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Text message from the Kotel
At 6:15 this morning, I got this text message from my cousin Erin: "Thank you so much, this is amazing! im at the western wall i never imagined id be here!"
Erin was able to secure a vacant spot on a recent Taglit-Birthright Israel trip with Hillel before she turns 27 and no longer eligible. As the product of an intermarriage, my cousin is one of three girls who has grown up with little Jewish education. They celebrate Christmas with their mother's family and Passover with their father's Jewish friends.
On my trip to Israel in 2002, the Western Wall was a defining moment in my spiritual life. I find it significant that my cousin didn't call me from the airport in Miami or Ben Gurion or e-mail me from Tel Aviv. It wasn't until she had seen the Western Wall that she felt compelled to send me a message. And though I don't want to pressure her, my hope is that Erin comes back with a renewed sense of self, a stronger Jewish identity and commitment to our people.
Danielle Freni
Editor, Hillel Campus Report
dfreni@hillel.org
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 Jason Segel: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Born to Jewish parents in Southern California, Jason Segel attended a Christian high school before going on to star in the big screen comedy "Dead Man on Campus" and more recently on TV sitcoms "Freaks and Geeks" and "How I Met Your Mother." Currently, Segel is starring in the box office hit "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which he co-wrote with comedic writer Judd Apatow.
As David Itzkoff writes in a recent New York Times article, "There's no way to talk about Jason Segel’s performance in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' without addressing a certain scene that, in the canon of male humiliation comedy, seems destined to rival that notorious encounter with an ill-fated apple pie."
Dmitriy Salita: Brooklyn's Star of David
As both a professional boxer and observant Jew, Dmitriy Salita has said, "If they want a whooping from me, they'll have to wait until sundown."
Since the age of 13, boxing has been a 24/6 passion for Ukrainian-born Salita. Now, at 26 years old, he is ranked #2 in the world for his weightclass, with a steadily increasing (and rather unique) New York fan base that includes Chabad rabbis and reggae superstar Matisyahu.
Filmmaker and Harvard Hillel alumnus Jason Hutt chronicles Salita's career in the documentary "Orthodox Stance."
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Students Bear Witness Through Friendship
Since it began in 2004, Hillel's ICHEIC Service Corps has paired 229 New York college students with Holocaust survivors for weekly visits. "This is the last generation of witnesses to the horror of the Holocaust," says Columbia University student Rami Schwartzer. "I feel a communal obligation to the world...to continue to tell their story."
Hillel Advisor and Jewish Students Meet with Dalai Lama at Colgate University
"We were all seated when the Dalai Lama entered the room, as is protocol," says David Levy, Hillel advisor at Colgate University in New York. "When he approached me, he stood up on his toes to admire my kippah. He said, 'I know - Jew.' When the laughter died down, he wished me 'shalom.'"
Home Depot Founder Helps Emory Hillel Break Ground
Bernie Marcus, Atlanta philanthropist and co-founder of The Home Depot, joined student leaders at Emory Hillel last week to break ground on the Marcus Hillel Center. The Billi and Bernie Marcus Foundation provided a lead gift of $3 million for the 17,000 square foot facility which will serve as a center for Jewish life at Emory and headquarters for Hillels of Georgia.
Hillel President Discusses Jewish Future
Hillel President Wayne L. Firestone recently participated in an international pre-conference summit about the Jewish future sponsored by Israeli President Shimon Peres.
NewsBytes
JTA reports on Hillel's new high school outreach initiative / PETA activists who met at a Hillel Professional Staff Conference are profiled in the Forward / $2 million gift to Rutgers Hillel highlighted in New Jersey Jewish News / Jewish interest growing at Butler University / Student paper reports GW Hillel's $500,000 fundraising effort / Tufts Hillel completes $6.4 million campaign
College 101: The Summer Internship
Top three reasons every college student needs a summer internship, every summer.
Learn Something Jewish: Jews in Sports
Dmitriy Salita is just the latest in the long history of Jews who have struggled to balance their athletic ability with their Jewish identity. The conflict between Jews and athletics began, appropriately enough, when the progenitors of the Olympics, the ancient Greeks, arrived in the Land of Israel in the mid-third century BCE.
Israel's 60th Birthday Card
It’s not to late to sign the birthday card for Israel! Send birthday wishes, trick out your Sussita (what’s a Sussita?), and share why you think Israel is Awesome!
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