Disappointed by Princeton Hillel

As a former president of Princeton Hillel and the National Hillel Foundation Board (1972-1974), I would like to register my profound disappointment at the poor judgment and cowardice evinced by Rabbi Julie Roth, executive director of Princeton’s Center for Jewish Life, in handling the aborted address of Israeli Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Tzipi Hotovely. It was less than edifying to read the belated apologies of Rabbi Roth and the National Hillel CEO Fingerhut: “too little, too late.” Were I yet a member of the National Hillel Board, I would have insisted on Rabbi Roth’s resignation over this outrageous incident. It is not only a matter of safeguarding free speech on campus; it is a question of good judgment. Rabbi Roth has demonstrated that she lacks the latter and should tender her resignation. The Jewish students at Princeton and the Princeton community at large deserve better.