Governor Josh Shapiro and Robert Kraft Join Students at the Pittsburgh Black-Jewish Unity Dinner
This past week, Black, Jewish, and Black and Jewish students from across the greater Pittsburgh region gathered for a Unity Dinner focused on bridge building, allyship, and standing up to hate.
Community is at the heart of Hillel International’s work, helping Jewish students find connection, support, and joyful pride in their Jewish identities. At the same time, Jewish students are part of broader campus communities, and building relationships across identities is an essential part of college life. That’s the idea behind the Black-Jewish Unity Dinner Series, a collaborative initiative between Hillel International, UNCF, and the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate.
“Given our work at Hillel with hundreds of thousands of students across 850 campuses, we know the extreme challenges of this period — including racism, antisemitism, and broader polarization,” Adam Lehman, president and CEO of Hillel International, said in his remarks. “And given our heritage, we know that a critical ingredient to transcend these challenges is through building understanding and relationships.”
Jewish students from Pennsylvania State University Hillel (Penn State Hillel) and Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh (Hillel JUC) see this Unity Dinner as a core part of building broader student communities in Pittsburgh. “This is a hugely important, special event, bringing together the Jewish community, and the Black student community,” said Hillel JUC Executive Director Dan Marcus. “It’s a huge opportunity to form friendships and relationships for now and for tomorrow.”
The evening program, which was timed in anticipation of the NFL draft, was full of powerful speakers, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Jim Rooney, son of the late Pittsburgh Steelers Chairman and President Dan Rooney. The evening also included an intimate fireside conversation featuring Blue Square Alliance Against Hate Founder Robert Kraft, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch. Students then turned to their tablemates to talk about leadership, identity, and the power of sports to unite communities across differences.
“As someone who’s part of both the Black and Jewish community, I think there’s almost no more important cause than this to bring us together and unite,” said Sid Astrachan, a fourth-year student at Penn State. “I think that both groups of people are a lot more similar in a lot of ways than people think, and I think it’s important to come together, to unite and show spirit together.”
“I really think this is an incredible opportunity to bring together two communities that have a ton of commonalities,” said Yishai Selig, a second year student at Penn State. His goal at the event was to learn strategies to push back against hardship and prejudice — and also, as a sports fan, to meet Robert Kraft.
The connection to sports is a fundamental part of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate’s Sports x Unity initiative, which harnesses the unifying power of sports to confront hate and build bridges among students and communities nationwide. The timing of this event, coinciding with the NFL draft, was intentional and a big draw for many attendees — but though football might have been part of the appeal, the outcome was much broader.
In fact, this dinner capped off a nationwide Unity Dinner series this semester that included stops in California, Texas, North Carolina, and Alabama, to name a few, with the events all focused on building relationships across communities and inspiring students to take action.
“The longstanding partnership between Black and Jewish communities is rooted in shared values and mutual support,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF. “Initiatives like the Unity Dinner help cultivate the next generation of leaders who are prepared to stand together against hate in all forms.”
Inspired by the students in the room, Lehman closed his remarks by acknowledging the importance of making an effort to gain a better understanding of their peers with different backgrounds — and he offered a quote from Hillel International’s namesake, Hillel the Sage.
“‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?’” Lehman quoted. “Now is your moment. And it begins with your choice to be here, to listen, to share, and engage.”