PHOTO: Greater Portland Hillel Interim Executive Director Andy Friedland speaks in front of a collage of pictures from Hillel events at the organization's 18th annual fundraiser Thursday, Mar. 5 at Portland State University. (Rockne Roll/The Jewish Review)

In the days leading up to the founding of Greater Portland Hillel  eighteen years ago, a study examined the number and needs of Jewish students at Portland State University, Lewis & Clark College and Reed College.

“Students felt isolated on campus with few opportunities for connecting or support when antisemitism surfaces. The desire for Jewish life was strong,” PDX Hillel President Barry Benson recalled.

Today, PDX Hillel is on hand to meet those needs at eight campuses in the Portland area – an achievement celebrated at the organization’s annual fundraiser Thursday, Mar. 5 at Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union. The needs PDX Hillel addresses today are similar but amplified.

“Antisemitism now is more organized than ever before,” Benson explained. “Students carry the imprint of a disrupted adolescence from the pandemic and also from Oct. 7, and many now face hostility and danger on campus.”

To emphasize the point, a collage of images depicting antisemitic graffiti and social media posts appeared on the screen behind Benson. Despite these ongoing challenges, progress has been made.

“Administrators are now enforcing codes of conduct and implementing effective policies that keep campuses safer and more focused on learning. At this point, we are grateful to PSU President Dr. Ann Cudd,” Benson said, “for founding the PSU Jewish Advisory Council, and to Dr Robin Holmes Sullivan at Lewis and Clark for set for establishing a similar group. Our goal is to create councils at every school we serve, ensuring that Jewish student support is proactive and not reactive.”

Cudd took to the stage to address the past, present and future of those issues at Portland State.

“Two years ago, Portland State faced a painful moment. The occupation of our library was deeply disruptive, and for many in our Jewish community it was also deeply frightening. Antisemitic imagery and rhetoric surfaced on our campus in ways that were absolutely unacceptable. I will not minimize what that felt like for students, faculty and community members who already carry the weight of a long history of persecution. You deserve better from us, and we knew it,” she said of the wave of anti-Israel and antisemitic activism that culminated in the occupation of PSU’s Branford Price Millar Library. (See “Special Report: The state of Portland State,” Aug. 27, 2025, pg. 1)

Now, PSU is hosting the Pacific Northwest Leadership Institute on Antisemitism in Higher Education, in conjunction with Brandeis University.

“None of this erases the harms of the past, but all of it reflects our commitment to doing better, not just because it’s required of us, but because it’s right,” Cudd said. “To the PDX Hillel community, in your chai year, thank you for your patience, your courage and your partnership. You’ve helped make Portland State a stronger, more just institution, and we’re better because of you.”

Cudd referenced the Hebrew word for “life,” which has a numerical value of 18. Despite the ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism, the cultivation, promotion and celebration of life – Jewish life – is at the core of Hillel’s work in Portland.

“Here we are celebrating our Jewish identities on a campus that, only two years ago, felt profoundly unsafe for our Jewish students,” PDX Hillel Interim Executive Director Andy Friedland said. “All that anger and all that fear that gets the headlines, but the joy is what keeps us, as an organization, growing and thriving.”

The primacy of that joy was echoed by PDX Hillel’s staff.

“To know these students is a privilege, whether it’s a coffee chat, a tabling, Shabbat holiday celebration, retreat, matzo ball soup drop off and anything in between. The students I interact with are so bright and passionate and kind,” Springboard Innovation Fellow Jesse Weiss said.

One such student, Isaac Babus, was on hand to be recognized as this year’s PDX Hillel Future Leaders Award recipient. Babus, the president of Lewis & Clark Hillel, has played a prominent role in conversations around Israel and antisemitism on campus.

“He’s working within this system to demand that it better serve its Jewish students. Isaac’s iron moral compass is tempered by his insatiable curiosity. He knows in his kishkes (guts) that he is right and he’s open to hearing perspectives on why he could be wrong,” Friedland said. “What is more Jewish than that?”

Babus reflected appreciation back on to the organization and staff which he said has launched him on his path in Jewish life and community.

“They go above and beyond in supporting the student vision at every school they work with, always giving opportunities for growth and learning without demanding that students participate in Jewish life in any particular way; which is why I’m going to ask you to donate to PDX Hillel, not because I told you to, but because I would not be the Jewish leader or person that I am today without PDX Hillel in my life,” he said.

The crowd responded – an email from Friedland Monday evening announced that the organization had met it’s $54,000 fundraising goal for the event, thanks in large part to an $18,000 match from PDX Hillel Co-Founder Rob Shlacter and a $5,000 gift from board member and PSU Professor Emeritus Cheryl Livneh, both of which were announced at the event.

“Our students feel the impact of your support through your financial gifts, volunteer committee, service, guidance and encouragement and for opening your homes up for Shabbat across Portland,” Benson said.

Hendricks announced as next PDX Hillel ED

Greater Portland Hillel President Barry Benson took a moment Thursday evening to introduce Lisa Hendricks as the next Executive Director of the organization.

Hendricks, a longtime leader in advocacy spaces and community institutions, will take over on Apr. 1 as Interim Executive Director Andy Friedland returns to his role as Director of Jewish Student Life.

“As Director of Grassroots Digital Advocacy at Everytown for Gun Safety, [Hendricks] led multi-state teams, managed complex budgets, and developed leadership programs that grew participation from a few dozen to over 10,000 active leaders,” Benson said in an email announcing her appointment. “In addition, Lisa demonstrated great judgement, strength and calm in dealing with the external threats and challenges that unfortunately come in that line of work – and have become part of the Hillel Executive Director job as well.”

Hendricks told The Jewish Review that the position appealed to her as an opportunity to have a positive impact regardless of where the political winds may blow.

“I really wanted to find something where I could make a difference, and it didn’t necessarily matter who was elected that cycle,” she said. “[The Hillel role is] a great nexus of education, community service, nonprofit and Judaism, so I jumped on it.”

She recalled her own formative Jewish experiences at sleepaway camp.

“When I turned 10, my mom and dad put me on an airplane and sent me to Jewish summer camp, and I think that that’s where I really formed my Jewish identity,” Hendricks explained. “It was like a mini college; you’re on your own for the first time. You’re really exploring things, and you’re exposed to things that are completely new.”

While PDX Hillel is known as a “Hillel without walls,” Hendricks sees great value in creating physical spaces for connection and authentic Jewish expression. She’s planning to start with established, regular coffee hours at each of Portland’s campuses.

“The thing I keep saying over and over, especially when I’m talking to the students, is that I really want to create safe spaces for them,” Hendricks told The Jewish Review. “I don’t mean just theoretical spaces where they can express themselves. I mean literal spaces where they can come hang out.”