Recent events have laid bare a growing antisemitism across the nation. Many of the boldest examples have occurred in places traditionally associated with scholarship and a respect for diverse cultures and opinions: college campuses.
But expressions of hate have not been confined to institutions of higher learning. Neither do they target a single group of people.
Now, local community leaders from diverse backgrounds are implementing an initiative launched in 2020 by UF Hillel to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate, a good-will effort called Spread Cream Cheese Not Hate®.
Each January, Jewish and non-Jewish student volunteers invite others at the University of Florida to sign a pledge to combat hate and to keep the community safe and welcoming. In return, they receive a free bagel and cream cheese. The bagel is a way to help break the ice, to start a conversation, to ultimately build a coalition of people working together toward this common goal.
The goal is to promote tolerance and understanding among people from different backgrounds.
Last year, Tammy Shumer and Karen Freedman, then-co-presidents of Beth El The Beaches Synagogue, learned of an initiative by The B'nai Tzedek Next Gen Grant Making Committee of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida to support programming that would combat antisemitism, bias and hate. They saw an opportunity to partner with the surrounding community to implement the Spread Cream Cheese Not Hate® initiative.
Christ Church, Palms Presbyterian, JaxTHRIVE and students from UNF have joined the effort, and more than 50 volunteers have been trained to encourage dialogue and education about the issue.
The churches are planning pledge events this month (with a goal of 1,000 pledges), and the initiative will commence with a kick-off dinner featuring guest speakers as well as teen leaders from Ponte Vedra High School, Landrum Middle School, Episcopal High School and Bolles High School. There will be follow-up educational programs in February.
“We feel these actions will demonstrate the strength of our community in standing against antisemitism and all forms of hate and have the potential to make a meaningful impact,” Freedman wrote in an article for Jewish Life Magazine.
Members of the community not affiliated with the participating churches can still take the pledge online at https://form.jotform.com/233165102944148. Signers can claim their free bagel and cream cheese between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Jan. 28 at Trasca & Co., 155 Tourside Drive, No. 1500, Ponte Vedra Beach.
