by: Daniel Bennett 9/15/25
Jewish college students statewide have settled into their dorms and apartments; negotiated their academic schedules; found their trusted peers at Hillel; and now, too quickly, it seems, back-to-school programs give way to the Fall Holidays. Hillel staff members and student leaders – with joy and excitement – embrace Hillel’s task and mission: to build a Jewish community whose values enrich the lives of students during their college years and beyond.
Meanwhile Hillel leadership works tirelessly on another task, one that a short five years ago nobody could foresee would be necessary: to help the universities keep Jewish students safe from antisemitism and hatred.
In service of that, Hillel of Colorado Executive Director Daniel Bennett testified before the United States Commission on Civil Rights on September 3, 2025. The Commission, “seeks to examine the presence and/or absence of antisemitism at…the Auraria Campus in Denver…and the nature, prevalence, and impact of antisemitism on college campuses…to contribute to more informed approaches to federal, state, and education policy in higher education.”
Bennett represents more than 2,500 Jewish students statewide, including hundreds at our Auraria Hillel. He thanked the Commissioners for helping the universities keep Jewish students safe from antisemitism and hatred and then set down seven ground rules (below) before citing numerous examples of Jewish students facing hostility – ranging from antisemitic chants and threatening signs at encampments, to professors’ anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric in their classrooms. Students reported feeling verbally abused when displaying Jewish symbols such as Jewish stars, mezzuzot, and yarmulkes, and struggled with intimidation from both peers and faculty.
While acknowledging the genuine social justice concerns of some students in the encampment, he pointed out that many protesters blurred the line between legitimate policy criticism and dangerous delegitimization of Israel’s existence, which is antisemitism. He closed by reaffirming Hillel’s mission: to provide Jewish students with space to explore their identity, find community, and grow as leaders, while partnering with universities to ensure campuses remain places of safety, respect, and learning for all.
See the summary of the testimony below:
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Bennett began his testimony by making abundantly clear that:
- i. he would share only what he witnessed and was told by staff and students.
- ii. his only agenda is to ensure Jewish students are treated fairly, as any other group would be.
- iii. Hillel views university leaders as partners working to correct past mistakes and keep Jewish students safe.
- iv. Higher Education is a silver bullet Jews, and other minorities embrace to take their place proudly in American society. Fighting antisemitism by attacking Higher Education is misguided.
- v. those who told the Commission there was no antisemitism on campus are wrong &have no right to define for Jews what is antisemitic.
- vi. there were antisemitic acts directed at Jewish students; a UCD Hillel student leader told him, those who hate us because we are Jews want us to be afraid of them, and we were at first.”
- vii. Hillel defends Free Speech, full stop. If one cannot learn to protest what they see as unjust while in college, where and when can one?
- viii. Campus free Speech, however, has limits. Students must obey university codes of conduct, and those who don’t deserve no “amnesty.”
Direct Testimony on September 3rd by Bennett to the Commission
- i. I told protesters who invited me into the encampment that hundreds of Hillel students would join them if they could state that there is room for two nations “between the River and the Sea.” They refused, saying Israel must be abolished.
- ii. I believe that some in the Tent City cared about Palestinian lives and self-rule for all, including for Palestinians between the River and the Sea. But they cared more about hating Jews than loving Palestinians.
- iii. Auraria Hillel students told me individuals from the encampment openly called for globalizing the intifada, and death to the infidel: their signs outside the Tivoli echoed these words.
- iv. It is antisemitism to single out the Jews as the only Peoples among the 193 nations on earth to be denied a country in their historical, ancestral homeland. That’s antisemitism no matter how many say it isn’t. John Lennon imagined a world without national boarders, perhaps a worthwhile utopian dream we can all discuss. But if we start with Israel, that’s antisemitism.
- v. Many in the encampment, however, went further. One sign read, “What Hitler did was right.” A UCD Jewish student was called a “dirty Jew” by an individual in the encampment and nobody in the tent city tried to stop or silence that voice.
- vi. Claiming that Jewish student participation in the encampment proves the encampment isn’t antisemitic is a false flag operation. The Tent City’s very presence on campus is antisemitism.
- vii. “Anti-Zionist” Jewish students often change their minds after spending time with peers at our Hillels. They discover they don’t oppose the existence of Israel but the policies and actions of the current Israeli government, as do many inside and outside of Israel.
- viii. I am on record as saying that any Jew who doesn’t shed a tear when a Palestinian child or noncombatant dies in Gaza needs to reexamine their understanding of Judaism. Hillel teaches that Jews have a sacred duty to feel the pain of all who hurt.
- ix. Our goal is to help students figure out and live their live their own, unique Jewish values in college and beyond, and use those values to become the leaders of tomorrow. We are a huge tent, welcoming of a myriad of viewpoints and ideas, encouraging exploration and dialogue. Many who we welcome at Hillel aren’t Jewish – just interested or curious.
- x. When we protested the Vietnam War in the late ‘60’s, we called ourselves, “social justice warriors,” and learned three iron-clad rules those in the Tent Cities never learned. True social justice warriors: 1. don’t hide their identities (behind keffiyehs or anywhere else); they say proudly who they are. 2. don’t ask for amnesty when they break rules: they opt out or willingly face consequences. 3. don’t let leaders speak for them; they proudly use their own voices