The Center for Jewish Life at Princeton University (CJL) is being hailed for its recent decision to decline hosting a photo exhibit viewed as anti-Israel and in favor of boycotting the Jewish state.
The Princeton chapter of J Street U, the campus arm of the left-leaning lobbying organization J Street, attempted this week to force CJL to host an exhibit organized by Breaking the Silence, a non-profit organization that routinely accuses Israeli soldiers of war crimes.
J Street and Breaking the Silence were seeking to use CJL's space to feature a series of photographs that it claims shows Israeli soldiers committing atrocities against Palestinians. The groups aimed to schedule the event over Israel's memorial and independence days, a move that was viewed by pro-Israel leaders as offensive.
CJL, an affiliate of the pro-Israel campus organization Hillel International, rejected J Street's request, eliciting praise from pro-Israel voices on campus who accuse J Street and Breaking the Silence of seeking to foster an unsafe environment for Jews on campus.
Jewish communal officials and leaders in the pro-Israel community told the Washington Free Beacon that CJL should be praised for its decision, which shows that pro-Israel voices on college campuses are willing to take a stand against defamation of the Jewish state.
These sources also slammed J Street—which bills itself as "pro-Israel, pro-peace"—for attempting to divide the campus Jewish community and mainstream boycotts of Israel. J Street has repeatedly come under fire from pro-Israel voices and members of Congress for its efforts to undermine Israel and delegitimize its current leadership.
Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Hillel International, told the Free Beacon that the exhibit was rejected due to its inherent bias and lack of proper context.
"As an independent organization, J Street has every right to bring this program to campus," Fingerhut said. "But we have every right to determine that we will not participate in it because it will leave people with an inaccurate perception of Israel’s military efforts."
The Breaking the Silence exhibit will be displayed Tuesday and Wednesday at a new spot on campus, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
One Jewish communal official familiar with the situation at Princeton told the Free Beacon that J Street is trying to fan anti-Israel flames on campus, a major concern in light of a dramatic rise in hatred and violence against Jewish students at America's colleges.
"Just because a Jewish student wants something doesn't mean Hillel has to pay for it or sponsor it," said the official, who requested anonymity to freely discuss the situation.
Hillel is not "going to support programs that they feel are not educationally sound and that don't provide a contextualized view of these complex issues," the official said.
The photo exhibit will only provide ammunition to anti-Israel, pro-boycott voices on campus, the source added.
J Street is helping to promulgate "propaganda by which [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] supporters will be able to utilize it," the official said. "They're showcasing propaganda for BDS supporters."
J Street's alliance with Breaking the Silence is being viewed as part of a larger effort to challenge mainstream Jewish organizations on campus and push them more towards left-leaning, fringe views.
"Certainly, you're seeing J Street take a more active approach in challenging other Jewish organizations," the official explained. "No one else in the Jewish community is challenging other organizations' ways and doing it publicly. That seems to be [J Street's] modus operandi."
Paul Felder, the president of Washington University's Students for Israel, praised CJL's decision earlier this week.
"Hillel does not provide any funding to groups that support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which [Breaking the Silence] is firmly behind," Felder was quoted as telling the Algemeiner.
A second senior official at a national Jewish organization told the Free Beacon that J Street is "becoming more and more fringe."
"They're irrelevant and have to find new supporters where they can, and that is only going to be on the radical left," the source said. "But Hillel should be praised here for doing the right thing, drawing a firm line against anti-Israel hate, and not letting anyone cross it."