Hillel Elects New Leaders

Harvard Hillel elected its third consecutive female president at last night’s elections.

Judith Z. Herbstman ’07 will also be the third female president in the organization’s history.

She will lead the undergraduate Steering Committee, chosen last night, which will also include Vice President of Community Building Talya J. Brettler ’08, Vice President of Community Relations Erica L. Farber ’07, Vice President of Education Philip A. Ernst ’06-’07, Vice President of Communications Hillary W. Steinbrook ’08, and Vice President of Shabbat and Holidays Joshua C. Wertheimer ’08.

Speeches and elections were held at Hillel during yesterday’s final Coordinating Council meeting of the term. Only members who had attended two meetings prior to the final meeting were allowed to vote, said Judith T. Greenberg ’07, the current president.

Candidates each wrote position papers before the election outlining what they felt were the important issues to address in the coming year.

Greenberg wrote in an e-mail that some of the major priorities included creating more leadership opportunities and the “integration of Hillel’s many disparate parts.”

She also wrote that the organization would focus on “addressing the ever-present question of why students identify Jewishly but choose not to be part of our community.”

Herbstman said that she was thrilled to be working with such a strong Steering Committee.

“We want to head toward a community where more people are taking initiative and feeling responsible to and committed to the community and enthusiastic about the community,” she said.

The Vice President of Community Building is in charge of planning events and programs, the Vice President of Community Relations connects with other faith, ethnic, and cultural groups, the Vice President of Education organizes classes, seminars, speakers, and other opportunities for education in the community, and the Vice President of Shabbat and Holidays organizes holiday programming.

These five positions are all elected.

“My dream is to make students more involved with Hillel by giving them a new thirst for Jewish knowledge,” Ernst wrote in an e-mail. “I also hope to work towards Hillel’s mission of fostering a Jewish identity that students will be able to carry with them once they leave Harvard.”

Greenberg explained that the Vice President of Communications is appointed by the incoming and outgoing Steering Committee members rather than elected by the entire organization.

“The leaders, who have the broader view of Hillel in mind, are the ones to select the person who will be coordinating the public face of Hillel,” she said.

The new officers will take office at the beginning of next semester.