This story was updated on May 5 at 9:58 p.m.

The University Student Senate (USS) will continue to withhold funding from The New School’s Hillel chapter until it ends “direct material collaboration with a foreign military,” according to a statement posted to Instagram on May 3. 

The statement was a response to an email from administrators — including University President Joel Towers — sent on May 2 to students, faculty, staff, and parents. According to some student workers, they were given a printed copy of the email at their work.

In the email, administrators wrote that the funding was never paused because the USS had no authority to do so.

The university’s email, however, “made no mention” of Hillel at TNS’s ties to international law violations, the USS statement said. It also said that the USS is “deeply troubled by the claims that our resolution is meant to target anyone for their identity or political beliefs.”

The pause is legitimate and still in effect, according to the USS statement.

The USS cited sections 9 and 10 of their university-authorized Funding Guidelines for this year, which states they have the authority to audit Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and apply sanctions, including withdrawing funding eligibility. The guidelines also say the USS is “granted decision-making authority to allocate” funds.

The guidelines, however, note that “the university retains ultimate legal and fiduciary responsibility for [funds’] stewardship.” 

While the email from administration said the university will “take all necessary steps” to resolve the situation for Hillel, it is unclear how the university plans to halt the pause. RSOs are not due funds from the USS if they do not apply through the USS.

The university, in a statement to NSFP from Director of Communications Will Wilbur, maintained that funds must follow the Funding Guidelines — but cannot be withheld from RSOs. 

The Funding Guidelines, however, state that sanctions within the Senate’s power to enforce include a “Budget Account freeze,” “Loss of eligibility to request funding for a specified time period,” and the “Return of SAF funds.”

The university’s statement described the RSO funding process as a “collaborative process,” involving the USS, the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement, the Procurement Department, and the Financial Aid Office.

“While the USS evaluates and provides conditional approval of proposals, the university retains legal and fiduciary responsibility and authority over the funds and can intervene if necessary to ensure proper allocation,” the statement read.

Still, it is unclear how the university plans to enforce their stance and resume funding to Hillel. NSFP is awaiting a response from the university about this question.

Amid the back-and-forth of statements between the university and the USS, the dispute is expanding in scope.

“We appreciate the administration’s decision to uphold Hillel as a recognized student organization,” a statement from Hillel at TNS provided to the New School Free Press read.

“For many Jewish students, a relationship with Israel is a core part of identity … targeting that connection, and only that connection, is discriminatory and sets a dangerous precedent,” the statement read.

The statement called the USS decision an “attempt to exclude a Jewish student group from campus life.”

The statement was signed by Hillel at TNS President Liora Gold, Vice President Maya Glass, Secretary and Social Media Coordinator Michael Valdes, Treasurer Cate Childress, and Hillel E-Board member Miri Liebman.

Hillel at TNS also posted on Instagram on May 3 in response to the pause, calling it a “deeply painful and antisemitic act.” The post thanked Towers for his “clarity and steadfast leadership.”

“We are not going anywhere,” the post said.

The dispute has garnered unprecedented attention, including from a city council member, a U.S. representative, and the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, as well as coverage in the New York Post, the Times of Israel, and the Jerusalem Post.

The dispute is growing across The New School, as organizations across the community publicly take sides.

The Leadership Council of the New School chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-TNS) said in a statement to the community on May 4 that they stand with the USS and will “defend their advocacy role in matters of conscience.”

The May 2 email from administrators reflects a larger effort by the university to undermine “shared governance” and the legacy of the school amid restructuring, AAUP’s statement read.

“At a time of intensifying fascism we must invest in, not demolish, democratic processes,” the statement read.

The funding pause was voted on by the USS at the general body meeting on May 1. It followed a nearly 40-page report by the new RSO Compliance Committee that found Hillel at TNS has “direct” and “material” ties to Israeli military actions implicated in international law violations by numerous organizations, including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.

The pause — the first ever attempt to suspend funding for a Hillel in the nation, according to the Times of Israel — has resparked longstanding conversations about Hillel. 

DropHillel, a coalition of anti-zionist student organizations across the country, posted a pledge on Instagram for students and student organizations to boycott Hillel, pressure their universities to sever ties with the organization, and reorganize alternative anti-zionist Jewish student organizations.

The coalition includes organizations at Columbia University, University of California Berkeley, New York University, Chapman University, and the University of Michigan. The pledge was reposted by The New School’s Jewish Culture Club.

“L’chaim Intifada,” the post read, combining the Hebrew toast “for life” with the Arabic term for uprising.

DropHillel had previously posted about TNS USS’s decision to sanction Hillel, saying, “By dropping Hillel, students at the New School refuse to have their tuition dollars funding war crimes.”

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at TNS said that they support the USS’s decision to sanction Hillel and that they reject “the administration’s attempt to mischaracterize this action as targeting students,” a statement provided to NSFP read. “This is a political and institutional question about how student funds are used, not an attack on any group’s identity.”

SJP, an anti-zionist organization focused on Palestinian liberation, is currently barred from organizing on The New School’s campus. According to members, the university suspended them for posting on their Instagram about a professor allegedly harassing and striking a student organizer. 

“We stand by the Student Senate’s decision and call on the administration to respect student governance, engage transparently with the findings presented, and address the broader conditions that enable anti-Palestinian racism at The New School,” the SJP statement read. 

The New School Jewish Culture Club, an organization for students who want to share in Jewish culture and religion regardless of background or faith, said in a statement to NSFP that they support the USS’s decision to halt funding for Hillel.

“New School’s administration is covering for this organization which is violating international law,” the statement read.

The statement called the email from administration “dismissive” and ignoring of the evidence compiled by the compliance committee. 

“Claims made by the administration that the senate’s action is meant to target anyone on the basis of discrimination is illegitimate,” the statement read.

Hillel has the right to appeal the USS’s funding pause. According to the spring 2026 Funding Guidelines, an organization must submit an appeal request within five business days of the budget decision. As of the afternoon of May 3, Hillel has not yet submitted an appeal to the USS, according to Ryder Glickman, chair of the USS.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates as NSFP continues to report this story as it develops.

This story was updated to include a statement posted to Instagram by Hillel at TNS