Miryam Greenwood

3 Eton Road, London, NW3 4AY, United Kingdom

857-268-8945

27 March 2025 | 27 Adar 5785

President Mitchel Aeder

Rabbi Moshe Hauer

Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph

Rabbi Ilan Haber

Rabbi Josh Ross

The Orthodox Union

40 Rector St, New York, NY, United States

212-563-4000

Dear President Aeder, Rabbi Hauer, Rabbi Dr. Joseph, Rabbi Haber, and Rabbi Ross,

We, the Jewish community of the University of Massachusetts, are writing to express our surprise and dismay at the recent decision to cut OU-JLIC funding from our campus. Our OU-JLIC educators, Rabbi Raffi and Ariella Leicht (and their children Gali, Uri, and Natan) provide the physical, emotional, and spiritual bedrock of our Orthodox community, and are the glue that binds the whole Jewish community of UMass together. Under their leadership, and especially post-Covid, our Orthodox community has tripled in size. They have overseen a growing daily Minyan, robust and varied programming, and Shabbat and Holiday services and meals that serve hundreds of students throughout the school year. They have transformed UMass Amherst from a lonely outpost to a special, holy place for young, frum Jews, where we can learn and grow without compromise.

If you haven’t heard us say it enough, please hear us now: Rabbi Raffi and Ariella Leicht are true visionaries and leaders, who, through the OU-JLIC, provide invaluable support to Jewish students at UMass at a time when we have seen — and experienced — rising antisemitism on campus here and across the country. Their tireless efforts, along with the rest of our Hillel staff, extend from the highly spiritual to the critically physical: fighting for extended hours at the Kosher dining counter, and crucially, establishing and upholding the Eruv around UMass campus, so that students can keep Shabbat fully at school. Such contributions might seem like a given at another university, but at UMass we have fought hard for each advancement in the quality of our Jewish life, and Raffi and Ariella have led the charge. The existence of the OU-JLIC program at UMass is what makes it a viable university for frum Jews, and the growth of our community is proof of the value of its presence.

The OU-JLIC at UMass, through Rabbi Raffi and Ariella, fosters a close-knit group within the environment of a large, secular university. It creates opportunities for meaningful Jewish engagement, intellectual exploration, and personal growth: from numerous group learning opportunities to personal counseling and tutoring, OU-JLIC has built a community of people who are committed to one another, to their Jewish communities at home, to Israel, and to all of Klal Yisrael. Under Rabbi Raffi and Ariella’s tutelage, we have taught and learned Torah, davened, cooked meals, led debates, conducted dialogue, created art, celebrated, and grieved —together.

In this week’s Parsha, Hashem instructs Moshe to dedicate the Mishkan on the first day of Nissan. The Midrash Rabba tells us that on each day of the week before, Moshe put together the Mishkan but disassembled it again at the end of the day. On the first of Nissan (this coming Sunday), he assembled and consecrated it, only to be moved when Bnei Yisrael progressed towards Eretz Yisrael through the wilderness. We hope you will take this Midrash to heart and continue to build up the OU-JLIC program which is at the heart of our community, not dismantle it.

We owe our vibrant, warm, and welcoming community to the relentlessly uplifting presence of Rabbi Raffi and Ariella Leicht, and we cannot bear to lose the program which makes their presence possible. We urge you to reconsider the decision to halt OU-JLIC funding to UMass, funding which makes so much Jewish life and learning possible, through two of the most inspiring, proud, understanding, and supportive Jews we have ever known.

Thank you for your consideration.

Signed,

Miryam Greenwood — Class of ‘24, Former Degel President

Leah Sellam — Current Degel (Orthodox student group) President, previous VP, grad year 2025

Adinah Singer-Frankes — Current committed student, class of 2025

David Lutati — Alumni

Sam Kinches — Current student 2025

Joe Weiner — Undergraduate Student, Class of 2028

Miryam Rosenberg — Current student

Eli Rabson — Current student, graduation 2027

Daniel Shapiro — Current student

Yael Grayson — Current student, grad year May 2027

Skye Landau — Current student

Avital Serur — Student (class of 2027)

Josh Saks — Current Student - 2027

Calanit Katz — Umass Student 2027

Dov Zipursky — Current student

Michael Katz — Parent to UMass sophomore

Gabriella Saks — Current student class of 2028

Aliza Abolafia — UMass Alum (2014-2018)

Jonathan Nulman — Alum, 2023

Aaron Fandel — Alumni, 2024

Maxine Goldman (Wiesenfeld) — UMass Amherst Class of 2019

Dani Kessler — Umass Amherst Alum, class of 2018

Yardana Katz — Student- class of 2027

Samantha Jaffe — 2023 alum

Cecelia Ashenberg — UMass Class of 2024

Nadia Caplan — Current Student, Class of 2027

Sophia Gendreau — Alum 2023

Avigayil Goldfeder — Current student, 2027

Carly Korman Schlakman — Class of 2017 alum

Boaz Greenwood — Current student (class of 2028)

Leah Gann — UMass Hillel/JLIC class of 2024, former Degel board member

Astrid Wilder — Current student, class of 2026

Rebecca Wiesman — Alumni, 2018

Nathaniel Schlakman — Partner of Proud Alum

Carley Yarmus — Current student, class of 2026

Simon Kangoun — Alumni 2022

Adam Elkin — Graduate Student

Gabbie Granoff — Student, class of 2027, current Degel secretary

Michal Berlove — Current student ‘26

Hannah Greenblatt — Current student

Levi Koenig — Current student, class of 2026

Sarah Wilen — Alumni

Moshe Gesin — Alum

Maya Becker — Student-class of 2027

Reba Baum — 2017

Eitan Altabet — Alumni 2023

Chava Whittum — UMass ‘22

Austin Hauser — 2020 Alum

Yarden Levy — Alumni 2022

Kayla Shatz Hauser — Alum - 2020

Rebecca Shahrooz — Current student, class of 2026

Zach Shein — Alum. Class of 2022

Aviva Lehman — Current Student, Sophomore, Class of 2027- member of Degel

Etai Rovner — Student, 2028

M. Kelson — Current student

Isaac Leibowitz — Current student - class of 2025

Joe Frank — UMass Amherst Class of 2019

Sam Levitt — Current student, 2025

Steven Greenwood — Parent

Nathan Krevolin — Alumnus 2023

Shira Almekies — 2022 Graduate

Josh Negrin — Alumni 2024

Micah Carr-Gloth — Alumni

Daphna Spira — Community member

Gavriel Warren — Current student, 2025

David Serur — Avital Serur class of 2027

Heather Kizner — Alumni, class of ‘22

Ayelet Ehrenkranz — Graduated in 2020

Miryam Rosenberg — Student

Shai Bocarsly — Alum 2023

Lillian Switkes — Current 5 college student, Class of 2027

Aryeh Samuels — Senior ‘25, Former Degel President

Olivia Yale — Student & Community Member - Class of 2025

Noah Lev Bartell-Mangel — Current student, class of 2027

Shari Katz — Parent

David Katz — Parent

Yosef Kagedan — Community member

Jacob Carr-Gloth

Dara Granoff — Parent

Michal Appelbaum — Current student class of 2026

Rachel L. Greenblatt, PhD — Parent of UMass Students, '24 and '26

Aron Unger — Class of 2019

Esti Mager Garfield — Community member

Eitan Mager Garfield — Community member

Ariel Yarmus — Parent

Debbie Lehman — Current parent

Daniel Lehman — Current parent

Rachel Lehman — Prospective student

Tommy Sanders — Current student + community member

Anna Serur — Parent

Ronit Glasgow — Alum '22

Mayan Caplan — Mount Holyoke College student who attends UMass Hillel for various events and every Shabbos

Tahlee Yichye — Alumni

Jakob Diamond — Student/Alum 2025

David Korman — Parent

Lytal Kaufman — Parent of prospective student

Julia Greene — Student

Lisa Kagedan — Prospective parent

Oneg Kaufman-Grob — Concerned Citizen

Zach Wald — Current student, class of 2025

Jamie Goldman — Current student class of 2026

Lauren Siegel — Student, class of 2025

Deborah Singer-Frankes — Parent of current student

Chaim Singer-Frankes — Parent

Stephanie Samuels — Parent of current student

Gila Senderowicz — Current freshman

Joyce Kinches — Parent

Reuvaine Kinches — Parent

Danielle Kinches — Sibling

Heather Leibowitz — Parent of current student

Sheila Gottehrer — Grandparent class of 2025

Allan Kinches — Grandparent class of 2025

Ellie Zieper — Student 2025

Gail Gottehrer — Aunt class of 2025

Leora Levitt — Class of 2022 Alumna

Ilana Englander — Parent of current student class of 2025

Aviva Stein — UMass Student Class of 2025

Amanda Sheriff — Student, class of 2027

Shoshie Schwartz — Alum - class of 2020

Mikael Rotberg — Class of 2026

David Leibowitz — Parent

Jojo Sugarman — Husband of Alumna

Joseph Englander — Current Parent

Lisa Shatz — Parent of alumna

Sarah Chefitz — Alum: Class of 2012

Noam Kagedan — Prospective parent

Roselyn Farren — Parent

Hadass Novick — Current student, graduating in 2026

Naomi Korn Gold — Prospective parent

Ansel Marcovici — Alumni 2023

Miriam Smirnov — Parent (my daughter went to princeton but the JLIC couple there were so important to her, she asked him to be the rabbi at her wedding!) These folks make all the difference in our children's lives.

Felice Whittum — Parent 22 and 25

Ben Englander — Current student, Gabbai and former President

Mark Whittum — Parent of two children active with Hillel / JLIC

Drew Kessler — 2027

David Vinokur — Hillel and Aepi / 2026

Jory Schofer — Spring 2026

Jonathan Sugarman — Student- AEPi - 2028

Noah Schniderson — Class of '28

Ben Sullivan — Class of '28

Jacob Weiner — Class of '28

Solomon Zive — Class of '28

Emet Hirsch-Hoffman — Current student

Carmela Dobrusin — 2020 alumni, part of the Hillel community all 4 years during school and took courses and attended multiple shabbats with Raffi and Ariella. They were integral to my college experience and beyond.

Joseph Barenboym — President of UMass AEPi

Sam Baldwin — Student

Taylor Newman — Current student, class of 2027

Sharon Frank — Parent

Paul Frank — Parent

Amy Mager — Parent

Yehudah Browne — Class of 2026

Jonathan Safran — Graduation: Spring 2027

Ari Schreibman — Alumni (2023)

James Gloth — Parent

Becca Winograd — Current student, Class of 2025

Daniella Pikman — Student graduating spring ‘27

Bina Carr — Parent of alumnus

Jonah Hanak — PhD Student

Heidi Cowen — Class of 2019

Maia Shteyman — UMASS Student Class of 2025

Emma Tilghman — Student, ‘26

Nicole Gann — Alumni parent

Rayna Caplan — Relative/sibling of current student

Jacob Spodek — Student- class of 2026

David Granoff — Parent of current student-2027

Leila Caplan — Sibling of current student

Clive Caplan — Parent of a current student

Josh Zieper — 2027

Matthew Zieper — Current parent and Alumni (1990)

Alexandra Burushkina — PhD student

Lilli Bowman — Student graduating spring 2028

Addison Witkes — Student 2028

Sofie Geretz — Current Senior (Graduating in 2025)

Gitty Rav-Noy — Class of 2027

Noya Stessel

Dora Berg — Alumni class of 2022

Yishai Ellenbogen — Former student (class of 2027)

Debra Zieper — Parent

Rebecca Leif — Current student ‘27

Noam Lepsky — Current student, grad date: 2027

Asya Kabanov — Student 2026

Evelyn Aiello — Student at nearby school, graduating in 2028

Mya Grossman — Undergrad, c/o 2026

Caleb Stevens — Class of 2028 - Degel Member, Treasurer of JewMass

Samantha Altman — UMass Hillel Alumni Class of 2020, Ruach board member 2018-2020

Orlee Berlove — Parent

Sarah Gordis — Mount Holyoke Class of 2025

Isaiah Baker — Class of 2023

Sam Stein — Current senior (C/O 2025)

Robert Willinger — Graduating Spring 2026

Joey Starr — Student, graduating spring 2025

Jessica Giordano — UMass alum, class of 2023

Amy Bowman — Parent, class of 2028

Jake Schwartz — Alum

David Berlove — Parent

David Ehrenkranz — Parent

Myah Caplan — Sibling of current student

Rochelle Newman — Parent of current student

Josh Wittlin — Student, grad 2025

Elliot Tick — 2028

Anna Prunicki — Current junior at UMass, graduating spring 2026

Olivia Eiten — Alumni, 2021

Sarah Schuminsky — UMass Hillel Springboard 2022-2024

Jenna Sandler — Umass 2024

Rabbi Jordan Soffer — Head of School, Striar Hebrew Academy (we have many graduates who go to UMass!)

Andrew Warren — Parent of Alum and Student

Ilana Krebs — Current student, ‘25

David Weidmann — Alumni

Devorah Grayson — Parent

Celine Sellam — Parent

Shlomo Warren — Alumni '23

Mark Glass — Rabbi of student

Jacob Hamburger — 2026, student, Hillel resident, Jewish club leader

Kira Goldberg — Parent of alumni

Michelle Schiffbauer — Parent

Chana Rivka Dana — I graduated from UMass Boston over 50 years ago. There was a Jewish club that shared the room with the handicapped society. That support was critical.

Dan Winograd — Parent

Karen Feldscher — Parent

Sean King — UMass ‘24, Former President of Zeta Beta Tau

Gabe Appelbaum — Alum

Sarah Daube — Alumni, 2024 graduation

Joe Gann — Community member / family of alumna

Rebecca and Mark Levitt — Parents

Ruth Rohde-Gotlib — Alumni class of 2018

Eileen Spielman — Community member and Orthodox Union member. Please do not withdraw your funds from this college campus.

Eli Hauser — Parent

Sara Demby — Umass alum 2019

Rebecca Marcus — UMass alumna 2018, Mizmor co-president, JLIC participant

Caren Torczyner — Parent

Benjamin Winograd — UMass alum and brother to Rebecca Winograd current UMass Hillel member

Adam Winograd — Umass Alum, class of 2015

Nechama K — Community member

Ari Whittum — Graduating class of 2025

Dale Polakoff — Rabbi of Great Neck Synagogue

Edward Gould — Alumni, graduated 2014

Lori Kipnes — Parent of Alum