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JERUSALEM — All of the students at the BYU Jerusalem Center are safe and accounted for after Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, according to university statements.
The assault, which left hundreds dead on both sides, did not target Jerusalem. Missile strikes were centered 40-60 miles away.
"All 94 students at the BYU Jerusalem Center are safe and doing well," BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. "They are currently at the center and will remain there for the time being, as we continue to monitor this situation.
"If needed, contingency plans are in place. The BYU Jerusalem Center is providing updates to family members and friends through its website at https://jerusalemcenter.ce.byu.edu/security-updates.
That website posted a message at 10:30 p.m. MDT on Friday.
The message noted the distance of the attacks from Jerusalem, but said BYU officials remain cautious.
"Since it is uncertain how long the attack with continue and whether it will shift toward Jerusalem, students have been asked to remain around the Center for the remainder of Saturday," the website said. "Activities outside the Center on Sunday (Jerusalem time) and beyond will be determined on Sunday morning when the scope of the attack is more clear."
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The center's director tweeted that alarms have sounded in Jerusalem but that the center, its students and the city are secure.
"Our students are in good spirits, and it is a privilege to be taking care of them," Eric D. Huntsman wrote on X, the platform formerly called Twitter. Huntsman is the center's academic director and a BYU professor of Ancient Scripture.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsors BYU and the Jerusalem Center. BYU officials have access to a robust security information network.
"These kinds of flareups have occurred in the past," the center's security update noted. "The Center has never been threatened by any of them. Even if missiles are fired toward Jerusalem, the militants would be targeting government buildings in West Jerusalem. East Jerusalem, where the Center is located, has never been targeted."
The update called the missile attack the largest in several years. The surprise missile attack was launched by Hamas militants in Gaza early Saturday morning, Jerusalem time.
The BYU Jerusalem Center closed for two years during the COVID-19 outbreak. It reopened in spring 2022.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited and spoke at the center in April and spoke about being ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
When Israel has been attacked in the past, the BYU Jerusalem Center has reduced travel, sheltered students in place or closed the center temporarily depending on the level of risk.
For example, studies at the center were suspended from 2000-07 due to unrest in the area.
The center, while a mile from the Old City, is in an isolated area surrounded by important Arab sites and neighborhoods.
Huntsman wrote on X that the center was quiet on Saturday and felt like an island of peace.
Now that we have gone several hours without sirens or alarms, and because the city is, for the moment, calm, we have opened our balconies and our lovely Level 7 terrace. It is a cool, beautiful afternoon, and because it is still Shabbat, the city itself is quiet. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/XSg4JwqqlG
— Eric D. Huntsman (@EricDHuntsman) October 7, 2023
