In the November 12th, 2015 issue of The Miscellany News the article, “Dialogue delves into interreligious conflict,” says, “With Vassar organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine and Vassar Jewish Union, this conversation is not one that students are easily able to talk about on campus. ”
While perhaps The Miscellany News brought up the Vassar Jewish Union because they associate either the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life or Israel with Judaism on campus, we do not think it was the correct choice to reference the Vassar Jewish Union in this article.
Students for Justice in Palestine, the other organization mentioned and that was quoted in the article, is a political organization while Vassar Jewish Union is a religious and cultural organization.
Our members have many different opinions about the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
However, it is frustrating to see The Miscellany News politicize our organization and continue the narrative that Jews must have an opinion about Israel simply because of our Jewishness.
Lastly, if The Miscellany News wanted to reference the Vassar Jewish Union in their article, they should have approached us for comment instead of assuming the kinds of conversations our organization has.
We encourage The Miscellany News to ask the Vassar Jewish Union for comment about our events and Jewish life on campus in the future.
-The Vassar Jewish Union Board 2015-2016