New School administrators said yesterday’s University Student Senate vote to pause funding for Hillel at TNS over its ties to international law violations was “misguided” and an attempt to “target fellow students,” in an emailed university announcement today.

The email states that the USS does not have the power to determine the status, funding, or recognition of Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), which instead falls to the university. 

Hillel at TNS will continue to receive funding despite the USS decision, per the email. The university is “taking immediate action” to address the situation and will “take all necessary steps.”

The email follows immediate and immense pressure on the university from right-leaning and Israeli media outlets, public figures, including City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, and TNS students and alumni on Instagram, tagging the Justice Department, Donald Trump, and international organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League.

Hillel is an international organization that aims to provide community for Jewish students. The New School chapter belongs to Hillel at Baruch College, which calls itself the “Most Zionist Hillel in America” with “unwavering commitment and support for Israel,” according to its website.

The decision to pause funds came after a “35+ page report … in collaboration with human rights and legal organizations,” by the new RSO Compliance Committee, found that Hillel has “direct” and “material” ties to international law violations by Israeli military brigades and operations, and supports illegal Israeli settler and occupation movements.

“The email addresses none of the facts, none of the claims, none of the realities laid out,” Ryder Glickman, chair of USS, said. 

Glickman called the email “anti-democratic” and a “blatant ideological act and a suppression of the movement for Palestinian Liberation on our campus.”

Hillel at TNS did reply to a request for comment by the time of publication. The president and vice president of Hillel at TNS did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication.

The vote to pause Hillel at TNS’ funding occurred yesterday in response to the publication of the report, per the compliance committee’s procedure. According to their Instagram, to receive funding again Hillel at TNS would have been required to renounce its partnership with Hillel International and end its participation in programs that violate international law, in accordance with the committee’s recommendation report.

“The USS statement positions its action as a matter of principle and democratic process,” and “is neither,” the university announcement email read. They wrote that the USS decision was an attempt to hold “students responsible for the acts of governments.”

The email was signed by University President Joel Towers, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Richard Kessler, and Vice Provost for Student Success and Engagement Robert Mack.