J Street Response to Harvard Hillel Incident

October 10, 2024

This fall, a student who had been involved with J Street U at one point, but who was not authorized to act as a representative, presented herself as a J Street U representative to Harvard Hillel and entered into an affiliation agreement on J Street U’s behalf with Hillel. J Street U does not currently have an active chapter at Harvard, though one existed in the past.

Neither J Street nor J Street U knew that she had presented herself as an authorized J Street U representative. The actions she undertook in J Street U’s name fall outside of the Hillel agreement, as well as our standards of conduct and organizational values. The student has acknowledged her wrongdoing and since apologized.

J Street U has also apologized directly in writing for the regrettable incident. We are grateful to have a direct line of communication with Harvard Hillel’s Executive Director, and we hope to work with him and with Hillel at Harvard to grow a J Street U chapter on campus that is aligned with our organizations’ shared goals.