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Statement

2023-2024, Statement

Statement from the Jay Phillips Centers at the University of St. Thomas and Saint John’s University on the Violence in Israel and Gaza

The Jay Phillips Centers at the University of St. Thomas and Saint John’s University affirm our solidarity with all those who in any way have been affected by the recent genocidal attack by Hamas terrorists on people in Israel — especially those who have loved ones who were killed, wounded or taken as hostages — and also with innocent civilians in Gaza and elsewhere who have been directly and indirectly affected by the Israeli government and military response to the Hamas attack. Along with millions of people in Israel and worldwide, we grieve the suffering and death on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We hope and pray that the Israelis and Palestinians who yearn for peace will be able to bring about a just solution to this conflict and thereby increase the collaboration and friendship that many of them have already fostered between their communities.

Acknowledging that brief statements like this inevitably fall short of the reality about which they speak, both because of what they say and what they leave out, we recognize that they remain important for fostering awareness and advocating for peaceful solutions. In times such as these, the inadequacy of silence compels us to amplify diverse voices that promote understanding and empathy, and that may help to promote dialogue and change. Below are some of these diverse voices.

Statements

St. Thomas President Vischer Shares Message on Violence in Israel and Gaza (published 10 Oct 2023): “We hold close to our hearts the innocent lives taken as a result of this past weekend’s terrorist attacks in Israel. The images and stories emerging from the region are beyond horrific, and the pain is expected to intensify as fighting escalates. The University of St. Thomas condemns these attacks, mourns the hundreds of lives lost, and grieves for the thousands of people whose families were impacted.” Click here to read full statement…
Statement from Jewish Community Action: “We are mourning the death and violence happening in Israel and Gaza. We witnessed a massacre perpetrated by Hamas on Israeli citizens. And now, we are witnessing the catastrophic loss of Palestinian life as Israel counterattacks.” Click here to read full statement…
“Amid the Israel-Palestine Conflict, I Feel Despair and Resolve,” Eboo Patel, (published 12 OCT 2023): “I find myself in a spirit of both despair and resolve. Despair about events in the world, resolve to do my part to make it better.” Click here to read full statement…
“Religions for Peace Statement on the Israel-Hamas Conflict” (published 10 OCT 2023): “Religions for Peace is horrified and deeply saddened by the tragic events that took place in Israel this weekend. Our heavy hearts and collective prayers go out to all those affected, especially those who have lost loved ones and those who remain captive.” Click here to read full statement…

October 15, 2023 by hsgustafson

2023-2024, Statement

Statement from Jewish Community Action

Dear Beloved Community,

We write to you with love and with heartbreak. We are mourning the death and violence happening in Israel and Gaza. We witnessed a massacre perpetrated by Hamas on Israeli citizens. And now, we are witnessing the catastrophic loss of Palestinian life as Israel counterattacks. We grieve for each person caught in the impossibility of this moment. We grieve for the people of Israel and for the people of Gaza. There can be no words of comfort; the devastation these actions tears at our moral fiber. We long for a way towards peace.

In moments of fear and pain, we turn to our tradition to guide us. Our JCA values remind us that Anachu Ma’amimin – it is our deepest ethical responsibility to repair a broken world and to work towards an interconnected future knowing that none of us are free until all of us are free.

While our organizing work is local, our relationships bind us to global events. Our hearts are with our mishpacha and chevre struggling for peace, safety, liberation, dignity, and justice in Gaza and Israel. We know that we are safest when we honor our shared humanity and build bridges of solidarity across histories, traditions, identities, and experiences, even and especially when it feels the most difficult. We share each other’s grief, rage, hurt, fear, and humanity, and we pledge to persist in our pursuit of racial and economic justice. We invite you to join us in that work.

In solidarity,

Beth Gendler, Executive Director
Liz Loeb, Board Chair

(republished with permission from the author)

October 15, 2023 by hsgustafson

2022-2023, News, Statement

Jay Phillips Center and the CCJR issues “Call to the Churches of the United States to Confront the Crisis of Antisemitism”

December 14, 2022

The Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR), of which the Jay Phillips Center is a member, issued today a statement entitled, “A National Reckoning of the Soul: A Call to the Churches of the United States to Confront the Crisis of Antisemitism.” The CCJR is a network of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and nonreligious scholars at centers and institutes devoted to the study of the history of Jewish-Christian relations and to promoting interreligious understanding and dialogue.

Alarmed by a level of antisemitic rhetoric and violence not seen since the Second World War, the statement calls upon churches in the United States to intensify condemnations of antisemitism as “antithetical to the very essence of Christianity itself.”

It also urges Christian leaders to encourage their congregations to reflect upon the profound religious significance for Christian faith of Jesus’ identity as a Jew. A deeper understanding of Christianity’s intimate relationship with Jews and Judaism, the CCJR states, will help Christians to reject sacrilegious claims put forth in social media that Christians should hate Jews.

The full text of the statement can be accessed HERE.

—

This Advent, churches urged to assess worship for inadvertent antisemitism
December 14, 2022
By Kathryn Post | Religion News Service (RNS)

December 15, 2022 by hsgustafson

2022-2023, Statement

Statement in Support of our Muslim Students, Colleagues, and Neighbors

Late this past Sunday evening (September 4), a lone individual broke into the Tawfiq Islamic Center in Minneapolis, smashing office doors and destroying offices. In all about $50,000 worth of damage was caused. This is fourth significant mosque incident this year. We stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters and deplore all acts of vandalism against places of worship in the Twin Cities.

Authored: Father Lawrence Blake, Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry

University Interfaith Council co-signees (listed alphabetically by surname):

Linda Baughman, Dean of Students
Father Lawrence Blake, Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry
Consuela Collaso, Interfaith Council Student Representative
Rev. Neil Ellingson, Associate Chaplain, Campus Ministry
Hans Gustafson, Director, Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies
Lisan Hasnain, Interfaith Council Student Representative
Amy Kadrmas, Dougherty Family College
Karen Lange, Vice-President for Student Affairs
Fr. Steven J. McMichael, OFM Conv., Theology Department
Christopher Wong Michaelson, Opus Distinguished Professor of Principled Leadership
Fuad Naeem, Asst. Professor, Theology Department
Rabbi Avi Olitzky, Associate Chaplain, Campus Ministry
Delaney Sacia, Interfaith Council Student Representative
Dr. Sadaf Rauf Shier, Muslim Chaplain, Campus Ministry
Othman Zaimi (Ozzy), Assistant Director, Office of International Students & Scholars

September 8, 2022 by hsgustafson

2022-2023, News, Statement, Uncategorized

Statement in Support of Our Jewish Students, Colleagues, and Neighbors

With Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC), the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas “condemns the distribution of noxious propaganda fliers in neighborhoods across the Twin Cities metro area. Compounding this ugly antisemitism is the invasion of tranquil neighborhoods during the night.” The Jay Phillips Center is committed to the ongoing work of supporting, welcoming, and learning from our Jewish students, colleagues, and neighbors.

In addition to the pursuit of knowledge and practical wisdom, the Jay Phillips Center remains committed to fostering constructive engagement between and among individuals and communities who orient around religion differently for the flourishing of all in a religiously diverse Minnesota. This includes working to build a university community at St. Thomas where members from all religious and non-religious orientations feel welcome to safely and freely practice their traditions without fear and prejudice.

University personnel co-signees (listed alphabetically by surname):

Cara Anthony, Associate Professor, Theology Department
Ryan Avenido, BA ’21, BM ‘21
Linda Baughman, Dean of Students
Father Lawrence Blake, Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry
Dr. Corrine Carvalho, Professor
Meliha Ceric, Adjunct Faculty, History Department
Rev. Chris Collins, S.J., Vice President for Mission
Fr. Timothy Combs, OP, Associate Campus Minister & Adjunct in Theology
Erin M. Curran, Associate Dean of the Morrison Family College of Health & Associate Professor of Applied Statistics
Rabbi Dr. Ryan Dulkin, Adjunct Professor, Theology Department
Hans Gustafson, Director, Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies
Benjamin Heidgerken, Theology Department
Dr. Mike Klein, Associate Professor and Program Director, Justice and Peace Studies
David Landry, Professor, Theology Department
Karen Lange, Vice-President for Student Affairs
Dalma Martinović-Weigelt, Professor, Biology Department
Mark McInroy, Associate Chair, Theology Department
Rev. Steven J. McMichael, OFM Conv., Theology Department
Christopher Wong Michaelson, Opus Distinguished Professor of Principled Leadership
Susan Myers, Associate Professor, Theology Department
Deborah Organ, Adjunct Faculty in Theology and Director of the Lay Ministry Certificate in Spanish
Dr. David Penchansky, Emeritus, Theology Department
Daniel Pioske, Assistant Professor, Theology Department
Delaney Sacia, Student Interfaith Fellow and Interfaith Council rep., class of 2023
Dr. Sadaf Rauf Shier, Muslim Chaplain, Campus Ministry
Cia Sautter, Ph.D. Theology Department
William B. Tolman, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
Muffet Trout, Associate Professor, Department of Teacher Education
Mary Twite, Senior Adjunct Instructor, Theology Department & First-Year Experience Changemaking Theme Coordinator
Ted Ulrich, Professor, Department of Theology
Kimberly Vrudny, Chair, Theology Department
Carissa S. Wyant, Adjunct Faculty, Theology Department
Wendy N. Wyatt, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Professor of Media Ethics
Kha Yang, Assoc. VP for Inclusive Excellence, Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
UST Personnel: to add your name, submit request to hsgustafson@stthomas.edu

August 8, 2022 by hsgustafson

2020-2021, News, Statement

“Call for Solidarity with Our Jewish Colleagues and Neighbors”

The Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas is a member organization of the Council of Centers on Jewish Christian Relations (CCJR). The Jay Phillips Center endorses and is a signatory on the recent CCJR statement, a “Call for Solidarity with Our Jewish Colleagues and Neighbors.” The Anti-Defamation League and the Pew Research Center document the recent disturbing increase in antisemitic incidents and hate crimes. We join the call to speak out and work against antisemitism and all forms of hatred and violence whenever we encounter them. You may read the CCJR statement in its entirety below or on the website by clicking here.

***

A Call for Solidarity with Our Jewish Colleagues and Neighbors

28 May 2021

A Jewish man beaten by a mob of protesters in Times Square. A man yelling antisemitic slurs at a rabbi outside a synagogue telling the rabbi, “Jews should die”–and then leaving a bag of human feces in front of the building. A synagogue preschool getting a voicemail from a caller threatening to be “the next synagogue shooter.”

These are only three of the incidents that occurred in the United States in a single month: May 2021. In 2020, the number of antisemitic incidents in our country was the highest since the Anti-Defamation League began keeping records forty years ago. Unfortunately, there is no sign this year that the numbers will decrease.

It should not need saying: there is never any political or social justification for targeting individuals and communities because of who they are. Attacks on Jewish individuals, schools, synagogues, and other community centers–like attacks on anyone in our country–make us all vulnerable. They are alarming signs of deeper polarization, hatred, and violence. They erode the foundations of trust and basic decency, undermining our ability as a society to address the many challenges that confront us.

The Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (an association of centers and institutes in North America devoted to enhancing mutual understanding between Jews and Christians) stands together with our Jewish colleagues and neighbors at a time when Jewish Americans are feeling especially vulnerable. We call on all people of goodwill–as individual citizens and as communities, whatever our faith tradition–to do the same. Antisemitism can never be tolerated. We must speak out and work against it and all forms of hatred and violence whenever we encounter them.

***

Statement issued by a supermajority vote by the Councul’s regular members below:

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Center for Theology & Ministry at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois
Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio
Catholic-Jewish Dialogue Committee at Stonehill College, Easton, Massachusetts
Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Saint Leo University, St. Leo, Florida
Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Centre for Catholic-Jewish-Muslim Learning at Kings University College, London, Ontario, Canada
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education, Saint Elizabeth University, Morristown, New Jersey
Christian Jewish Relation and Encounter at Sisters of Sion, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Driscoll Professorship in Jewish-Catholic Studies at Iona College, New Rochelle, New York
Gratz College – Jewish Christian Studies Program at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hayyim Kieval Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies at Siena College, Loudonville, New York
Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center, Manhattan College, New York City, New York
Institute for Islamic-Christian-Jewish Studies at Baltimore, Maryland
Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey
Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota
Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota
Jewish-Catholic Theological Exchange at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island
Judaic and Catholic Studies Centers at Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut
Kraft-Hiatt Program for Jewish-Christian Understanding at College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts
Kripke Center for the Study of Religion & Society at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary & School of Theology in Franklin, Wisconsin
Manhattan College Holocaust Resource Center at Manhattan College, New York City, New York
Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership at Hebrew College, Newton Centre, Massachusetts
Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at Jewish Theological Seminary, New York City, New York
Mobile Christian-Jewish Dialogue at Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama
National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding at New York City, New York

May 28, 2021 by hsgustafson

2018-2019, Statement

Statement on Tragic Events at Tree of Life Synagogue

October 29, 2018

We are deeply saddened by the horrendously violent tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh that took place on October 27th and claimed the lives of eleven people and harmed several others, including law enforcement and first responders. Our thoughts and condolences go out to all the families of the victims.

With the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the Jay Phillips Center acknowledges that “The Jewish people, alongside other peoples who faced genocide, know deeply the experience of historical rupture; today is one of those days when the memory of hate is too present once more.” We echo the sentiment of Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, who sagely reminds us “an attack on a synagogue is an attack on a mosque, is an attack on a church, is an attack on a temple.”

We at the Jay Phillips Centers will continue to strive towards cultivating understanding and friendship across lines of religious difference and to foster constructive relations between and among people of various religious identities, with an eye to doing whatever we can to help prevent future tragedies such as these.

With the JCRC, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and the many organizations and people who work hard every day to build understanding across religious divides, we want our local Jewish communities and the community of Squirrel Hill to know that we stand with you, your families, and loved ones. “You are never alone.”

Hans Gustafson, Director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at the University of St. Thomas
John Merkle, Director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John’s University

Click here to read “Statement on the Shabbat Murders at the Tree of Life –Or Simchat Synagogue in Pittsburgh” issued by the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations on Oct. 31, 2018.

October 29, 2018 by hsgustafson