Dear Friends,
Chag Sameach. This is the traditional greeting we give each other on holidays and festive occasions. Today we celebrate Yom Ha’atzma’ut – the 77th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. We transition from the solemnity and commemoration of Yom Hazikaron memorials to a celebration of Israel’s existence. At the same time, we also mark day 573 of captivity for the 59 remaining hostages in Gaza, and of the war Hamas started which continues to take its toll on Israelis, Palestinians, and others throughout the region. May this Yom Ha’atzma’ut – the second since the war began – be the last one under these difficult and tragic circumstances.
We continue to watch with concern the fires that continue to burn near Jerusalem. We pray that the fires are contained soon and that damage and injury are limited.
At Slifka we actively embrace the project of teaching our students (Jewish and non-Jewish) about Israel as a central aspect of modern Jewish identity, among many others. All year long, we:
- Visit Israel. This year alone we will have sent more than 75 (Jewish and non-Jewish) students to Israel for organized programs, courses of study, work experience, volunteering opportunities, archeological digs, and more. We run Birthright trips, visit the Hartman Institute, and provide grant funding for individual Israel study and exploration. The Peace and Dialogue Initiative brought campus leaders to Israel to study the conflict. I am personally planning to travel to Israel in June to meet with alumni there and bear personal witness to what took place on October 7th.
- Study Israel. Programs like the Marilyn G. and Joseph B. Schwartz ’62 Israel Education Fellowship provide opportunities for students to get to know Israel in greater depth. Our Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Yulia Borik facilitated a cohort of students this semester that studied ethnic diversity within Israeli society, including sessions on Israeli Arabs, the Druze community, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, Aliyah from the Soviet Union; and (of course) Antisemitism. Israel features prominently in our “Intro to Judaism” and “Jewish Learning Fellowship” programs. We had Israeli visitors from across the political spectrum this year to give students the opportunity to engage in civil discourse with those on the ground in Israel.
- Empower student leaders around Israel. We provided mentorship, logistical, financial, planning, and marketing support to many Slifka-affiliated student groups that support positive engagement with Israel. We sent students to nationwide trainings, including Hillel International’s Israel Leadership Network. We work with our students to navigate challenging intra-Jewish conversations that help to hold our community together.
- Support Israeli Yalies. We helped to cultivate community for the Israelis on campus. We also sent delegates to a weekend gathering of Israelis from Ivy League schools in New York last month to share experiences and best practices for supporting Israeli life on campus.
- Share our commitment to Israel publicly by holding public events such as vigils on Cross Campus to commemorate the first anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks, and publicly advertising our Israel-focused activities and events. As a very public proclamation of our commitment, the Israeli flag continues to fly proudly next to the American and Yale flags over our front door. We were so proud to cohost Israeli musician Ishay Ribo near campus this fall, which attracted over 700 attendees.
- Hold Zionism and pluralism tightly together. Our strong commitment to Israel includes embracing the difficult conversations within our community about different ways being a Zionist can look without losing who we are and what we stand for. Institutionally, we also have articulated more often and clearly than ever before that Slifka is and always will be a Zionist organization. We have never and will never platform anti-Zionism. Period.
- We mirror debates within Israel itself: We follow in the footsteps of much of Israeli society by including a wide variety of voices and ideas about how to achieve a lasting peace, and in which order security and dignity should come both to Israelis and Palestinians. Almost everyone wants a lasting and just peace for all, and we embrace the opportunity to share ideas about how to achieve it.
- And (of course) we celebrate Israel. Even though it’s Reading Week and students are under their ultimate academic stress, Slifka is giving everyone a chance for an Israel- themed study break today. Yale Friends of Israel hosted a Yom Ha’atzma’ut Party on Slifka’s Pechter Family Terrace last night, and today we have Israeli music, decorations and snacks in our lobby. Our dining hall is serving Israeli fare all day, and we have a Yom Ha’atzma’ut barbeque later today, among other celebrations.
May this coming year be one of growth, health, healing, aspiration, inspiration, fulfillment and peace for Israel and for all of us. That’s a big birthday wish – there are numerous different perspectives, values, and challenges with which to contend. Slifka remains committed to educating the next generation of Jewish and non-Jewish leaders about the one and only Jewish state, and giving them the opportunities to engage with it, appreciate it, and help make it the best Israel we can collectively imagine.
Chag Sameach to you all, and may we see peace in the Land and for all its inhabitants speedily in our days.
Uri
Top left: Students stand outside Slifka with the Israeli flag flying proudly.
Top right: Ishay Ribo, iconic Israeli musician, for a sold-out evening over 700 attendees in the Fall at Toad’s Place.
Bottom left: October 7th Anniversary Commemoration – Shabbattables with empty seats for hostages, and displays representing many of the kibbutzim attacked on October 7th, 2023.
Bottom right: October 7th Anniversary Vigil at the Women’s Table with more than 275 attendees.