Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life President Wayne Firestone has issued a statement supporting the right of Jewish students at Pace University to show the movie “Obsession” on campus. Firestone’s statement comes amid allegations of university insensitivity to Jewish students by student Michael Abdurakhmanov, the president of Pace Hillel, a group that is not officially affiliated with international Hillel.

Abdurakhmanov’s charges were reported in The New York Times and the New York Post.
 
Statement from Wayne Firestone, President, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
 
Hillel supports the right of all students to vigorously explore and debate issues on campus under the First Amendment and in the spirit of academic freedom. We support Pace Hillel, an independent student group, in its plan to show the movie “Obsession” and in its desire to work cooperatively with Muslim students on campus. The movie has been viewed on dozens of campuses across North America, sponsored by Hillel and other student groups, and has contributed to students’ understanding of the Middle East.
 
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life looks forward to working with Pace Hillel and with the administration of Pace University to ensure that the university will continue to be a place in which Jewish students can fulfill their personal, professional and academic aspirations.