Last night, members from Jewish Voice for Peace presented their petition of over 1,000 signatures to the executive board of Hillel at Brandeis. The board reaffirmed its decision to decline recognition of JVP as a member group under the Hillel umbrella.On March 9, JVP first approached Hillel at Brandeis about being included under the Hillel membership umbrella. The Hillel e-board, finding that sections of JVP's constitution support boycotts of Israeli goods produced in settlements in the West Bank, denied the group membership.

In the weeks following, JVP members circulated a petition online and in person to acquire signatures that supported a reversal of the Hillel decision.

At the meeting last night, members of JVP stated that "the campus community, as well as much of the broader Jewish community, stands in solidarity with our efforts to affirm the necessity of a respectful and open Jewish community."

Their opening statement to the Hillel e-board, delivered jointly by all of the JVP members present, stated that the petition, which requested that Hillel accept JVP as a member group "to cultivate open dialogue on this critical political issue [of achieving a just solution in Israel and Palestine]," was signed by over 50 United States Rabbis, cantors and rabbinical students, 25 faculty and staff members and over 50 alumni.

Co-founder of JVP Liza Behrendt '11 stated that "you don't owe us any particular result, but you owe us a reconsideration of this issue."

In response, Hillel President Andrea Wexler '11 said that Hillel is "not constitutionally subject to appeal by petition, which means that while [JVP is] welcome to appeal, ... we would need to see a different constitution which would be more in-line with our views," and she did not ask for a revote from the Hillel e-board.

"You are always welcome in our meetings, you are welcome to resubmit your constitution, you are welcome to appeal, but our constitution stands. We have already voted on it ... and thus we will not reconsider," Wexler said. "We don't see JVP as falling under our mission statement."

Hillel Education Coordinator Hannah Pollack '13 said, "If you want to define [Hillel] as the Jewish community, that would mean that any of the Jews on campus that don't associate themselves with us are not part of the Jewish community. There's Chabad on campus, there's lots of Jews that just choose ... not to be a part of us. You're not being excluded by the Jewish community by not being under the Hillel umbrella."

Hillel Campus Relations Coordinator Erica Shaps '13 expressed a desire for co-sponsored activities between Hillel and JVP and said that the debate "presents us with the unique opportunity to show the world what discourse and dialogue on a college campus looks like and to say that it's complicated."

"Pluralism doesn't mean that everyone is going to be happy," she added.

Behrendt said that while she hopes collaboration will happen, she felt that Hillel's decision was "backward-looking."

"You all made the safe decision, but this has been to the detriment of the Jewish community for now," she said.