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J Street U

Type:

Advocacy group
Affiliated with:

J Street
Director:

Erin Beiner

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J Street U is the student organizing arm of the left-of-center group J Street, which educates and advocates on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 1 2

J Street U opposed President Donald Trump’s executive order that would deport foreign nationals providing “aid, advocacy, or support for foreign terrorists,” claiming it would affect those who oppose the Israeli war in Gaza stemming from the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas and “chill free speech in America.” 3

Harvard Hillel suspended that campus’s J Street U in October 2024 for printing flyers with Hillel funding that were reported to police as “intimidating.” 4

Background

J Street U aims to educate students about what it calls “the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and America’s role in promoting peace” and encourages students to take action on campus and in Washington, D.C. 1 The group has chapters throughout the United States, especially in the Northeast and the West Coast. 1

Positions

On April 26, 2024, J Street U condemned “police brutality” on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the group alleged had taken place in response to pro-Palestinian encampments on college campuses. J Street U claimed there had been “heavy-handed, counterproductive decisions by school administrations to call the police on students engaged in peaceful protest.” 5 The statement claimed, “this has been fueled by right-wing efforts to suppress protests, generate chaos and discredit higher education institutions.” 5

J Street U also opposed President Donald Trump’s executive order that would deport foreign nationals providing “aid, advocacy, or support for foreign terrorists,” claiming it would affect those who oppose the war in Gaza stemming from the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel and “chill free speech in America.” 3

Anti-Israel Activity

Harvard Hillel suspended that campus’s J Street U in October 2024 for printing flyers with Hillel funding that were reported to police as “intimidating.” 4 The flyers featured text from the liturgy from the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, alongside photos of children in what appeared to be rubble in the West Bank and Gaza. 4

The executive board of J Street U at Duke University wrote a letter to the editor of the Duke Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper, in May 2024 regarding “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” opposing the arrest of student participants. 6 Duke’s J Street U chapter also co-hosted an event with the anti-Israel group Breaking the Silence in March 2024 in which a former IDF soldier spoke in opposition to “the Occupation.” 7

In February 2019, J Street U and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Vermont released “corresponding letters” slamming UVM Hillel for receiving funding from Macabee Task Force, a pro-Israel group, for a trip to Israel. 8

Later that year, former and then-J Street U board members wrote a letter to J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami asking the group to advocate for the United States to condition aid to Israel on the country’s actions. 9

During the 2014 Israel-Gaza war, some J Street U campus leaders organized protests against the war in the Jewish community, which eventually spawned the anti-Israel group IfNotNow. 9

Dounn Fellowship

J Street U offers the Dounn fellowship, a one-year study abroad program for undergraduate Americans at universities in Israel. 10 Fellows “receive extensive mentorship and training,” as well as other opportunities to advocate for a stop to U.S. support for the “Occupation,” and to learn more about the Israel-Palestinian conflict. 10

Leadership

Erin Beiner is director of J Street U, a job she began after having worked for HIAS while in the Avodah Jewish Service Corps. 11 Maya Pollack is J Street U’s assistant director. Previously, she worked for New Story Leadership, a “peace building organization” funded by the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. 12 13 J Street U also has six regional coordinators and a senior coordinator for communications and operations. 14

In addition to its professional leadership, J Street U has a student board. As of February 2025, Daniel Wittenberg was national board president and a senior at the University of Arizona. He founded his university’s J Street U chapter as a freshman. 15

Alisha Levine was VP for Public Affairs and a senior at Gettysburg College as of 2025 and had participated in “anti-occupation advocacy” for four years. 16

References

  1. “J Street U.” J Street, 22 Aug. 2024, https://jstreet.org/j-street-u/.
  2. “Welcoming J Street U.” Princeton Alumni Weekly, 2025, paw.princeton.edu/article/welcoming-j-street-u.
  3. J Street U. “X.com.” X (Formerly Twitter), 2025, https://x.com/jstreetu/status/1882100221335024108.
  4. Edwards, Sally. “Hillel Temporarily Suspends J Street after Flyering Campaign Sparks Police Response | News | the Harvard Crimson.” Thecrimson.com, 9 Oct. 2024, www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/10/9/harvard-hillel-j-street-suspended-flyers/.
  5. J Street U. “X.com.” X (Formerly Twitter), 26 Apr. 2024, https://x.com/jstreetu/status/1783943509801566467.
  6. Executive Board of Duke J Street U. “Duke J Street U Statement on “Gaza Solidarity Encampments.”” The Chronicle, 2 May 2024, www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024/05/050224-duke-j-street-u-statement-on-encampments.
  7. Vaid, Ishita. “Former IDF Soldiers Speak out against Israeli Occupation at J Street U Duke Event.” The Chronicle, 28 Mar. 2024, www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024/03/duke-university-former-idf-soldiers-speak-out-against-israeli-occupation-j-street-u-duke-event-anti-occupation-organization-breaking.
  8. Richman, Jackson. “J Street U, SJP Launch New Campaign Targeting Pro-Israel Community – JNS.org.” JNS.org, 3 Feb. 2019, www.jns.org/j-street-u-sjp-chapters-at-university-of-vermont-release-letters-slamming-hillel/.
  9.  Cohen, Mari. “J Street Goes on Offense, Carefully.” Jewish Currents, 5 May 2021, www.jewishcurrents.org/j-street-goes-on-offense-carefully.
  10. “Dounn Fellowship – J Street.” J Street, 17 Jan. 2023, https://jstreet.org/j-street-u/dounn-fellowship/.
  11. “Erin Beiner – J Street.” J Street, 27 May 2022, https://jstreet.org/about-us/staff/erin-beiner/#.YjOWcDUpCUk.
  12. “Maya Pollack – J Street.” J Street, 16 July 2024, jstreet.org/about-us/staff/maya-pollack/.
  13. “New Story Leadership.” New Story Leadership , 2025, www.newstoryleadership.org/about-nsl
  14. “Staff – J Street.” J Street, 29 Jan. 2025, http://jstreet.org/about-us/staff/.
  15. “Student Board – J Street.” J Street, 29 Jan. 2025, http://jstreet.org/j-street-u/board/.
  16. “Alisha Levine – J Street.” J Street, 6 June 2024, http://jstreet.org/j-street-u/board/alisha-levine/.
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