Participating in the upcoming J Street Conference along with former Secretary of State James Baker, who famously said, "F**k the Jews they won't vote for us anyway," is Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO of Hillel International. Some may find it surprising to see the head of Hillel cooperating with an organization Professor Alan Dershowitz once described as “neither pro-Israel nor pro-peace.” When parents encourage their children to enroll in their campus Hillel, they may not be aware that Fingerhut associates with the anti-Israel J Street.

When he was about to take the position with Hillel, Fingerhut said in an interview:

And I will tell you that in my own thinking about this job, the clarity that the board had on that question is an important thing that persuaded me to take the job, because I am personally in my life deeply committed to Israel and would only be part of an organization that is not only pro-Israel in its own behavior, but is helping to instill the love of Israel in the people we serve, the young adults that we serve.

On the other hand, J Street and its college organization J Street U regularly partners with anti-Israel groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. As TruthRevolt reported last April, some J Street students on the campus of UC Berkeley publicly supported the campaign for student government president of Naweed Mohabbat, an advocate of divestment from Israel.

In 2014, after the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations rejected the membership of the anti-Israel J Street, Fingerhut, as well as Chairman of the Board of Hillel International Sidney Pertnoy, wrote a letter to J Street which said in part:

The vote has no effect whatsoever on Hillel’s relationship with J Street U and its student members. Like other Hillel students and student groups, J Street U’s members add their perspective to the rich tapestry of ideas within our tent ... Hillel International was built on the value of pluralism and remains committed to embracing wide-ranging expressions of Jewish thought and ideals, and we believe our upcoming membership in the Conference of Presidents will be an opportunity to spread those values.

Hillel Chief Administrative Officer David Eden told JNS.org:

Hillel’s relationship with J Street U and its student members has been well documented. Hillel welcomes all Jewish students into an open, pluralistic environment no matter their politics or perspectives. Hillel International empowers students at a campus Hillel to make decisions that reflect their local environments. This results in Hillel's partnering with a diverse range of campus organizations, including J Street U and many others.

As Alan Dershowitz stated: "I analogize (J Street) to Jews for Jesus. They (Jews for Jesus) fool students into thinking it is a Jewish organization and J Street fools students into thinking it is a pro-Israel organization."