Abstract
Shocked B'nai B'rith leaders in Mobile, Ala., wrote to the national secretary of B'nai B'rith, Leon Lewis, expressing interest in the case and wondering what the Jewish organization's response would be. The answer, in one word, was "Hillel." Following World War II, thanks in part to the G.I. Bill, the number of Jews on college campuses mushroomed. The American Jewish community's interest in campus affairs, meanwhile, waned. As B'nai B'rith support for Hillel diminished, Hillel professionals - fatefully - concentrated their attention on the minority of involved Jewish students. For the rest, Hillel became irrelevant. The 1988 appointment of Richard Joel as international director began [Hillel]'s modern-day revival. During the course of his tenure, Joel remade, re-energized and repackaged the organization. Exploiting communal concerns over "Jewish continuity," he reminded Jewish leaders that "the campus is ... a key gateway for Jewish continuity and a key definer of the Jewish future."