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Dear Friends,
A new academic year is upon us! The Class of 2029 has arrived, returning students are back, and classes just got underway. From the moment the first of our 200 first-year students and their parents walked in the door for bagels at the end of move-in there has been a palpable energy and excitement about the year ahead that has only grown as students continued to arrive. The building is hopping once again, and there are smiles on students’ faces. We're off to a great start.
And yet, serious challenges persist. It seems like ages ago that I wrote to you from Amman, and despite the many weeks of summer that have passed since my return, the situation in Israel has only grown more complex and difficult. Today's recovery of the bodies of Ilan Weiss z"l and another as-yet unidentified hostage presents yet another moment of mourning and reflection. May the memories of those who have finally come home along with those of all who have been lost be for a blessing. We continue to keep those still in captivity in our hearts (today marks 693 days). More broadly, war trauma for civilians continues, and the situation in Gaza is dire. With no end in sight and the two-year mark of the war approaching, the sense of suffering can be overwhelming.
While things outside seem uncertain, there are reasons for great optimism for the Yale Jewish community:
- Jewish students are excited to be at Yale, and seem ready to take on the new year with energy, resilience and optimism.
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Rabbi Emmanuel Cantor has joined the Slifka team, and is hard at work meeting with students, planning classes he’ll be offering this Fall, and learning what makes this community strong and where he can uniquely contribute to making it even stronger.
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Yale has been steadfast in its commitment to enforcing its policies, has implemented training on antisemitism, and has expanded resources and guidance for students and staff to follow campus rules and understand the consequences of violating them.
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Our partnership with Yale Security and Yale Police is as strong as ever, including ever-evolving methods of securing Slifka’s building and the community it houses.
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We are looking forward to hosting a number of honored guests this year, including Rabbi Angela Buchdahl who will lead Reform Services and participate in the programming for our first-ever Asian Jewish Shabbaton at Slifka in October. This program will be in partnership with Hillel International, as well as the Hillels at Princeton, Brown RISD, and NYU.
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We continue to be in regular conversations with the Yale administration to help them support Jewish life, fight antisemitism, and cultivate a campus climate that is supportive of Jewish students as part of the larger campus whole.
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I'm so pleased to share that Yale has finally eliminated weekend final exams! Finals occurring on Shabbat has been a major academic issue for Jewish students and other religious students for a very long time. Many students did not have access to certain classes because of the old exam schedule, and others were required to take Fall semester course finals after the winter break. We are so grateful to Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis for ensuring that religious observance is not an obstacle to academic success by making this crucial change. We also owe thanks to University Chaplain Maytal Saltiel and her predecessor Chaplain Sharon Kugler for their decades-long work on this issue. I encourage anyone who wishes to write to them to express thanks.
And this is just the beginning.
This year we are celebrating Slifka’s 30th Anniversary! You may have noticed our 30th Anniversary logo above – Slifka Center opened in September 1995. We didn’t get to celebrate our 25th properly because of the pandemic, so we want to make the most of this milestone.
To that end, I want to acknowledge Joseph ‘62 and Marilyn Schwartz who have led the way by creating a new endowment fund at Slifka to support Jewish Education. This is one of what we hope will be many (30, perhaps?) endowment, legacy or capital gifts in honor of our 30th Anniversary. There are many ways to participate - click here to get more information, and you’ll be hearing from us about this throughout the academic year.
I always ask first-year students why they chose Yale, and they almost always talk about the people they met when they came to visit. They found people that they liked, and people they could learn from. They found a campus environment where Jewish life thrives, and a Jewish community in which they could both be comfortable and learn a lot. From the energy, aspirations, and excitement I'm seeing in students of all classes, I am optimistic that our community will continue to be strong, stay resilient and truly thrive despite the challenging world in which we find ourselves.
As is always true, we could not do this work without you. For 30 years, the partnership between Slifka and you - our dedicated alumni, parents and friends - have made it possible for Jewish life to grow and blossom. We look forward to that partnership continuing for many decades more. Thank you for reading, and for all your support.
Sincerely,
Uri
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