The Brandeis chapter of Hillel, part of Hillel International, will be forced to cut back allocations to student programs and will be unable to hire a full-time Jewish Chaplain for the time being as a result of declining revenues due to the financial crisis, according to Brandeis Hillel Executive Director Larry Sternberg.Hillel is dedicated to enhancing Jewish life at colleges and universities.

Vice President for Communications of National Hillel Jeff Rubin '81 said that Hillel International has suffered a loss of $620,000 due to investing in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. He said the Madoff scandal had the greatest impact on Hillel organizations in the former Soviet Union and in Israel.

"To my knowledge, none of the [Brandeis Hillel] major donors were directly affected by the Madoff scandal, but given the overall climate and past experience, it is prudent to plan that there may be a significant decline in donations this year," Sternberg said. Though Sternberg said that none of the major donors was affected, he did say that some of Brandeis Hillel's donors were affected by the Madoff scandal.

Brandeis Hillel is mainly supported by donations from alumni and parents of students who participate in Hillel, and by the money raised from fundraising, Sternberg said.

According to Sternberg, Brandeis Hillel does not receive any money from the University's tuition fees or endowment. However, "In the past, Brandeis has provided loans to cover up to 3 percent of Hillel's annual expenses, which Hillel pays back, in addition to very valuable" office space, Sternberg said. Despite the budget cuts implemented by the University, Brandeis is still providing Hillel with "about the same" amount in loans because "Hillel is paying back [the University]," Sternberg reasoned.

"We have a figure toward which we are working to cover on operating expenses," Sternberg said, but he declined to disclose the amount.

"Professional positions are being vacated and not being filled; programs scheduled to be taking place are not taking place [at individual Hillels]," Rubin said. However, President of Brandeis Hillel Bryan Wexler '09 confirmed that no student programs at Brandeis Hillel have been canceled this year.

Wexler explained that the Brandeis Hillel Student Board is allocated a figure from the annual Brandeis Hillel budget for student programs by Sternberg.

"Last semester the [student allocation budget] was not affected; it was the same as the previous years," Finance Coordinator of Brandeis Hillel Andrew Franks said. "We were given $7,000."

"We have been given a basic budget for this semester, which is not a hundred percent set in stone," Wexler said. He confirmed that it was lower than previous years' student allocation budgets but declined to disclose an exact number.

However, Sternberg said that he decided the current student allocation budget with consideration to the trends of past student allocation budgets.

Franks wrote in an e-mail sent to the Brandeis Hillel listserv Jan. 19 that food will no longer be a funding priority, as "the amount requested or spent is often more than needed for the particular program." In addition, he encouraged students to make use of more local resources such as speakers from the surrounding Boston area to reduce the cost of bringing in speakers from distant locations.

Wexler suggested that students should also continue to look toward other sources such as the Student Union Finance Board and the Jewish Student Projects of Greater Boston for funding because the student allocation budget has been cut.

Furthermore, the search for a new Jewish Chaplain, which began after the previous Rabbi left in spring 2007, has been halted because of expenses, Sternberg said. He explained that in the past the salary for a full-time Jewish Chaplin was shared between the University and Hillel. "We are extremely pleased with the interim appointment of Rabbi Elyse Winick on a part-time basis, but Brandeis still needs to have a full-time Jewish Chaplain," he said.



-Shana D. Lebowitz contributed reporting.