18Forty Podcast Eitan Webb and Ari Israel: What's Next for Jewish Students in Secular College? [Denominations 4/5]
Feb 3, 2026
Ari Israel, longtime Hillel leader who builds campus community and teaches Jewish leadership, and Eitan Webb, rabbinic director of Princeton Chabad and campus chaplain, talk campus Jewish life. They discuss a post‑October 7th resurgence, parents spurring student engagement, Hillel and Chabad cooperation, balancing attention to antisemitism, and core campus Jewish education and practices.
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Parents Driving Campus Engagement
- Parents became a major force driving freshmen to Jewish spaces after October 7th.
- Eitan Webb credits parental encouragement for the surge of new students at Chabad and Hillel.
Revelation Over Transformation
- Chabad frames Jewish return as revelation of an innate identity rather than forced transformation.
- Eitan Webb argues students already contain an inherited Jewish essence to be revealed.
Keep A Big Tent With Clear Poles
- Preserve a pluralistic 'big tent' while defining core values that hold it up.
- Hillel should set clear values (e.g., support for Israel) while welcoming diverse Jewish expression.
