University of Michigan Hillel is ending its formal affiliations with student groups and national organizations engaged in Israel advocacy, lobbying or political organizing, while insisting that the policy does not represent a retreat from its support for Israel.

The policy, announced by interim Executive Director Cindy Hughey in a message to students at the start of the academic year last month, is part of what Michigan Hillel described as a renewed focus on Jewish life, learning and community. 

University of Michigan Hillel said it will “no longer formally affiliate with national organizations or student groups whose primary work involves Israel-related advocacy, lobbying, or political organizing,” but it will continue to offer Israel education, cultural programming and discussions about Israel. 

Those programs, it said, should center “a range of student voices and perspectives” rather than advocacy. The change leaves Israel-related programming to Hillel staff or student clubs, rather than formal affiliations with outside advocacy groups. At the time of the decision, JStreet was the only advocacy group impacted. The decision will apply to all groups affiliated with national advocacy organizations, if they wish to affiliate with Michigan Hillel going forward, according to the group. 

The announcement comes weeks after Michigan Hillel pushed the University of Michigan chapter of J Street U out of its umbrella, telling the student group that it could remain affiliated with Hillel only if it disassociated from the national organization. J Street U, the student organizing arm of the progressive Israel advocacy group J Street, has said the decision was effectively aimed at closing its chapter because of its political advocacy on Israel. 

The move has fueled competing interpretations of Hillel’s direction — some on campus see the new policy as an effort to further distance the organization from J Street and other progressive groups, while others argue that Michigan Hillel has already moved too far to the left by giving space to groups and perspectives they view as hostile to Israel. 

“J Street U has played an important role on campus as a pro-Israel organization substantively aligned with a large number of American Jews and American Jewish students,” Jordan Acker, a University of Michigan regent, who is Jewish, told Jewish Insider. 

“J Street and J Street U should be included as important voices within the tent, not removed in this self-defeating way,” Acker continued. “Other voices in the pro-Israel tent deserve respect and a platform. Decisions like this one make that harder.”

For some Jewish students at Michigan, the shift has raised questions about whether Hillel is retreating from a role they see as central to Jewish life on campus: supporting Israel.

Dan Viderman, a senior active in the Students Supporting Israel chapter on campus, told JI he was involved with Hillel when arriving at the university in 2023 and that the organization continues to play an important role in building Jewish community on campus, but had also been a visible supporter of Israel during his freshman year. 

He said that changed as J Street’s presence on campus grew, and that the latest policy has left him questioning whether Hillel is truly becoming apolitical or is instead moving away from Israel advocacy. “I noticed that the J Street presence was ramping up on campus, especially at Hillel,” said Viderman. “A lot of the people working at J Street were also on the government board of Hillel. This is a recurring theme this year as well. I recognize that Hillel put out that statement. I know they have removed J Street and any pro-Israel organizations. They claim to just want to focus on Jewish life, which would be respectable and commendable if that’s genuinely what they were doing, but I haven’t noticed that to be the case. I haven’t seen that they’re being entirely apolitical about this.”  

Viderman planned an Oct.7 commemoration event with SSI this week to mark the three-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, an event that he described as “unequivocally about Zionism.” Hillel hosted a separate memorial program.

Viderman said that following meetings with Hillel to see if they’d want to co-host the event, “we felt unclear about Hillel’s stance” on Zionism. 

“It was disorganized amongst everyone on the Hillel board. There was basically unequivocal negative sentiment towards anything pro-Israel being done,” he said. “They wanted to just do Oct. 7 as a broader commemoration of the lives lost, and they wanted to make it Jewish without making it about Israel.” 

“There’s still an Israel fellow and you can still say you’re a Zionist in Hillel, but I think you would be facing more pushback as opposed to before, because of these new policies that are being brought up.”

However, Hillel International and Michigan Hillel pushed back, emphasizing that it does not need to affiliate with independent groups to be pro-Israel.

“Consistent with the Hillel movement’s leading role in Israel engagement, Michigan Hillel remains committed to substantial Israel-related programming, education, and immersive experiences,” a Hillel International spokesperson told JI. “Michigan Hillel shared that this decision was specifically limited to independent national advocacy organizations.”

In a follow-up statement to students sent on Monday, Hughey wrote, “Michigan Hillel is, and will always remain, a steadfast supporter of Israel.”

“We will continue our programming focused on Israeli culture, Israel education, Birthright, thoughtful conversations about Israel, exploring Jewish identity, religious studies, and the many other topics that matter to you,” she said. “Michigan Hillel remains committed to supporting Jewish students and to combatting antisemitism and BDS when it arises on our campus. This new policy does not change that commitment.”  

“Hillel at Michigan is sharpening its focus on Jewish life and learning programs, supporting students in building community. There will no longer be any independent advocacy groups affiliated with Hillel; we encourage students interested in advocacy to get involved directly with independent advocacy groups,” Hughey told JI. “Hillel will continue to be a pluralistic and safe place for students of all backgrounds to explore Jewish life, history, memory, and community.”