Galloway, N.J. — Stockton University will establish a new annual lecture series featuring world-renowned experts on antisemitism thanks to a $100,000 gift.

Jack and Bethanie Gorny donated the money to the university’s Foundation to create The Gorny Family Fund for Understanding and Confronting Antisemitism. Jack Gorny served as the chairperson of Stockton’s Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center (HRC) Executive Committee for 12 years, and his wife, Bethanie, previously was president of Jewish Family Service of Atlantic and Cape May Counties.

“I have grave concerns for the well-being of Jews in this country in the future,” Jack Gorny said. “I agonize over the future of my grandchildren, and I worry that they may be faced with this pernicious ideology, which sadly shows no signs of abating.”

But Jack Gorny said he’s seen firsthand through the work of Stockton’s HRC that education about the Holocaust and antisemitism can have a positive effect.

“We trust that the lecture series will help eradicate the evil of antisemitism through the words and lessons of experts,” he said. “We thank Stockton for its ongoing commitment.”

HRC Director Irvin Moreno-Rodriguez said he’s planning on beginning the series this year on campus.

“We have to be cognizant that the fight continues today and will continue tomorrow and for decades to come,” he said. “We must be the light in these dark places. We need to keep providing our students with the opportunities to continue their studies and make this world a better place for all.”

The fund honors Jack Gorny’s parents Eva and Morris Gorny, who were Holocaust survivors born in Poland. Jack Gorny said he was “3-and-a-half years old and 36 inches tall” when he and his family emigrated to the United States in 1949 from a displaced persons camp in Germany to escape “the scourge of antisemitism.”

“They hoped antisemitism was behind them as they started a new life here,” he said. “They would be shocked and saddened by today’s explosion of it in the United States.”

Eva and Morris Gorny rebuilt their lives and became active contributors to the southern New Jersey community by running a poultry farm in Vineland from 1952 to 1964 and opening Delsea Yard Goods in 1964. Bethanie Gorny wrote a book “Fridays with Eva” telling their story that was published by the HRC and became a part of Holocaust Studies classes at Stockton.

“Your family’s story is one of perseverance, courage and a deep belief in the power of education,” said Terricita Sass, Stockton’s executive vice president. “It is a story that deserves to be remembered, understood and carried forward.”

Sass thanked the Gornys for their donation and trust in Stockton, and she emphasized the gift is especially important at a time when antisemitism, misinformation and intolerance continue to challenge communities.

“At Stockton, we believe universities have a responsibility to help people understand history, wrestle with difficult questions and engage one another with knowledge, dignity and respect,” Sass said. “These are conversations our students and community need today. This fund will strengthen that work and create opportunities for our students and our broader community to learn together.”

— Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Abbigail Erbacher