Israel Crisis on Campus? Maybe, Maybe Not...

College Commons

Reactivity to press & social media exacerbating and distorting Jewish community conflicts on campus. Tilly Shames is the Executive Director of University of Michigan Hillel. Tilly has worked with Hillels in Toronto and Michigan for 16 years in various positions, including Director of Israel Affairs and Associate Director, before becoming Executive Director at the University of Michigan in 2012. Tilly is passionate about youth engagement, community-building, pluralism, women’s advancement, and social justice. She holds a master's degree in International Affairs and a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and Political Science. She is a Wexner Field Fellow Alum and is on the Steering Committee of the Safety, Respect, Equity initiative. Kendall Coden is a 2019 graduate of the University of Michigan. She served as the treasurer of the Michigan Hillel Governing Board in 2018 and as the Chair of the Governing Board in 2019. In her role as Chair, Kendall focused largely on building relationships with other campus communities and fostering a vibrant Jewish community. Outside of Hillel, Kendall acted as a representative of the Jewish community on a student advisory council to University Administrators. Kendall currently lives in Washington, D.C. where she is conducting research on addiction at the National Institutes of Health. Karla Goldman is Sol Drachler Professor of Social Work and Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, where she directs the school’s Jewish Communal Leadership Program. Her research focuses on the history of the American Jewish experience with special attention to American Jewish communities and the evolving roles of American Jewish women. She previously served as historian in residence at the Jewish Women’s Archive in Brookline, Massachusetts and taught American Jewish history at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. She is the author of Beyond the Synagogue Gallery: Finding a Place for Women in American Judaism (Harvard University Press).