The following is an excerpt from an inspiring letter by a student at the University of Virginia to Dean Allen Groves:

Despite the insistence of many, anti-Semitism is not a relic of the past. Of this I am sure. Yet, to find it expressed so unabashedly at the university founded by Thomas Jefferson, author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, is simply appalling. In my four years here, I have never felt as threatened as I do now. I am ashamed to admit that the thought crossed my mind of taking down the mezuzah that adorns my doorpost. I will not. I will not stop wearing my yarmulke or my tzitzits. I will not stop walking to services on the Sabbath. In the face of injury and offense, the Jewish response is to bring light into the world, to react with positivity.

To read the entire letter by Keenan Davis, who wears
his tzitzits on campus with pride, see An Open Letter to Dean Groves>>

For a fascinating letter to President Abraham Lincoln on
Jewish soldiers’ rights see Keeping Shabbat in the US Army>>

For a recent incident where Jordanian officials sought to remove tzitzis
from Jewish tourists, see No tzitzit in Jordan>>