Jay Feldman, Program Director of the Hillel Foundation of Orange County, had much to say about Hillel at UC Irvine in a recent interview. Jay spoke to me about his goals for the program, the necessity of reaching out to Jewish students on campus and Israel advocacy.
1. Why is Hillel significant at UC Irvine? What purpose do you feel UCI Hillel serves?
Hillel is the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. What that means is Hillel exists at UCI and on scores of campuses in North America, South America, the Former Soviet Union, Israel and now Europe, to help Jewish students create and foster a Jewish community on campus. With tens of thousands of young Jewish adults attending university each year, Hillel provides opportunities for these students to strengthen their identity, expose them to their heritage, and connect them with other Jewish students. It’s important for Hillel to be at UC Irvine so that our Jewish students have a family away from home, a support system, a place to go for the Jewish holidays, opportunities for Jewish learning, and leadership development. With today’s assimilation and intermarriage rates amongst the Jewish community, it is essential to engage young Jews and foster their Jewish identity and an early age.
2. What work have you done with Hillel specifically that you feel proud of? What do you think you’ve been able to do to in terms of reaching out to students and helping them connect/reconnect with Judaism?
The main ingredient to the success of Hillel at UCI is our student leadership. They are the driving force of our programming on campus. One of the great joys I have in my position as Director of Jewish Student Life is the chance to advise students who do not come from a leadership background. Working with a student to turn their ideas into a vision and then making it happen is a great feeling. The confidence and sense of ownership gained when they are successful is what brings me the most pride. I also work to engaged uninvolved and uninterested Jewish students on campus. The challenge is figuring out what turns them on. Aside from our regular programs on campus like our weekly Shabbat dinners, Jewish learning opportunities, I get to create new program initiatives to reach out to these students. The payoff comes when our students see their Judaism and/or their connection to the Jewish community as relevant. It is important to remember though, that everyone’s idea of ‘being Jewish’ is different.
3. What are some recent events that took place on campus? What do you feel this did for students?
UCI began right arpund the time of the High Holidays so we knew off the bat we needed to get creative in developing social programming along with the traditional holiday services. Kicking off the year with High Holidays for students gave them the opportunity to participate in one of our biggest events of the year right away. With hundreds of students attending the holidays services and meals which were free to the students, we created a lot of social networking as well as providing that “home away from home”
atmosphere. One of our most recent exciting events was our annual Sukkah
Hop. For the Sukkah Hop, students from all over Orange County, Long Beach, and Los Angeles traveled on buses from sukkah to sukkah learning about the holiday in a fun and non-traditional way. Over 150 students attended. This event brought our students closer together and gives “being Jewish” an edgier feel.
4. Obviously Judaism and Israel are two things that are related. What
about political aspects of Hillel? What, specifically, is Hillel doing to
drive home this connection?
Many Jewish students have no connection to Israel when they first arrive to college. To a lot of them, Israel is either a country faraway where Jewish people live or a place that is unsafe because of what they hear from the media. For others, it is just a word they have heard in synagogue once a year on Yom Kippur. That being said, in the last six years we have seen a huge increase in the attention given to Israel programming and education on campus. Over 100,000 students have particpated in Taglit: birthright israel, the FREE 10-day trip to Israel for young Jews between the ages of 18-26. On average 30-40 UCI students travel to Israel during the winter and summer vacation breaks. We also bring educational speakers and offer Israel advocacy training each year on campus for those that are looking to learn more about the history of Israel and the complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Unfortunately, for the last several year various campus student groups have hosted extreme anti-Israel speakers and events on campus. For many of our Jewish students, this is the first time they are confronted with individuals who make hurtful and anti-Semitic remarks. We strive to provide a safe and comfortable environment of support when these things happen. On a whole, we really try to drive home to the campus community that anti-Zionism is indeed anti-Semitism. We not only educate our students (Jewish and non-Jewish) about Israel’s history, but also highlight Israel’s rich diverse culture, technological contributions to the medical and science fields, humanitarian efforts around the world, and to drive home that Israel plays a central role in Judaism.
5. What do you think, as a director, are the main goals for Hillel for the
2006-2007 school year?
The main goals for Hillel at UCI this year are:
- To build coalitions with other student groups and campus departments through
co-sponsorships of programs.
- To engage uninvolved Jewish students on campus.
- To offer creative, dynamic programs and opportunities for meaningful Jewish
experiences.
- To provide a safe and secure environment for conversation regarding Israel.