Welcome to Hillel

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Welcome to Hillel
by Adam Lehman, President and CEO, Hillel

For more than a century, Hillel has served as the home away from home for Jewish college students and young adults around the world. Today, Hillel engages, empowers, and inspires more than 190,000 Jewish students annually across 850 campuses worldwide, helping students explore, celebrate, lead, and deepen their connection to Jewish life, traditions, learning, and Israel. Our staff work alongside student leaders every day to build vibrant Jewish communities that offer meaningful experiences, from Shabbat and holiday celebrations to Israel engagement, leadership development, advocacy, service, and bridge-building with other campus communities.

That work became even more essential following the horrific October 7 attacks and the
unprecedented rise in campus antisemitism that followed. Jewish students faced record
levels of harassment, intimidation, vandalism, exclusion, threats, and in some cases, violence. Students turned to Hillel as a trusted source of support, safety, and community during one of the most difficult periods many had ever experienced on campus.

Every Jewish student deserves the opportunity to be proud of who they are and feel a
deep sense of belonging. At Hillel, students found a space where they could celebrate
Shabbat and holidays, engage in meaningful Jewish learning, explore their relationship
with Israel, build lifelong friendships, and navigate the opportunities and challenges of
campus life together. Especially during moments of uncertainty and hostility, Hillel
provides students not only with support, but with a profound sense of connection, pride,
resilience, and belonging.

Utilizing our unique position and relationships on campus, Hillel is working aggressively to strengthen the campus environment for Jewish students and all students. We’ve invested millions of dollars in security upgrades to Hillel buildings across the country. Through our
Campus Climate Initiative (CCI), we’ve trained administrators from more than 100 universities to understand and address contemporary antisemitism, and our award-winning Campus for All platform provides resources to combat antisemitism and address misinformation about Israel. Through ReportCampusHate.org, the Campus Antisemitism Legal Line, and a tailored rapid response operation, we’ve helped respond to thousands of incidents on campus. We advocate for stronger and faster responses, and we coordinate closely with university administrators, law enforcement, parents, alumni, and other Jewish organizations.

At the same time, we are also investing directly in student leadership development.
Through programs like our Jewish Learning Fellowship (JLF), Israel Leadership Network, and regional and national leadership training conferences for thousands of Jewish students, Hillel students are gaining the confidence, resilience, relationships, and capacities to lead Jewish life proudly on their campuses and beyond.

Importantly, while significant challenges remain, we have also seen meaningful progress
over the past year as more university leaders have taken stronger action to address
antisemitism and support Jewish students on campus. With more work to do, we continue
to remain as focused as ever on addressing and ultimately eliminating the scourge of
campus antisemitism.

At Hillel, we remain deeply optimistic. By investing in vibrant Jewish life, leadership,
learning, and community, we are helping to shape a stronger, safer, and more resilient
Jewish future for generations to come.

Written by Adam Lehman, President and CEO, Hillel

“Welcome to Hillel” published in the July 2026, Inaugural Edition of Catalyst.