Share
Email
PrintUniversity of Alabama breaks ground on Hillel
(JTA) -- University of Alabama students and administrators celebrated the groundbreaking of a new Hillel House.
About 100 people attended the ceremony on the Tuscaloosa campus Sunday. The original Hillel site, which had served the campus Jewish community for more than 50 years, was sold in 2008 to the university at the university's request. For the last two years, Jewish students have met in a building near campus.
The new campus Hillel building will be about 4,200 square feet, and will house a student lounge, multipurpose room, kitchen, library and courtyard.
“The addition of a new home for Hillel is very important for the university,” University of Alabama President Robert Witt said during the ceremony. “We want all students to have the opportunity to grow in religion as they also grow intellectually and socially.”
There are about 700 Jewish students at the university, a 50 percent increase over a few years ago, according to the Tuscaloosa News.
Don't miss out! Get the JTA Daily Briefing delivered FREE to your inbox!
Click to login and write a letter to the editor.
This article was made possible by the support of readers like you. Donate to JTA now.
Featured Content
Need to know? Get JTA's free e-newsletters!
- Romney to meet with Jewish donors
- White House sets May 30 for Jewish Heritage
- Bulgaria’s economic crisis has its Jewish community facing harsh realities
- French railroad inks deal with Yad Vashem to research deportations
- Tel Aviv protest against African migrants turns violent
- Palestinian terror cells uncovered
- Haredi politician’s failure to shake hands riles female Belgian minister
- One-minute video calls for moment of silence at Olympics
