BOSTON — Four rabbis are engaged in an animated debate about Jewish law. Three of them agree, but the dissenter is adamant that he’s got it right. He cries out: “A sign, God, I beg You, a sign!”

It begins to rain, but the three in the majority are not swayed. “Another sign, please God!”

The rain picks up and lightning strikes near the rabbis, but still the three refuse to budge. After another plea from the one rabbi, a voice thunders from Heaven: “Heeeee’s Riiiiight!” The three rabbis look at each other, not sure how to react. Finally, one responds: “Well, all right. So it’s three against two.”

This lighthearted parable — an adapted version of the Talmud’s “Oven of Akhnai” story — highlights one of the foundational truths of Judaism: We do not always agree on our foundational truths.

Our disagreements are not a hindrance to communal existence but rather the source of an intellectual diversity. No matter the subject, it is precisely in and through these disagreements that Judaism finds its richest expression.

Open Hillel — a student-led campaign to change a Hillel International rule that, among other things, precludes it from partnering with groups that seek to change Israeli policies through nonviolent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) efforts — is hosting our first conference this week at Harvard. We are gathering because we believe that the principle of intellectual diversity ought to apply to our politics as well as our theology.

While our core demand is that Hillel International drop its so-called “Standards of Partnership” rules, our movement has much more to do with ensuring a Jewish future that recognizes the diversity of the Jewish people. Even among our organizers, there are many different opinions on Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel). But we are united by our shared commitment to a vibrant am Yisrael, to a Jewish people that carries on the treasured communal, spiritual, prophetic and ethical values of Jewish tradition.

By enforcing standards that alienate a significant cohort of the Jewish student population, Hillel International has failed to foster an inclusive space for all members of the Jewish community. While this may please certain vocal and powerful elements of the American political establishment, it ultimately amounts to an abandonment of many Jewish students and a weakening of the Jewish community.