San Diego Jewish Community Seeks Support For Israel
San Diego Jewish Community Seeks Support For Israel
October 17, 2023
Americans for Ben-Gurion University stands with Ben-Gurion University and its counterparts in Israel, urging academic institutions worldwide to condemn Hamas terrorism and stand with Israel.
San Diego Jewish World — Jewish community members are asking various institutions and organizations to indicate their support for Israel and opposition to Hamas in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 invasion of Israel by Hamas terrorists who murdered over 1,000 civilians and also took approximately 150 hostages.
Jason Bercovitch, Andrea Beth Damsky and Sheri Sachs are asking fellow members of the San Diego County Democratic Central Committee to condemn “in the strongest possible terms the massacre of innocent Israeli and American civilians by the Hamas terrorist organization”; oppose “all efforts to justify terrorism and celebrations of terrorist attacks”; and remain “committed to fighting all forms of hate, calling it out wherever it exists, ensuring that all members of the Jewish community are safe, included and respected within the San Diego County Democratic Party.”
Meanwhile, Susan Lapidus, executive director of the Murray Galinson San Diego Israel Initiative, is circulating among college presidents in the greater San Diego area a letter from the presidents of nine universities in Israel denouncing the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“This was an act of singular barbaric violence which must be thoroughly renounced,” wrote the presidents of Bar Ilan University, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Open University of Israel, Ariel University, Tel Aviv University, University of Haifa, and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.”
The Israeli presidents appealed to their colleagues in academia to take a clear stand.
“As the guardians of higher education and academia, actively pursuing knowledge for the benefit of humanity, as role models for and teachers of the leadership of tomorrow, we all share the responsibility to educate our communities,” the Israeli university presidents said. “What values are we passing on? Freedom of speech and academic freedom, absolutely. But a stand against barbaric violence perpetrated on civilian populations? We know you join us in renouncing such acts of violence” said Susan Lapidus, executive director of the Murray Galinson San Diego Israel Initiative.
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