Editor's Letter

Striving To Be Responsive

Second of two parts

I

erence on charitable performance. And he has served Hillel
nationally and in-state for 10 years.
Snyder understands what HMD can do on behalf of Israel
and the Jewish people. He understands that no Hillel operates
in a campus vacuum. He acknowledges the diversity in WSU's
student population, including Arab, Muslim and Jewish stu-
dents who see the embattled Middle East quite differently.
In the wake of heightened anti-Israel activism at Wayne
State, HMD helped facilitate a meeting involving Jewish stu-
dents, administrators and the Anti-Defamation League. Hillel
resolved to work with the administration to review policies
and procedures to help increase campus civility. Time will tell
how effective these meetings were; follow-through is critical.
Snyder gets it in describing HMD's support role: not only to
help students determine which incidents are actionable, but
also what legal recourse, if any, is available. There's a fine line
between free speech and hateful rhetoric. Snyder underscored
this: "I, of course, am not suggesting that there
isn't more work to be done to make WSU a more
comfortable environment and to educate the
campus about Israel. We need just to make sure
that we promote the positive as well as the chal-
lenges!'
That's fair.
Still, American Hillels must stand even more
steadfastly with its students to denounce vitriol.

nflexibility and poor listening by lay leaders and profes-
sional staff are sure signs of generational intransigence,
which will turn off the Jewish students that Hillel of
Metro Detroit strives to embrace.
So says Gary Snyder, who became
HMD board president on April 1. "We
make every attempt to listen to the
wants and needs of our students:'
he says. "And we consistently have to
be mindful of not getting boxed into
institutional cement."
I like the imagery. Telling students
what you think they should hear rath-
er than listening to their desires is an
inescapable turnoff for impressionable
young adults at a pivotal
point where their Jewish
identity becomes significantly tested.
Snyder presides over a Hillel: The Foundation
for Jewish Campus Life chapter that serves at
least 2,000 undergraduate and graduate stu-
dents on five campuses in Metro Detroit and
operates with a $400,000 annual budget. On
each campus, Hillel strives to bring Jewish stu-
dents together, develop Jewish student leaders,
promote the Jewish state, provide Jewish learn-
Moving Forward
ing, connect students to the local Jewish com-
Snyder vows to step up HMD efforts to team
munity, spur political awareness and inspire
with pro-Israel students; the goal is to create
Hillel leader G ary Snyder
social action.
a positive impression about Israel on campus.
The largest campus served is Wayne State
Students for Israel programs accentuate such
University. HMD has been based there for 50 years. WSU is
Hillel initiatives. The Jewish Student Organization plays a part
a 33,000-student urban commuter campus with a politically
in enhancing Jewish life at WSU, be it holiday parties in the
charged environment. More than ever, HMD is confronting the dorms or a campus-wide Holocaust memorial.
currents of anti-Jewish fervor sweeping WSU's Detroit cam-
I concur with Snyder's special interest in helping secure a
pus, often by non-campus, pro-Palestinian marchers aligned
vibrant local young adult core despite trends that show steady
with the Anti Racist Action group. The only student concerns
young adult flight to more attractive urban areas. Students at
I've received about HMD relate to perceived inadequate sup-
HMD schools most likely will remain here and be our future
port of Jewish students defending Zionism and protesting
leaders. So HMD must work with affiliated campuses as well
anti-Semitism. Consider the backdrop that Jewish students
as Federation to ensure that students enjoy not only a secular
globally live and learn under: The Palestinian Authority's gov- education, but also an energizing Jewish experience.
erning party, Hamas, has reaffirmed jihad, its commitment
Bonds between this generation of students and the local
to destroying Israel. And a new video clip on P.A. TV refers to
Jewish world are thin. That's why, as Snyder says, "It is HMD's
Jews as "evil souls" as well as intruders, even in Jerusalem.
role to forge those bonds, to create meaningful intersections!'
Besides Wayne State, HMD serves Oakland University,
It's incumbent on the rest of the Detroit Jewish community
Oakland Community College, Lawrence Technological
to buy into that logic if Snyder is to have any hope of succeed-
University and the University of Detroit Mercy. Such varied
ing. For its part, HMD must deliver, not just strategize.
branches on the Hillel tree make tailored programs a chal-
With such a range of campuses, Hillel of Metro Detroit
lenge. But glance at the summer edition of the newsletter, the
can't act proprietarily. It must invite student participation in
Metro; its array of campus and regional programs and notable decision-making. Engaged students can elevate Hillel to new
list of donors underscores HMD's value.
heights. Snyder puts it well: "It's not enough for our students
A former long-term board member of Hillel International,
to be content to remain passengers along for the ride.
Snyder says: "I am very aware of the tremendous respect that
"Some of our students need to step up — to have a vision
HMD has been afforded. This agency is truly a hidden trea-
and assume responsibility — to develop the tools to achieve
sure."
their goals!"
And it can be so much more.

He's Dialed In
Snyder is managing director of Nonprofit Imperative, a West
Bloomfield-based consulting firm for the nonprofit sector.
He's the author of "Nonprofits on the Brink," a definitive ref-

0 : Have political influences changed Hillel's
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How aggressively should Hillel advocate
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May 10 0 2007 5

