Registration Open for For Israel Team Hillel 5K Run/Walk

Applications to participate in the first FIT (For Israel Team Hillel) 5K run/walk to benefit the Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement (RHCIE) are now being accepted.  

The event, scheduled rain or shine on April 29 in Buccleuch Park, New Brunswick, is the brainchild of co-chairs David Yellin, Dr. Richard Bullock and Jennifer Bullock, all of Edison, who say they were inspired to develop the fundraising event after attending last year’s Rutgers University Hillel Gala where they heard student reports about anti-Israel activity on campus. Response from sponsors has been outstanding, according to the organizers, who hope to make FIT 5K an annual event.

This past semester, with the financial assistance of New Jersey Jewish Federations statewide, as well as private donors and foundations, Rutgers Hillel created and staffed RHCIE, the first program of its kind in the US. Activities planned and implemented by student leaders, under the guidance of RHCIE Director Tzvi Raviv and Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Lihi Rothschild, were so successful that they drew immediate media attention in the US and Israel. The RHCIE is being held up as a national model for excellence in Israel engagement, education and advocacy on campus, according to Andrew Getraer, Rutgers Hillel Executive Director.

Yellin, whose son Gregory is a Rutgers alum and a Hillel staff member, said he believes support of the RHCIE mission is an imperative.  FIT 5K will help ensure a permanent pro-Israel infrastructure at Rutgers.

The FIT 5K is an official USATF New Jersey Grand Prix 500-point event.  Awards will be given to the top three men and women in each age group (in five-year increments).  Participants may run the 5K or walk one mile. The event will be followed by a community Israel block party, with food, music and fun. Registration is online at www.bestrace.com or a registration form can be printed from the Rutgers Hillel site www.rutgershillel.org.