On Wednesday, August 23rd, The David Project announced that it was permanently merging into Hillel International's Israel programming. The David Project was formed in 2002 and uses its position to train students to defend Israel against any criticism. It is one of the leading pro-Occupation educational institutions in the Jewish community.

Hillel has partnered with The David Project for years, but this permanent merger reflects the increasing unwillingness of the communal Jewish establishment to confront the reality of the Occupation: that it is a daily nightmare for those who live under it, and a moral disaster for those who administer and support it.

In cementing this partnership with the David Project, Hillel gives up any pretense that it is a place for all Jewish students, regardless of their political beliefs. And this is nothing new - in the past, Hillel often worked behind the scenes to encourage support for the Occupation through  Birthright trips, Naftali Bennett’s Mosaic United initiative, and its restrictive “Standards of Partnership.”

Now Hillel has made it clear to us that it views right-wing Israel advocacy as the only acceptable form of engagement with Israel on campus.

Students need campus institutions like Hillel to be places for spiritual exploration and moral education. But instead of dedicating more resources to help Jewish students learn about themselves and the world around them, Hillel has decided that it would rather forcibly enlist Jewish students in the effort to defend Israel’s indefensible policies in the West Bank and Gaza. We know from experience that this is not the kind of education that Jewish students want or need.

Hillel and other Jewish organizations’ commitment to defending the occupation is driving young Jews away. Hungry for Jewish community and spiritual resources, we are tired of being fed right-wing talking points instead.

The David Project was born from a place of hate. Its founder, Charles Jacobs, is well known for his Islamophobic comments—he once accused Pres. Obama of covering up a terror attack—and is a former contributor to Breitbart, Steve Bannon’s “platform for the alt-right.” Though Jacobs is no longer in charge of the David Project, a legacy like that can never fully be erased.

No organization with a past filled with Islamophobia, racism, and sympathy for white nationalists should ever be allowed in Hillel.