Scope and Contents Video recording of the Antisemitism at Davidson: Then and Now Panel Discussion, held March 14, 2019 in the Lilly Family Gallery of Chambers Building. Speakers included Professor Ronald Linden, Professor Ruth Ault, alum Joe Pearlman '79, and current student Caroline Black '20. The panelists were asked a series of questions regarding ways Jewish identity at Davidson has changed over time, as well as their experiences with antisemitism. Linden specifically discusses his experiences in 1977 when...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview with Arielle Korman, Davidson College class of 2017. Arielle Korman discusses her background growing up Jewish in New York, including her synagogue, music, and education. She contrasts the rich religious community she had to her experience of Jewishness at Davidson College, which was more focused on active education, leadership, and community building. Korman talks from her perspective as a former student leader: the events she held, promotion of Jewish student life,...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview and transcript with with Brian Bokor conducted on March 6, 2019. Brian Bokor recounts his experiences as Jewish student at Davidson and how it aligned with his experiences as a Jewish man living in the American South. He discusses his experiences as a student athlete and member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Davidson College. He talks about his interfaith relationship with his Catholic wife and discusses Jewish identity’s precarious position in current American...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview with Charles Horwitz, Davidson College class of 2008. In the interview, Horwitz discusses the cultural transition from Maryland, where he was raised in a strong Jewish community, to Davidson College where Christianity was more prominent. Horwitz explains how his Davidson experiences impacted his understanding of his own Jewish identity, discusses the founding of Hillel, references his experiences studying abroad in Germany and Israel as a Kelley Scholar, and emphasizes...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview with Cintra Pollack, Davidson College class of 1999. Pollack recounts her Jewish background and her experience as a Jewish student at Davidson College. She speaks of the isolation she often felt as one of the few Jewish students on campus. Pollack shares experiences ranging from writing an op-ed addressing Davidson’s exclusionary Board of Trustees policy, finding a Jewish community studying abroad in China, inklings of anti-semitism at local bars, and strengthening...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview and transcript with Eleanor Diamant '15 conducted on April 2, 2019. Ellie Diamant recounts what her Jewish background was like before Davidson College and how she came to Davidson, including what she knew about Jewish life and perceptions that those at home had of Davidson College. She talks about her involvement in Jewish student life and tells stories about navigating her Jewish identity and educating others about Jewishness, as a student and a leader. Diamant points...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview and transcript with Frank Goldsmith '67 conducted on March 7, 2019. Frank Goldsmith ’67 reflects on his student years at Davidson, a period of time that preceded his eventual conversion to Judaism. Goldsmith speaks to how conservative a climate Davidson was in the mid-60s, the elimination of mandatory Vesper services, and the way the Religion department fostered critical inquiry about Christianity. A central figure in student activism at Davidson, Goldsmith also...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview with Hannah Joy Sachs, Davidson College class of 2016. Sachs discusses how her relationship with Judaism evolved both prior to and after Davidson College, the presence of Hillel and Interfaith Dinner Club events, building community with other Jewish students and other minority student organizations, the advocacy of Dr. Pegelow-Kaplan, working with local synagogues, experiences as an Asian Jewish student, and the mentorship of faculty and staff involved with her thesis...

Scope and Contents Irving Bienstock was born in Dortmund, Germany in 1926. Mr. Bienstock was persecuted by the Nazis and fled to the United States. At the time of the interview, Mr. Bienstock resided in Charlotte, NC where he volunteered with the Butterfly Project to educate children about the Holocaust. In part one of this interview, Irving Bienstock describes his experience in Nazi Germany and his escape from the Nazi government. Funded by the Justice, Equality, Community Grant, the interview took place...

Scope and Contents This is oral history interview part 2 of 6 with Irving Bienstock. Irving Bienstock was born in Dortmund, Germany in 1926. Mr. Bienstock was persecuted by the Nazis and fled to the United States. At the time of the interview, Mr. Bienstock resided in Charlotte, NC where he volunteered with the Butterfly Project to educate children about the Holocaust. Irving Bienstock speaks on his experiences as a Jewish immigrant in the United States. He discusses his service in the United States Military...

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Oral history interview with Julia Miller, Davidson College class of 2011. In the interview Miller discusses being invited to participate in the STRIDE orientation program and how prior to that interaction she had not considered herself a minority student, her involvement with the student organization Hillel, the advocacy and support of Dr. Neil Lerner and Rabbi Shields, as well as how her personal understanding of Jewish identity evolved while at Davidson College.

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Oral history interview and transcript with Karl Plank conducted on April 9, 2019. Dr. Karl Plank recounts the evolution of the Religious Studies department since his hiring in the early 1980s, the types of students who have been attracted to courses that deal explicitly with Judaism, and his experience of being “read” as Jewish because of the courses he teaches.

Scope and Contents Oral history interview with Reverend Robert "Rob" Spach, Davidson College chaplain. The interview recording and transcript is split into two parts. In part 1, Reverend Spach speaks about his time as a student at Davidson. He talks about the Religious Studies Department in the early 1980s and the religious organizations on campus at the time including student-led groups and the college chaplain’s office. He goes on to describe coming back to Davidson as the College Chaplain in 1993 and his...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview and transcript with Ronald Linden conducted on March 15, 2019. Ron Linden describes applying for a professorial job at Davidson College in 1976. He speaks about the interview process and the discussion he had with College President Samuel Reid Spencer about Linden’s Jewish faith and how the Davidson bylaws only permitted Christian teachers. Linden recounts his surprise when he received a job offer that was subsequently rescinded and his shock when the incident made...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview and transcript with Ruth Ault conducted on February 22, 2019. Ruth Ault describes her Jewish background prior to Davidson College: raised in Conservative Judaism and being in non-Jewish communities, like Pomona College and the University of Utah. Ault recounts her interview process for Davidson College in 1979, as the first hired Jewish professor at Davidson, and the college’s Presbyterian tradition and bylaws. She recounts how her arrival to Davidson was received by...

Scope and Contents Oral history interview and transcript with Sara Gebhardt '98 conducted on March 1, 2019. Sara Gebhardt recounts her experience going from a largely liberal, diverse, and pluralistic environment in the suburbs of Washington D.C. to Davidson, which felt “20 years behind.” While at Davidson, she was a member of the field hockey team, studied abroad in Spain, and wrote for Libertas. During her sophomore year at Davidson, she wrote an editorial in the Davidsonian objecting to students’ erecting...

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This collection contains a Davidsonian article describing the creation of the Jewish Student Union, flyers for JSU-sponsored events, an invitation to Passover Seder, and correspondence with the members.