Until recently, I had never heard of Rabbi Ben Packer. And then I read two detailed reports about a summer trip to Israel led by Texas Hillel’s Rabbi Moshe Trepp that went ‘off the beaten path.’ Multiple students from the University of Texas at Austin reported meeting with this far-right extremist and receiving a tour from him while in Jerusalem. As a Jewish student at UT Austin, I was outraged.
If you are also unfamiliar with Rabbi Ben Packer, he is a leader in the settler movement. He is also an outspoken supporter of Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League (JDL), which is recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Kach, a terrorist organization.
Packer runs the Jerusalem Heritage House (JHH), a hostel that prominently displays pictures of Meir Kahane and offer volunteer opportunities in West Bank outposts illegal even under Israeli law. The JHH has also received complaints from the Israel Religious Action Center for discriminating against non-Jewish guests. As reported by New Voices, several UT students have stayed at the JHH at Rabbi Trepp’s recommendation.
Packer is also a shareholder in an organization that funds Canary Mission, a website that shames student activists and posts their private information. While Canary Mission claims to identify people that “promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses,” they primarily target student activists that are critical of Israel, largely students of color. Information from Canary Mission was even used by Israeli security agencies to deny entry to Palestinian-American Lara Alqasem in October 2018.
The trip that Rabbi Trepp leads to Israel every summer is related to the course that he taught at Hillel for many years, called the Jewish Learning Fellowships (JLF). Until recently, Rabbi Trepp was a staff member of Texas Hillel. During that time, Hillel knew about his Israel trip, but they don’t claim responsibility for it – a fine, almost impossible line to walk. It was on this trip that UT students met with Packer.
You read that right. The former Texas Hillel rabbi led a trip to Israel that included meeting with a Kahanist who breaks Israeli law, discriminates against non-Jewish guests at his hostel, and targets student activists that advocate for Palestinian rights. And as reported by one student, Packer was carrying a gun during their tour and said “I’ll shoot an Arab if I have to.”
It is horrific and unacceptable that Texas Hillel students were brought to meet with Packer during their recent trip to Israel. When Texas Hillel associates with Packer, they not only legitimize his racist, far-right ideology; they also condone Canary Mission and the malicious silencing of anti-occupation activists.
It is yet another reminder of the moral hypocrisy that defines the American Jewish establishment today. While Texas Hillel advertises itself as a group that promotes Jewish values such as tzedek (social justice) and tikkun olam (healing the world), their social justice work doesn’t extend to confronting or critiquing the Israeli occupation.
Hillel’s Standards of Partnership clearly state that they will not “partner with, house or host organizations, groups or speakers that…delegitimize, demonize or apply a double standard to Israel.” While this may sound good in theory, in practice it is a way for Hillel to shut down conversations regarding the occupation, particularly Palestinian or leftist perspectives.
As Rabbi Trepp’s Israel trip and meeting with Packer show us, Hillel doesn’t place any corresponding limits on programs with right-wing extremists or speakers that promote Islamophobic, racist, or sexist beliefs. Texas Hillel should abide by UT Austin’s non-discrimination policy that academics and student organizations are held to.
As much as Rabbi Trepp denied the political nature of his trip, going into the West Bank to visit settlements actually works to justify the occupation. Rabbi Trepp advertised his trip as a trip to Israel, while many of the locations the group visited were in occupied Palestinian territory, according to international law. Calling the West Bank “Israel” erases the occupation of millions of Palestinians. While in the West Bank, students were never introduced to Palestinians. However, they were introduced to soldiers, settlers, and far-right propaganda, including a sign in Hebron that read “THIS LAND WAS STOLEN BY ARABS.”
Texas Hillel needs to stop partnering with, or silently condoning, racist and far-right figures like Ben Packer. Our center for Jewish student life needs to be held accountable for the education they have provided on campus and in Israel through programs like the JLF. Texas Hillel cannot say it is dedicated to social justice and healing the world while claiming the West Bank as part of Israel and introducing students to hateful ideologues. We expect our Jewish leaders to exhibit moral integrity and speak out against injustice, not support or legitimize racist leaders and hate groups.
Liana Petruzzi is a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin.
Alaine Bennett is a current student at Northeastern University, majoring in interaction design and minoring in psychology. She has been involved in magazine design since high school, and is currently a designer for her school’s newspaper.
