To see this hateful symbol displayed so prominently on our campus in the shadow of the murders at the Poway synagogue in San Diego and the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh is particularly painful and reprehensible. These attacks, along with recent mass murders at churches and mosques, are a sobering reminder that each of us has a responsibility to speak out against hatred.

We stand together as a 51���� community to affirm that there is no room for hate at 51����. We applaud the university community for speaking out, and especially those students who voiced their resistance to the message of this symbol.

 
The Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies, UW-Milwaukee
Jewish Studies Advisory Committee, UW-Milwaukee
Joel Berkowitz, Director of the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies
Rachel Baum, Deputy Director of the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies
Yael Gal Ben-yitschak
Gregory Jay
Dana Margolis
Lisa Silverman
Marc Tasman
Kathy Wheatley
Max Yela

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Research: Joel Berkowitz webpage

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We, the undersigned Jewish Studies faculty and affiliate faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, join together to condemn the Trump Administration’s executive order banning immigration from seven countries—also known, for good reason, as the “Muslim ban.”

Our experience as Jewish Studies scholars and teachers compels us to speak out against the demonization of members of another religion—a phenomenon all too familiar in Jewish history. Some of the most powerful texts we teach instruct us to welcome the stranger and look after others, from all religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds.

The fact that some of us are but a generation removed from our own families’ experience in the Holocaust deepens our outrage at this administration’s efforts to slam doors against innocent refugees seeking the shelter of America’s freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. The fact that the ban was issued on International Holocaust Memorial Day, an occasion to remember the extremes to which racism and xenophobia can lead, adds cruel irony to the turmoil unleashed by the decree.

Our two institutions currently host hundreds of students, faculty, and staff from the seven nations targeted by this executive order. These people enrich our campuses, they broaden our understanding, and their talents and hard work contribute to the international reputation the University of Wisconsin has earned. We are proud to call them our students, colleagues, and friends. We implore you to consider the ways that not only these immigrants contribute to our scholarship and service, but to learn from the ways immigrants have done so throughout this country’s history.

Rachel Baum, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Hebrew Studies and Jewish Studies Deputy Director, Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies

Joel Berkowitz, Professor of Foreign Languages and Literature Director, Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies

Amos Bitzan, Weinstein Assistant Professor of Modern European Jewish History

Rachel Brenner, Weinstein-Bascom Professor of Jewish Studies

Shira Brisman, Assistant Professor, Art History

Rabbi David Brusin, Senior Lecturer, Hebrew and Jewish Studies

Rachel Buff, Professor of History; Director, Comparative Ethnic Studies Program

Teryl Dobbs, Professor of Music Education

Ivan Ermakoff, Professor of Sociology

Chad Goldberg, Professor of Sociology

Jeremy Hutton, Professor of Classical Hebrew Language and Biblical Literature

Lauren Lauter, Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies Administrative Staff

Tracey Mason, Financial Specialist, Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies

Steven Nadler, William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy, Evjue-Bascom Professor of Humanities

Tasha Oren, Associate Professor of English and Media Studies

Anna Paretskaya, Lecturer, Sociology and Jewish Studies

Jordan Rosenblum, Belzer Professor of Classical Judaism

Simone Schweber, Michael and Judy Goodman Professor of Education and Jewish Studies Director, Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies

Nadav Shelef, Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Modern Israel Studies

Lisa Silverman, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies

Judith Sone, Associate Director, Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies

Marc Tasman, Senior Lecturer, Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies Coordinator, Digital Arts and Culture Program

Sunny Yudkoff, Assistant Professor of Eastern European Jewish Studies

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Read Ruth Graham’s complete story in the January 4, 2017 online edition of Slate …

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Before 1492, Ladino was the language everyone spoke in Spain, but it left when the Jews were expelled from the country. Contemporary Ladino singer Sarah Aroeste’s family were among those who left Spain, taking the medieval language with them.

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Read the New York Times story …

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Preserving and Extending Knowledge Through the Digital Yiddish Theater Project

On October 24, 2016, W51����’s Bonnie North Interviewed Joel Berkowtz and Debra Caplan about the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project.

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On October 6, 2016, Max Sparber’s Dress British Think Yiddish blog, posted an

Visit the Research: Joel Berowitz webpage to read more about Joel’s work.

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Stories include …

Major Gifts Establish tow New Series
Scott Noegel Receives Honorary Doctorate: Reflections on Hebrew Studies at 51����
The Year in Public Programs: Established Traditionals & New Directions
Ruth Schwertfeger, Jewish Studies Affiliate Faculty Member, Retires
HERC and the Stahl Center Offer New Initiative in Holocaust Studies

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