An update about Israel on campus

This weekend marked another traumatic week for the worldwide Jewish community. Our team has been working non-stop to hold safe spaces for our students, fielding calls from concerned parents and community members, and working with administrations to respond to the crises in Israel and on their campuses.

As one of the few multi-campus Hillels in the country, we work with Jewish students from the edge of the Appalachian Mountains to the coast of Carolina. During a challenging time like this, where the national spotlight is focused on one of our campuses, we do our best to serve all, and provide a reasoned voice for all North Carolinians, from faculty and staff to graduate students to the broader University communities.

In the past two weeks we have provided opportunities large and small, formal and informal, for students to process this unfolding tragedy. Hillel staff are advising and providing individual support to students on campus and studying abroad, and we have also been in regular touch with our parent, alumni, and faculty communities.

Our Hillels remain open and active for everyone who needs a space to share in their loss, grief, and confusion. Our community needs us now in a way that we prayed they would never need us. Our principal investment right now is in ensuring that the increased number of individuals who come to us feel secure in our presence, physically and mentally.

Even with many of our campuses having Fall Break for some of the past two weeks, our staff and students at our eight campus Hillels have been quick to partner with other Jewish groups on and around campus, to create vigils/solidarity gatherings, Israel educational programs, and various mental wellness activities. Additionally, from day one of the war, our staff and board have been working with all of our college administrations to advocate publicly for our students’ safety and well being. We are immensely grateful for our campus partners as we all cope and process with this ongoing tragedy.

We also thank everyone in the community, our Federation partners, and congresspeople in the NC General Assembly and the US House of Representatives (in particular Representatives Kathy Manning, Deborah Ross, and Caleb Rudow), for the backing we have received in words, actions, and resources.

At UNC Chapel Hill, the University put out a statement last Friday afternoon. This was emailed to the entire university community and is available online. In his statement, Chancellor Guskiewicz specifically cites NC Hillel as a resource for students on campus. In addition, the UNC Student Government Executive Branch released a statement on their Instagram condemning antisemitism and islamophobia at Carolina.

Our six Link campuses, which do not rely on having a permanent facility, empower students to create meaningful spaces throughout their campuses. Having that framework already in place allowed our students to quickly create safe environments on their campuses where they and their peers could gather to mourn. WRAL covered one of our student-led vigil at ECU, initiated by Jack Meltsner who last summer participated in Hillel International's Israel Insight Fellowship and before that took a gap year in Israel.

Please encourage the students you know to take breaks from their phone, connect with positive, productive spaces like Hillel, or reach out to trained mental health professionals to balance the negativity they are hearing on social media and the news, as it is easy for them to become even more isolated from their peers. Trying to solve or fix anything for them while they have heightened emotions tends to add more stress. If you know a student in crisis, please connect them to one of our campus professionals.

Many of you have reached out to ask how you can help at this moment:

If you would like to support our students and Jewish life on campus, we invite you to contribute online to the campus of your choice. You may also designate your gift to our special Israel and Security fund, supporting the programs and security above and beyond our regular Hillel programming.

Now more than ever, please know that any contribution you make is critical to enriching the lives of Jewish students across North Carolina.

The work we do at Hillel has never felt more needed or important. We are honored to do it, and we are grateful for your support.

L'Shalom,
Hannah Spinrad
Executive Director