The Jewish Voice for Peace opened a petition to the Brandeis community Sunday night requesting that Hillel at Brandeis accept JVP as a member group after Hillel's recent decision not to include it.According to co-founder of JVP Liza Behrendt '11, the petition was created after various discussions with members of the Brandeis community following the decision.

"[JVP realized] that there is a lot of outrage about Hillel's decision and a lot of support for a change," said Behrendt.

Fliers distributed by JVP members at the Usdan Student Center list a website where individuals can sign the petition, as well as arguments to include JVP as a Hillel member group and upcoming events to be hosted by JVP. The flier says that Hillel at Brandeis has included "all other Jewish groups" on campus and that institutions like Hillel should include "different approaches to peace." JVP says that the decision to not include Hillel "has denied students the opportunity to discuss" issues such as the boycott of products made in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, an act the JVP supports.

According to Behrendt, JVP is not aiming for a specific number of signatures but says that it will present the petition to Hillel and ask the student board to reconsider its decision if JVP demonstrates that it has gained support from the Brandeis community.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Hillel at Brandeis President Andrea Wexler '11 wrote that the petition process "has been very peaceful and professional" and that JVP has the right to free speech and to create a petition.

Wexler also wrote in the same e-mail that the decision to exclude JVP was based on guidelines set by the International Hillel organization which stated that JVP was not eligible to be a member group of Hillel because of its support of boycotts of Israeli products in the West Bank settlements and is not "subject to an appeal by petition."

Behrendt said that "it's important to remember that the Hillel guidelines are guidelines. They're not binding rules." She and added that each Hillel group is free to interpret the guidelines however it believes is appropriate.

According to the guidelines found on the International Hillel organization's website, Hillel cannot partner with groups that "[support] boycott of, divestment from, or sanctions against the State of Israel."

Behrendt said that Hillel at Brandeis's decision is "representative of a much larger problem of restrictions on dialogue within the Jewish community."

In the flier circulated in support of the petition, JVP says that Hillel at Brandeis's constitution is devoted to a "pluralistic community," inclusive of all opinions and discussions.

According to Hillel at Brandeis's constitution, membership is "extended to every undergraduate and graduate student enrolled at [the] University."

Behrendt said that since the decision, Hillel at Brandeis has not reached out to JVP for any type of discussion or collaboration. Wexler confirmed this but added in her e-mail, "We have had many previous, productive discussions" and that Hillel at Brandeis is "still very much interested in working with [JVP] in the future."

When asked about support for Hillel's decision, Wexler wrote that Hillel at Brandeis has received "many e-mails and phone calls" in support the board's recent decision.