Rabbi Ari Israel has spent 22 years as the executive director at the University of Maryland Hillel — and he doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon.

“He calls working as the executive director of Hillel at the University of Maryland his life’s calling,” said Hilary Rappaport, a Springboard Innovation Fellow focused on student engagement at Maryland Hillel.

But, as a child, Israel’s only connection to the University of Maryland was his love for their sports teams. Growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland, Israel attended Berman Hebrew Academy and went on to spend two gap years in Israel during the First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising, in 1987.

There was a lot of tension in the country at the time. Protests were popping up all over the country, but Israel’s teacher did not allow students to attend any.   

“He said, ‘until you’re going to move to Israel, you don’t have a right to say and dictate what someone else is going to do when life is on the line’ and I sort of ascribe to that,” Israel described his teacher’s reasoning. “What is my voice?…That was very impactful and meaningful to me.”

He left his gap years with a stronger connection to Judaism and decided to enroll in Yeshiva University in New York. He majored in biology and had every intention of going to medical school – until a rabbi made an announcement that changed the trajectory of his life. 

This rabbi said that a Jewish Day school had just been opened in Tallinn, Estonia. While the school had 200 students enrolled, it had no teachers and needed help. 

Israel decided to go. He took a leave of absence in the middle of the semester and went to the former Soviet Union for five weeks. He didn’t speak a word of Russian and kept a strictly kosher diet. Israel said he lost 20 pounds during his time there, but he filled up on a different type of nutrients.

“I came back and fell in love with the Jewish people and decided to go to rabbinical school,” Israel said.

During his last year of rabbinical school at 26 years old, Israel interviewed for the executive director position at the University of Rochester Hillel. A connection he made at Hillel International gave him a recommendation, and although he had never held an executive position before, he landed the job. “The first board meeting I ever attended in my life was the board meeting I had to run when I got the job, so I had zero experience,” Israel said. “I do believe I had a sort of youth, enthusiasm, teaching ability, creativity… but it was a stretch.”

After several formative years in Rochester, Israel was ready for the next chapter.

He moved back to his home state, Maryland, in 2003 and took the job as executive director at the Maryland Hillel. Along with running the Hillel, he also teaches a class at the university called “Leadership and the Jewish Community,” where he pushes students to explore their identity. 

“He has a very clear vision of what Jewish life should be, and also understands that we never know what’s going to happen in terms of antisemitism on campus,” Rappaport said. “The biggest thing he has taught me is to really pay attention to those little details and make an effort to get to know as many students as possible.”

Rappaport noted his ability to remember something about everyone he meets, making each person feel welcomed and seen. She also said that when the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel occurred, Israel tried to make sure every student on campus felt safe.  

He said that it was one of the most difficult experiences of his career.

“The constant barrage of splitting time between my regular administrative duties as executive director… and then adding on that layer of crisis,” Israel said. “I do use the word crisis: crisis of identity, crisis of safety, crisis of attack, crisis of defense, crisis of offense.”

In mid-October of 2023, Israel did not leave campus until around midnight for 13 days straight.  

He said he recognized the tension and anxiety on campus. At the same time, he has a personal connection to the war with friends and cousins who know loved ones who have died. While he said he recognized that the environment on campus was not as pressing as the war itself, it was still serious and important. 

“We’re not dying here, but we don’t want to ignore this, because we can’t downplay everything, but we also can’t overplay everything. How do you navigate that?” Israel said. “When do you learn how to raise the heat and lower the temperature at the same time?”

When Israel returned home one night after a long day on campus dealing with protests riddled with antisemitic chants, he saw his daughter – who was 15 at the time – studying the Gettysburg Address in her bed. She asked if he had time to help her. 

“I said, ‘as much time as you need’… and she says, ‘Abba, I don’t want to keep you awake,’” Israel said. “That moment of being able to be there with my daughter was a very big break.”

Despite the challenges, Israel said the personal connections and long-term impact continue to ground him. The most meaningful experiences of his career are when he has the opportunity to officiate the marriage of a Jewish couple. 

“I’ve done that, you know, probably close to 100 times, and each one is extremely impactful,” Israel said. “It goes back to the reason why I’m in this field, it’s not about just a four-year experience. It’s about lifetime relationships.”

Toam Rubinstein Zarco, a Maryland alumna who graduated in 2010, married Brandon Zarco, a fellow Maryland alumnus from the class of 2013. They met after college but both connected through their love for Hillel and Rabbi Israel. 

When asked why they chose Israel to marry them, Rubinstein Zarco didn’t hesitate. “There was no question about it,” she said.

“I think his superpower is he has so many people that he connects with and shepherds through this Jewish life in Maryland,” Rubinstein Zarco said. “The way that he can connect with so many people on such a deep level is really special.”

She reminisced on a time where she told Israel she wanted to join a trip to Poland through an organization called March of The Living. Even though it was not offered at Maryland, Israel found a program that was fully funded so that she could have this opportunity.

“Those are just little things that he does for people that shape their life and their college experience… he’s just amazing,” Rubinstein Zarco said.

Although two decades have passed, Israel’s passion for this community has not faded. 

Israel will be kept busy with the process of building a new Maryland Hillel, set to be two and a half times larger, with two levels and modern amenities. The new facility is scheduled to be completed by spring 2026.

“I will stay as long as I have a job that I can continue to love, continue to have an impact,” Israel said. “What’s kept me here is the ever-flowing change of recognizing that every student, every generation, is a world of themselves.”