Every Thursday evening, a group of Jewish students gather for a student-led Torah study. Attendees share company, eat snacks and discuss the parshah of the week. No knowledge of Torah is required.

This is a typical meeting for Chavurah USC, a new organization for the Jewish community on campus. 

Chavurah’s community guidelines describe itself as “an independent, pluralistic, and egalitarian student-led space for Jewish students to connect with each other and their Judaism on their own terms at USC.” Chavurah’s guidelines also state their support of “liberation and self-determination of all people, including the Jewish and Palestinian people.” 

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Students founded the group last spring after the University’s response to pro-Palestinian protests and cancelation of Asna Tabassum’s valedictory speech. Chavurah’s guidelines also state that it welcomes “discussions from diverse perspectives regarding Zionism, Liberation, and Peace.”

Jacob Pincus, a student currently on a leave of absence from studying film and television production, is a board member for Chavurah. Before coming to USC in 2021, he spent a year in Israel, where he studied the Torah and became involved in Palestinian solidarity activism.

Pincus said many Jewish students did not feel they had a home that fit their values before Chavurah’s founding.

“Our Jewish institutions set expectations, whether explicitly or implicitly, that supporting the state of Israel and their government’s war on Gaza was a necessity to be a part of our Jewish communities,” Pincus said. “Chavurah USC is a part of a new generation of Jews reinvigorating meaningful religious content into our increasingly assimilated communities.”

Chavurah hosts activities for Jewish students to engage with their religion, culture and heritage. Recent events include Halloweekend Shabbat, Sukkot learning and classes on Ladino, a romance language derived from Old Spanish and spoken by Sephardic Jews.

Shiloh Gonsky, a board member and senior studying music industry as well as classical guitar and songwriting, said while Chavurah was formed from political circumstances, the group also offers traditional programming otherwise unavailable to students, noting the Ladino classes.

“I’ve never been offered to learn another language that’s related to Judaism,” Gonsky said. “We do Torah study and have these deep conversations about what rabbis have taught us in the past and how we can use these lessons to apply to our lives currently.”

Chavurah is currently applying for status as a Recognized Student Organization for Spring 2025. Gonsky said she hopes they will be granted status to reach people through EngageSC and book more spaces on campus.

USC Hillel, a Jewish institution on campus, identifies Israel as “a core element of Jewish life and a gateway to Jewish identity.” Hillel International’s standards of partnership also prohibit collaboration with parties that “deny the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state with secure and recognized borders.”

Beatrix Heard, a Chavurah board member and a senior studying global studies as well as urban planning, said the group wanted to engage with their Judaism without political pressure.

“There are definitely Jewish institutions in which your politics are required for entry,” Heard said. “We just wanted a space to be Jewish, and it felt like all of the institutions were focusing on something else.”

Through joining Chavurah, Heard said she felt accepted by people she had never met before and now calls them her best friends.

“I don’t have to sacrifice any part of what I believe in or the way I practice Judaism to be friends with these people and be in these spaces, and I can just be completely open,” Heard said.

Chavurah plans to decenter Israel from Jewish culture on the University campus. Pincus said Chavurah’s actions are not radical and that the Israeli government is prioritizing “domination of the land over our safety.”

Chavurah USC  is not the first group of its kind. In the 1970s, chavurot formed across the United States as part of a counter-cultural movement to provide Jewish Americans with alternatives to mainstream Jewish institutions. The groups celebrated and led worship together, adopting progressive ideals like egalitarianism and unconventional forms of governance.

Natalie McClure, a board member and a junior studying environmental studies as well as French, said she is optimistic about Chavurah’s promotion of alternative engagement among Jewish students.

“I think that will be interesting in a Jewish learning space for people on campus who haven’t experienced that, and who either haven’t gotten to engage a lot with text or just have been in the spaces where it is not inclusive of the egalitarian concepts,” McClure said.