Engaging students

Before her freshman year at Northwestern University in 2023, Claire Conner had planned to get involved in Hillel and other parts of Jewish life on campus.

When the Hamas attacks of October 7 happened less than three weeks after she started school, her motivation for engaging Jewishly only grew more purposeful. “I felt the need to connect on a deeper level with the Northwestern Jewish community and explore that aspect of my identity even more. In some ways, it’s way more empowering now.”

Now a sophomore and a double major in journalism and political science, Conner joined Hillel’s student executive board, where she serves as a co-chair for Religious and Spiritual Life. She has watched attendance at Jewish programs climb since the Israel-Hamas war began.

For instance, MegaShabbat–a large-scale annual Shabbat celebration co-hosted by Hillel and Chabad for students of all faiths–drew a record 500 students last year.

Of course, the news is not all encouraging, and Conner said she and her Jewish friends faced a harsh climate on campus last year. She found last spring’s anti-Israel protests and encampments intrusive and distressing, and yet she believes the Jewish community must focus on the positive, too. “People often [only] frame Jewish spaces like Hillel these days as a place to come to when you need support, or when something bad happens,” she said.

Conner hopes prospective Jewish students understand the roses more than the thorns that come with the Jewish Northwestern experience: “It’s such a dedicated Jewish community,” she said. “When you walk in the door at Hillel, you’re greeted with a smile and hug, and people who want to help you improve your life on campus. That energy–even in difficult times–is always there.”

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In 2024, you made it possible to–

-Engage 6,700 teens Jewishly through JUF and JUF-supported agency programs.

-Provide 3,800 local Jewish day school students–78% of those enrolled–with scholarships and/or tuition assistance from JUF-supported day schools.

-Welcome nearly half (46%) of all Jewish college students in Illinois to Hillel.

-Facilitate 65 pro-Israel vigils, speakers, and programs on Illinois college campuses, drawing 2,800 participants.

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“Thanks to Hillel I am prepared for wherever my journey takes me next.”

~University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Hillel student

“The antisemitism on campus was really evident last year but when I went to Hillel I was able to relax with people who I knew were going through the same things as I was.”

~Loyola University Chicago student, class of 2026

“JUF reached an historic agreement with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign addressing campus antisemitism, with specific commitments for the safety and inclusion of Jewish students. Importantly, the agreements extend the protection of the university’s non-discrimination policy to students identifying as Zionists.”

~JUF President Lonnie Nasatir remarks at the 2024 Annual Meeting in September