Swarthmore Hillel Defies Headquarters on Boycott Israel Program Restrictions

Campus Group Condemns Guidelines for Constricting Jewish Student Debate

By Derek Kwait for The Jewish Daily Forward

Swarthmore College’s Hillel student board voted unanimously Sunday to defy Hillel International’s guidelines for Israel programming, condemning them for repressing free speech on Israel for Jewish students on campus.

The vote marked the first time a Hillel student board declared its intent to override the parent body’s guidelines, which prohibit a Hillel center from hosting or partnering with any group or individual that — among other things — supports sanction or boycott campaigns against Israel, or that “delegitimizes, demonizes, or applies a double standard to Israel.”

“This policy has resulted in the barring of speakers from organizations such as Breaking the Silence and [members of] the Israeli Knesset from speaking at Hillels without censorship,” the resolution said.

Breaking the Silence, a group composed of Israeli army veterans, has provoked intense controversy at Hillel centers for its focus on discussing ways in which it says the demands of military service in the Israeli-occupied West Bank corrode soldiers’ moral standards, and those of the Israeli Army itself.

Although the Swarthmore Hillel has not yet invited controversial speakers to campus, what is important is that the center can in the future if and when there is a student demand to hear the views of such speakers, said Joshua Wulfson, a Swarthmore undergrad and director of communications for the Hillel.

According to Wulfson, Swarthmore Hillel has little worry about regarding local censure or financial repercussions that might come from inviting speakers to campus who are not regarded as pro-Israel. “We had a fair amount of autonomy on this decision,” Wulfson said. “We are funded by our own endowment and have no board of overseers.”

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