After reading the recent opinion piece by Rabbi Oren Hayon (“How much have we lost?” May 30) about the divisive BDS debate at the UW, I’m struck by the strong, thoughtful, effective leadership we enjoy and have enjoyed at our Hillel. Rabbi Hayon didn’t fully describe the important strategic role he played in coordinating campus and community resources during the past two years in anticipation of the threat to Israel’s legitimacy posed by the BDS campus effort. But he didn’t stop there. He recognizes the collateral damage caused by such a campaign, even while the BDS effort was stymied at UW. He understands that the real battle is over the hearts and minds of our young Jews, a large segment of whom are not comfortable with Israel or the portrayal of Israel in the media. Our community’s challenge is to continue reaching out and embracing the next generation, helping them to live Jewishly, and connect to Jews world wide and in Israel in particular.
This thoughtful approach, which looks at the overall struggle and not just today’s battle, is consistent with a tradition of wise, talented leaders we’ve enjoyed at Hillel at the UW, such as Rabbis Jacobovitz, Bridge and Berkovitz. As a community, we’ve been blessed with this leadership.
Rob Spitzer
Mercer Island