[Jewish] JSU & SAFI

[RL Sarafconn]

Dear JSU List,

We are currently compiling a mailing list for SAFI. If you are interested, 
please email RL Sarafconn at rls01 at hampshire.edu.

The Student Alliance for Israel (SAFI) was created in 2000 as a five-college 
group in response to growing anti-Israel sentiment in the Valley area. Now the 
individual SAFI chapters at each school are mainly independant but are in 
contact with each other to publicize and attend each other's events. 

SAFI believes that the state of Israel has the right to exist as a free 
democratic country with defendable borders.  Beyond that, SAFI does not promote 
any specific views or issues. A wide range of political views are welcome at 
SAFI and SAFI events are intended as safe spaces to discuss these views and to 
celebrate Israel and Israeli culture. 

The Hampshire College Jewish Student Union (JSU) is a student group dedicated 
to exploring, celebrating, and maintaining Jewish identity, tradition and 
practice. JSU welcomes all students and we try hard to meet the needs of 
everyone. From getting mezzuzot for dormroom doors, to holding daily prayer 
services, to making sure each Shabbat meal include foods that 
vegetarian/vegan/allergic/sensitive/Kosher students can eat, JSU tailors its 
programming to its active members.  

At Hampshire College we keep JSU and SAFI completely seperate.  At JSU events 
we celebrate the opportunity to get together with Jews from all backgrounds and 
beliefs and focus more on what we have in common than on political views that 
may draw us apart. 

Hampshire College SAFI is now in the process of compiling a list to notify 
interested students of Israel events occurring on campus and in the valley. 
Events of these sorts will not be advertised on the Jewish listserve. 

Examples of events advertised on JSU list: 
-Shabbat dinner 
-5-college Purim festival 
-Judaic arts & crafts night 
-Passover Seder 
-Jewish leadership conferences 
-Tzedek Hillel community service projects 
-talk at Jewish Community of Amherst about anti-Semitism 

Examples of events advertised on SAFI list: 
-Birthright trip to Israel 
-video conference with Amram Mitzna, former mayor of Haifa 
-Israeli dancing 
-poetry reading with Israeli poet 
-"Beit Cafe" hookah and Israeli foods 
-"Israel at Heart" program, a night hanging out with college-age Israeli kids 
-Israeli movie screenings 

If you are interested in joining the Hampshire College SAFI list, please email 
RL Sarafconn rls01 at hampshire.edu 

Thanks,
RL