Ongoing violence in Israel caused Jewish Religious Advisor Nathan Margalit to call off the annual Hillel-sponsored Birthright Israel trip, which provides Jewish college students with a free trip to Israel. Margalit said that he made his decision last week based on advice he received from Five Colleges, Inc. Risk Manager Elizabeth Carmichael, citing a U.S. State Department warning against travel to Israel.

Five Smith College students, one Hampshire College student and ten Amherst College students had signed up for the trip, which was to take place from Jan. 7-18.

"Based on advice from [Carmichael], I didn't have any other choice," said Margalit.

"In our case, the Hillel is not an independent Hillel. It is not supported by Hillel International," Margalit said. "Hillel at Smith and Amherst are actually Amherst and Smith College-supported organizations. Therefore, it makes the College liable for any outings, any college-sponsored event."

Margalit said that before he came to a decision he felt compelled to consult with a legal advisor from Five Colleges, Inc. He contacted Carmichael, who advised him that the trip would be too much of a liability concern for the College. "I asked [Carmichael] for advice in this regard. She contacted the State Department website, which has three levels of warnings," he said. "The warning posted at that time was that the State Department asked Americans to defer any travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. With that warning, we couldn't procede."

Margalit said that Dean of Students Ben Lieber and Smith Dean of the College Maureen Mahoney told him that they supported his decision.

Though Amherst and Smith have withdrawn sponsorship of the Birthright Israel trip, other colleges have not. "I think on campuses where the Hillel organization is independent of the college or the university, many of those are going ahead with the program. Hillel International decided to go forward with this year's trip," said Margalit.

Amherst Hillel President Adriane Sandler '02 said that she understood the administration's concern but disagreed with the decision. "I think it's really upsetting that Amherst made the decision that Birthright shouldn't go," she said. "It sends a really negative message that Israel is not safe. It's like the terrorists are winning."

"There are other opportunities for people to go on trips like this as grad students, so all is not lost," said Margalit.

Adam Lessler '01, who had signed up for the trip, said he agreed with Margalit's decision. "I think it was a good decision," he said.

Lessler said that because of the present situation in Israel, he had planned on withdrawing from the trip before it was canceled. "I'm obviously disappointed, but it's not safe to go," he said.