LDS Jerusalem Center offers refuge to members in Israel

PROVO — Brigham Young University has invited members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in northern Israel to take refuge in the school's Jerusalem Center.

Eighteen of those invited arrived at the center early this week and have been "carrying on with their daily lives," BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. The last time local members of the LDS Church found a safe haven in the facility was for a short time during the Gulf War, Jenkins said.

Though the center, which has living accommodations for 170 people, has been closed to student programs since 2001, leaders of the LDS Church-owned school recently decided to re-open the Jerusalem Center to study abroad programs. The 2006 fall semester of the program has not been canceled because of civil unrest in the area, but BYU officials are "watching the situation very closely," Jenkins said.

Approximately 44 students are expected to be accepted to the fall program, but students have not yet been notified of their selection. Students should be notified by the end of this month, Jenkins said.