The new campus rivalry: Chabad vs. Hillel

View this email in a browser

Today's newsletter is sponsored by Spertus Institute of Jewish Learning & Leadership

JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

Give a tax-deductible donation

America's first female rabbi opens up about sexual harassment at her seminary, great-grandmother crowned "Miss Holocaust Survivor,' Justin Bieber to perform in Israel.

OUR LEAD STORY

A backyard reception for students, friends and supporters at Duke University's new $3 million Chabad house.

As Chabad expands on college campuses, Hillel feels the squeeze

Duke University’s new $3 million Fleishman House is the latest jewel in the crown of Chabad’s national outreach to Jewish college students.

Exponential growth: The Brooklyn-based Lubavitch Hasidic organization is in the midst of an ambitious expansion around campuses across the country, implicitly challenging Hillel International’s primacy. In 1990, Chabad had 14 outposts on North American campuses. Today, it’s 287.

Renovations and rivalries: At the University of Central Florida, Chabad broke ground on a $5.7 million, 15,000-square foot building on two acres. At the University of Illinois, Chabad is investing more than $7 million to buy and renovate a former fraternity house. “This is the American Jewish reality,” said Steven Windmueller, an emeritus professor of Jewish Communal Studies who also serves on the board of Hillel for three campuses in Los Angeles. “It’s the competitive mindset.”

Larger context: At stake is who, or whose version of Judaism, will take the lead in preserving Jewish continuity, at a time when studies say young Jewish adults are less inclined to affiliate with traditional congregations.

Wine and politics: Among the draws for many students is that kiddush wine – and other potent beverages – are staples at Chabad Shabbat meals, while Hillel houses often strictly prohibit underage drinking. And, while Hillel chapters are frequently embroiled in heated debates over Israel programming, Chabad tends not to formally touch that topic.

Read the story >

FROM OUR OPINION SECTION

A 4 year-old Jewish girl died in Toronto. We need to talk about why:In the midst of a bitter custody battle, Keira Kagan was found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Dr. Guila Benchimol, a researcher on crime, stigma and Jewish communities, argues that Keira’s death should spur us to take domestic violence more seriously. Read the OpEd >

I was America’s first female rabbi. I’m heartbroken by the sexual harassment at my seminary. Rabbi Sally Priesand believes she would not have been ordained without the support of Alfred Gottschalk, who was accused in a recent report of “repeated instances of sexual assault” during his decades at the helm of Hebrew Union College. “I regret that so much pain has been inflicted and so little assistance for healing has been offered,” she wrote in a new essay. “The way he treated so many women is reprehensible, and the fact that this report offers no proof of teshuvah on his part saddens me.” Read the OpEd >

A message from our sponsor: Spertus Institute of Jewish Learning & Leadership

Jewish organizations need creative professionals equipped with the skills to lead in these rapidly changing times. Addressing this need, Spertus Institute offers the Certificate in Jewish Leadership, presented in partnership with Northwestern University. With a cohort of colleagues from across North America, participants learn to identify strengths, manage challenges, and identify opportunities for themselves and their communities. Applications being accepted now for the 2022 cohort.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

👑 An 86-year-old woman who lived through mass roundups and massacres of Jews as a child in Romania was crowned Israel’s “Miss Holocaust Survivor” on Tuesday. Ten contestants in their 80s and 90s were treated to stylists, makeup artists and hairdressers as part of the annual pageant, meant to draw attention to and honor the dwindling number of survivors. “I have no words to express my happiness,” said the winner, Salina Steinfeld, who has 21 great-grandchildren. (Reuters)

📸 Israeli soldiers woke up 13 Palestinian minors, told them to “say cheese” and photographed them in middle of the night in the West Bank city of Hebron, a new video shows. The army said the officer in charge was reprimanded and procedures would be “sharpened” to prevent such behavior. (Haaretz)

🇺🇸 American Jews did not anticipate the antisemitic violence they experienced during the Israel-Gaza war this spring, according to new research. The report, issued by a Tel Aviv think tank, also found that U.S. Jews were surprised they weren’t able to enlist “their natural allies and partners” in fighting off antisemitism. (Times of Israel)

📚 Four million pages of Jewish books and other documents are being digitized, thanks to a new initiative shepherded by the YIVO Institute. “The Vilna project is a way to keep alive for future generations the Ashkenazi Jewish history, culture and way of life before the Holocaust,” said Edward Blank, the project’s lead funder (and a Forward board member). “The one my parents knew and brought with them from Eastern Europe, but which has been fading with each new generation.” (eJewishPhilanthropy)

🎩 What do Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg have in common with Hasidic Jews? They’re buying their fedoras from two Orthodox brothers who run a hat shop in Brooklyn that has grown from a traditional clientele into haute couture for Hollywood. (News 12)

🎤 Justin Bieber is headed to Israel as part of his 2022 tour. More than 50,000 people showed up to a previous Bieber concert in Tel Aviv in 2017. (Jerusalem Post)

Shiva call > Helene Fortunoff, who turned a mom-and-pop housewares company into a major jewelry line, died at 88. Fortunoff Fine Jewelry was in its heyday one of the New York’s largest retailers. Her son, David, said that the only holiday the family celebrated together was Christmas, “even though we were Jewish.” They would spend that day, their only day off during the busy holiday season, watching movies. (JTA)

What else we’re reading > Netflix’s ‘The Club’ offers a rare portrait of Turkish Jews, shattering historical taboos in the process … How two Jewish soldiers’ court-martials put a spotlight on antisemitism and racism … An inside look at the Library of Congress’ Hebrew treasures.

ON THE CALENDAR

On this day in history: Denver, Colorado, was founded on Nov. 17, 1858. In its 163 years, the Mile High City has given the world a bevy of notable Jews, starting with David Edelstadt, the editor of Fraye Arbeter Shtime, an anarchist Yiddish newspaper. Golda Meir, future prime minister of Israel, spent her formative teenage years living in Denver at the home of her sister, who hosted evening salons in the living room where Zionism, women’s suffrage and literature were discussed. More recently, the city has been the home of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, actor T.J. Miller, and Talya Zax, the Forward’s Innovation Editor.

In honor of National Baklava Day, check out this baklava-inspired recipe for pistachio rose biscotti.

Another double-header of Zoom events tonight…

6 p.m. ET: Join us for “Hustling Hitler: The Jewish Vaudevillian Who Fooled the Führer.” Journalist Walter Shapiro brings the true story of how his great-uncle – a vaudeville impresario and exuberant con man – managed to cheat Hitler’s agents in the run-up to WWII. Register now >and read more about the story here >

7 p.m. ET: We’re partnering with the Boston Synagogue for the second concert of the Boston Festival of New Jewish Music, a free monthly series presenting original music drawing from the Jewish cultural experience. Tonight’s performance features violinist Yaeko Miranda Elmaleh, the founder of an ensemble that plays a blend of Latin-, Jewish- and Klezmer/Roma-inspired music. Register now >

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen were huge fans of each other — and big influencers on each other’s work. More than 2,000 people signed up to watch PJ Grisar, our culture reporter, host a discussion with experts on these two musical giants, with many anecdotes about the pair’s friendship and how their early Jewish experiences, and later spiritual searching, informed their art and kept them engaged in the politics of their time. Of course, the evening finished with songs. Watch now >

Thanks to Laura E. Adkins, Rob Eshman and PJ Grisar for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.

Support Independent Jewish Journalism

The Forward is a non-profit 501(c)3 so our journalism depends on support from readers like you. You can support our work today by donating or subscribing. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of US law.

MAKE A DONATION / SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD.COM / SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS

Copyright © 2021, The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. The Forward Association, Inc., 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038

Click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter.

To stop receiving all emails from the Forward click here.