Hillel, CF fight anti-Semitism

Author: Zach Hecht-Leavitt

On the afternoon of Oct. 24, approximately 15 members of Hillel and the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) joined forces to remove proselytizing flyers aimed at Jews from books in the Main Library and followed it with a discussion over dinner. The flyers were concentrated in books regarding Israel, the Jews and Jewish History.

According to Chaplain Laurie Jordan '79, materials similar to the ones removed last week have been found in the library collection from time to time for at least the past eight years. While some people toss them away without thinking twice, a number have been offended.

No information has risen regarding who placed the flyers in the books, although it is suspected that it is someone from outside the College community. According to Barbara Doyle-Wilch, dean of Library and Information Services (LIS), similar instances have occurred in numerous campus libraries throughout the country.

Steven Bertolino '00, evening circulation supervisor at the Main Library and faculty adviser for IVCF, described one of the two flyers used this time around as a fake $100 bill with Al Gore's face on it, John 3:16 and the words "This is fake but Jesus is the real thing." The second kind was a testimonial from a person who converted to Christianity as an adult, and because his grandfather was Jewish, became involved with an organization of Christians of Jewish background. He encouraged Jewish people reading the bookmark to investigate this organization.

Jordan has long desired a joint Hillel and IVCF event to clean out the books, and was thrilled when it finally came together under the guidance of Hillel Co-President Sarah Lauing '07 and Bertolino. Collaboration is not new to the two organizations, since Hillel and IVCF leaders meet monthly as part of the Religious Life Council and engage in joint programs two or three times a year. For example, during last year's Religious Life Awareness Week, Hillel members attended an IVCF meeting where a speaker talked about the Judaic roots of Christianity and IVCF members attended a Friday night Shabbat service and dinner.

Said Associate Chaplain Rabbi Ira Schiffer of the event, "It was a rewarding experience for me to see the students of IVCF and Hillel join forces in addressing an affront to Middlebury College's sense of respect for differences among students and religious/ethnic groups on campus. These students took a problematic occurrence and made it into a learning experience of the first order, sharing scholarship and fellowship, while building bridges of mutual understanding and friendship."

Students from both organizations valued the event as well, and in particular the dinner discussion, which touched on how the two organizations view each other, what IVCF views as appropriate ways of "spreading the word" and the heterogeneity of belief within the two religions.

Said Lauing of the discussion, "I thought [it] was incredibly valuable and resolved some issues that had been bothering me in terms of differences between our religions. I think it's really important to keep open dialogue about sensitive issues to avoid misunderstanding or fear and distrust." She added, "I feel I gained a much better understanding of the Christian faith as well as of the diversity of religion in general. The personal connection helped me learn more than I could have in a book or lecture."

Matthew Johnstone '07, executive board member of IVCF, said of the event, "There was a lot of camaraderie, and it was a lot of fun to pull these materials out as a group. Something that we're working toward in IVCF in general is reconciliation with groups with whom we've had no history, and it's an exciting time for us because of that."