You don’t have to be Jewish to attend Jewish Student Union meetings at University High School.
JSU board members offer snacks to entice Jewish and non-Jewish classmates to their Tuesday lunchtime gatherings, held in the AP U.S. history classroom.
“The vast majority of people at our meetings aren’t Jewish, but they show up a lot, so we’re really appreciative of the community here,” Co-President Sam O’Dowd says.
Along with O’Dowd, board members include Co-President Nathan Sheinbein, Publicity Chair Joseph Goodman, Vice President Alon Byrne, Kyle Cunningham, Roey Efrat, and Luis Blanco Ruiz.
Luis, who is not Jewish, was added to the board to help with outreach “to people who aren’t Jewish but we think would still enjoy being in the club, to have more members and to educate people about Judaism,” Joseph says. He notes that Luis has been coming to meetings consistently for three years.
Luis has also helped coordinate joint meetings with other clubs at UHS, such as the Black, Latino, and Asian American Pacific Islander Affinity groups.
At the April 15 JSU meeting, which fell during Passover, Kyle and Sam passed out matzah and coconut macaroons to an appreciative crowd. The meeting started with a quick roundup of mitzvot — defined as good deeds — performed by students, both Jewish and non-Jewish, which included handing a gift card to an unhoused person, driving a little brother to soccer practice, and helping a friend’s mother with her compost pile.
Nathan outlined other opportunities in the community, including volunteering at Handmaker and playing or volunteering at this summer’s JCC Maccabi Games, where at least two UHS students, Kyle and Ollie Sheinbein, will compete.
Sam and Nathan gave a brief introduction to the Passover holiday before engaging everyone in an interactive Kahoot! quiz game.
UHS JSU Seeds Catalina Foothills Chapter
Zev Greenberg was a founding member of the JSU at UHS. He started a chapter at Catalina Foothills High School when he transferred there after his sophomore year.
UHS JSU members say their classmates may be more accepting than those at CFHS.
UHS is quite diverse, Joseph notes, adding that the JSU was “welcomed with open arms” as one of the first student unions besides the Latino Student Union.
“We are the largest student union on campus,” Sam adds, with 70 official members. About 30 people attend each meeting.
UHS JSU board members say they have not experienced antisemitism from their classmates, not even after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
“I have Palestinian friends, Egyptian friends, and nobody brings up politics like that,” Alon says, adding that while there have been political events such as a walkout for Palestine last year, “nobody targets Jewish students.”
Joseph emphasizes that the purpose of the JSU and other student unions “is not to have a club where we can exclude people, but to have a club where we can welcome everyone to learn.”
At CFHS, the JSU has mostly focused on promoting Tucson’s BBYO youth group to get students involved in their Judaism, including holding joint programs, Zev says. He anticipates the JSU growing next year.
