we are grateful to you, our community, for your support. When you donate to SF Hillel, you are supporting one of the anchor Jewish organizations in San Francisco. You are enabling mentorship, Jewish education, and most importantly, a community for our college and graduate students to comfort them throughout their studies. Thank you for being our partners in this work and trusting us to develop the future Jewish leaders of tomorrow, today. Together, may we go from strength to strength. Shabbat Shalom, Abi Karlin-Resnick Interim Executive Director An Open Letter to President Mahoney - SF Hillel Students Respond to Leila Khaled at SF State:9/9/2020
This letter was emailed to SF State administrators on Wednesday, September 9th.
Dear Dr. Mahoney, First, we would like to thank you for meeting with us yesterday. We appreciate you taking the time to hear directly how Jewish students and our allies are feeling about the upcoming lecture hosting Leila Khaled. We’re writing you this letter to name the actionable steps we discussed and with which we expect the university to move forward. As we articulated in the meeting, we agree with you that it is important for universities to ensure academic freedom and viewpoint diversity. As you know, our community has experienced viewpoint discrimination in recent years – our speakers have been interrupted, our peers have been alienated in courses, and our views have been discriminated against and excluded. We all directly benefit when we can learn with and from individuals who see the world differently. And, SF State can protect our learning environment while upholding our mission to “require students to engage in open-minded inquiry and reflection”, and “become productive, ethical, active citizens with a global perspective.” This is not achieved through academic freedom alone; we also expect academic responsibility and are still deeply distressed by this blatant violation of that responsibility. As we shared with you, we are worried about the normalization of violent rhetoric. We live in a world with rising violent hate crime rates against Jews and other minority communities, where divisive rhetoric emboldens teenagers to take up arms and threaten acts of violence. Seeing someone who engaged in terror be held up as a role model, we are worried about the potential for hateful or dangerous backlash. We are upset to hear from some of our friends that they are “grateful to be home” right now with distanced learning, where they are at least physically safe. But as you also believe, everyone on our campus deserves to feel psychologically safe. Inviting an individual who used violence against innocent civilians and who regularly endorses antisemitism does not make us feel safe and does not create a healthy learning environment. We are saddened that so many in our campus community, and the broader Jewish world, are not surprised to see this happening at SF State. Our university made a commitment to address the systemic antisemitism and anti-Zionism on our campus; students should not expect these occurrences. This endless cycle needs to stop, and we have the mechanisms in place to do so. So where do we go from here? In our meeting, we discussed what can happen. We acknowledge campus professionals are already moving forward on some of these pieces. Our intention in naming what we agreed to here is to hold the university accountable to these action items:
We did not discuss it directly in our meeting, but another piece that came up in conversation with our peers is that we were promised by the university a full-time Jewish Student Life Coordinator. In order to move forward in these action steps, our community feels it is necessary to speedily fill this position with a qualified, dedicated leader. We are grateful to be students on a campus that protects academic freedom and welcomes diverse viewpoints and identities. And, we are hopeful that you and the university will uphold and protect the values of a safe, inclusive, and academically engaged campus environment. Sincerely, Ocean Noah, Class of 2021 Student President, SF Hillel Zachary Weinstein, Class of 2022 Student President, I-Team and SF Hillel Design Tribe leader Connor MacLennan, Class of 2022 SF Hillel Design Tribe leader, StandWithUs Emerson Fellow This article was originally published by Jewish Herald Voice on April 4, 2019
Hillel students from California participated in an alternative spring break program that brought them to Houston, where they spent a week rebuilding a home that was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Located in Kashmere Gardens, one of Houston’s historic African-American neighborhoods, the wooden clapboard house flooded during the August 2017 storm and sat for more than a year in disrepair with all of its destroyed contents inside. This article was originally published by My Jewish Learning: Jewish& on February 10, 2019. Jewish& is a blog by Be’chol Lashon, which gives voice to the racial, ethnic and cultural diversity of Jewish identity and experience. The original multicultural people, Jews have lived around the world for millennia. Today, with globalism and inclusion so key in making choices about engaging in Jewish life,Jewish& provides a forum for personal reflection, discussion, and debate. Ahead of my first trip to Israel, I was nervous. Partly because I don’t like to fly and partly because “flying while Black” means that the airport can be an uncomfortable space for someone who is perceived as a potential threat. I was also nervous to go through customs in Israel because I thought and had been told that not having a ‘typically’ Jewish surname could warrant extra questioning.
In the end, I discovered that I over-worried about arriving in Tel Aviv. Getting through customs in Israel was a breeze. I gave the officer my passport, he looked at me, printed my visa and waved me through without more than a dismissive grunt. I thought I was in the clear until my Black Jewish identity became a focus for others throughout my Birthright experience. The first Israeli that I met was Elchi, our tour guide. Save for Elchi and two other male participants of color, I was the only Jewish woman of color and the only Black person on my bus. There were a lot of queries about my Jewish identity particularly from the East Coast participants who were unaware of non-Ethiopian Black Jews. This article was originally published by MyJewishLearning on November 14, 2018 Jewish& is a blog by Be’chol Lashon, which gives voice to the racial, ethnic and cultural diversity of Jewish identity and experience. The original multicultural people, Jews have lived around the world for millennia. Today, with globalism and inclusion so key in making choices about engaging in Jewish life,Jewish& provides a forum for personal reflection, discussion, and debate. Black hair is a contentious and highly personal topic. Whether we address its beauty and versatility or mock its propensity to stand out, the question remains: What do you do with it? The black hair question was never more spiritually apparent to me than in the days before my conversion to Judaism. The final act for one to halachically (according to Jewish law) become a part of the Jewish community is to be questioned by a beit din—a panel of at least two rabbis and another Jewish witness—and then, after receiving their approval, thrice fully submerge yourself in a mikvah, or ritual bath. It seems pretty straightforward.  Shekhiynah Larks (right) and Rabbi Gershom Sizomu (left) outside the mikvah in San Francisco. SF Hillel Participates in The David Project's Inaugeral Interfaith Summit in Washington DC11/15/2018
SFSU student leaders Jack C. Weinstock and Brenda Ellizabeth Robles attended the David Project's Inaugural Interfaith Summit in Washington DC from November 9th - 11th. Joined by 30 other students from 10 schools across the United States, the cohort represented 5 different faith traditions. The weekend created space for student bonding, learning best practices in interfaith outreach and making plans for new initiatives on campus.  Student Spotlight – For Jewish Students On Campus, The Pittsburgh Shooting Was Tragic — And Unifying11/9/2018
This article was originally published by The Forward on November 8, 2018
In response to the horrific synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, we asked three of the Forward’s Campus Ambassadors to tell us how they are dealing with the tragedy in their universities and home communities. Their responses are below. What was your reaction when you heard the news of the shooting in Pittsburgh? Where were you and what were your initial thoughts? Eden Lichterman (Northwestern Class of 2020): When I heard the news of the Pittsburgh shooting, my thoughts immediately went to my Uncle Avi, who served as the Rabbi of the Tree of Life Synagogue years ago. That synagogue was the childhood home of my cousins, the place where one of my cousins had her baby naming. As I sat in the library, scouring the Internet for updates and texting my family, my heart was broken and my gut was tight. I was scared; I was angry; I was confused. I couldn’t believe that this was happening, and I just wanted to wake up from this terrible nightmare. Cameron Katz (Emory Class of 2021): As much as I hate to say it, when I heard the news of the Pittsburgh shooting, I was not as shocked as some of my fellow students. Because of the astounding number of shootings and the uptick in anti-Semitism in this country as a result of this Administration, I felt more numb to it than anything. How are we supposed to feel the depth of a tragedy such as the one in Pittsburgh when violence and hatred surround us every day? My feelings were consumed by numbness and pessimism. For so long, I think that we felt things had changed and that our society was moving forward with the fight against terror. But, as we have seen throughout the history of this country, whenever we take two steps forward, we always seem to take one step back. Ocean Noah (San Francisco State University Class of 2021): I discovered the news on social media. My response was cerebral. I put the “fighting against anti-Semitism” banner on my Facebook profile picture. Some of my friends and family checked in on me. “Yes, I’m okay,” I said, “crazy isn’t it?” “Crazy” is the most detached thing I can say about something I am unable to process. I avoided feeling the pain of this shooting by diving into my schoolwork and extracurriculars. I feel afraid to approach it. I feel guilty for having the privilege to ignore it. I feel proud of my community for taking the pain and channeling it to make a change. This article was originally published by Golden Gate Xpress on November 7, 2018 SF Hillel and other Jewish student organizations shared personal anecdotes on Monday, Nov. 5 during a vigil at Malcolm X Plaza held for the 11 worshippers murdered in an anti-Semitic shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Oct. 27.  Photo by Aaron Levy-Wolins |
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