BYU Jerusalem Center announces students and faculty will continue studies in Greece
Students, faculty and staff have remained safe, with the center’s evacuation coming one week after the conflict in southern Israel began on Oct. 7
BYU students watch the sunset at the BYU Jerusalem Center in Jerusalem, Israel, on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
BYU Jerusalem Center announces students and faculty will continue studies in Greece
Students, faculty and staff have remained safe, with the center’s evacuation coming one week after the conflict in southern Israel began on Oct. 7
BYU students watch the sunset at the BYU Jerusalem Center in Jerusalem, Israel, on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The BYU Jerusalem Center is evacuating students and faculty to Greece where studies will continue, the center announced on Friday, Oct. 13.
“The Jerusalem Center Fall 2023 Program is currently relocating to Greece,” center officials said in a security update. “In addition to the 93 students and faculty, faculty families and service couples will also relocate to Greece.”
Students have remained safe on the center’s campus since the attacks and ongoing military conflict in southern Israel first began on Saturday, Oct. 7.
News of the move to Greece comes one day after the Church’s First Presidency issued a statement on Middle East violence on Oct. 12.
“We are devastated by the recent eruption of violence and loss of life in the Middle East,” wrote the First Presidency. “Violence of this nature is abhorrent to us and is not in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is a gospel of peace. At such times, our hearts ache for all victims of this atrocity.
“As servants of God, we affirm that He calls upon all of us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we pray for a peaceful resolution of all conflicts.”
The Jerusalem Center was dedicated by President Howard W. Hunter, then-President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on May 16, 1989.
The center is operated by Brigham Young University, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the BYU Jerusalem Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The center was dedicated in 1989.
