Students at NYC college vote in favor of stripping funding from Hillel chapter

The student senate at the New School, a private university in New York City, says it has decided to “suspend future funding and collaboration” with the campus Hillel chapter.

The decision appears to be the first time a student government has decided to strip funding from its Hillel chapter on a US campus.

The New School student senate, calling the move a “landmark decision,” decided on the move in a vote, a statement says. The group also releases a 38-page report on alleged violations by Hillel.

The statement says the senate’s registered student organization compliance committee has designated Hillel “not in good standing,” and that it was ineligible for funding from or collaboration with the senate, in any capacity, effective immediately.

The senate justifies the decision by claiming “extensive ties to violations of international law” by Hillel, due to connection to the IDF, such as a student trip where Hillel members volunteered on an Israeli air force base.

“To continue to fund Hillel at the New School would mean that your student fees would be used to support violations of international law,” the statement says. “Our shared values require us to enforce our policies until Hillel agrees to affirm and abide by international law.”

There have not been any international criminal law convictions against Israel.

To reinstate funding, Hillel must sever all ties with and renounce Hillel International, and end participation in Israel programs, the student senate says.

The New School is a private university in Manhattan with around 10,000 students.

The Anti-Defamation League, in its campus report card, gave the New School an “F” grade for antisemitism.