May 2021: In light of current events, the Center has updated and re-committed to the following pledge. Since our founding in 2003, the Center has created student programming and offered dozens of new classes, as well as hosted many community events and academic conferences, that begin to address the problems described in this pledge and our responsibility to create programming that helps increase understanding and improve discussions.
As teachers and researchers in Jewish Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, we are deeply concerned about the deadly violence in Israel and Palestine, and we recognize the anguish this heightened conflict is causing worldwide. The Carolina Center for Jewish Studies is committed to offering programming for students and the general public that will allow us all to learn more about current and historical events and improve our understanding of diverse perspectives. We are currently working on programming for 2021-2022, through the College’s Countering Hate initiative, and hope the campus and local communities will join us for these events and discussions.
As teachers and researchers in Jewish Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, we are deeply concerned about the waves of hostility directed at Jews, Muslims, Blacks, Latinxs, Asian Americans, LGBTQ communities, refugees, immigrants and other minorities in the United States and across the globe. Jewish history has taught us that when a group of people is singled out as dangerous and targeted—whether based on religion, national origin, citizenship status, race, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation, or veteran status—this constitutes a threat to all of civil society.
As teachers and researchers in Jewish Studies at UNC Chapel Hill we are committed to speaking out when the lessons of Jewish history are relevant to the present. We therefore affirm the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies’ commitment to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for its faculty, students, staff, and community and value the perspectives that diverse traditions and the free and open exchange of ideas bring to the academy.