The Global Citizen: Helping Haiti and the Importance of Grassroots NGOs

By ngoodis February 5, 2010

The Global Citizen is a joint project of New Voices and the American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Throughout the year, a group of former AJWS volunteers will offer their take on global justice, Judaism and international development. Opinions expressed by Global Citizen bloggers do not necessarily represent AJWS. I forgot to bring a flashlight, rain…

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The Global Citizen: The Victim Without a Voice

By feabdelhak February 5, 2010

The Global Citizen is a joint project of New Voices and the American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Throughout the year, a group of former AJWS volunteers will offer their take on global justice, Judaism and international development. Opinions expressed by Global Citizen bloggers do not necessarily represent AJWS. All too often, the victim and the…

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The Israeli attraction to America

By hdilman February 4, 2010

Part of my volunteering in Israel consists of talking with junior high students.  The idea is that when the students are talking to someone who exclusively talks English, unlike their teachers, they will improve their communication skills.  The idea of sitting with students for an hour at a time, just talking, at first seemed like an…

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A Thousand Leagues From Hillel (Part I)

By Carly Silver February 3, 2010

This is the beginning of a creative writing piece inspired by an experience that New York City’s finest in religion offered. A Thousand Leagues from Hillel Or, A Moderately Fictional Version of How I Began a Search for the Hare Krishna, Avoided a Lecture on Duck Gender Rights, and Ended Up at Whole Foods “‘Hallelujah!’…

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Capital of Terror

By meuriarte February 3, 2010

There is no Two-State Solution. The IDF physically forced my grandparents from their home and chased them down the street, said Anwar, an Israeli-Arab. A group of us, mostly Americans, were sitting in a friend’s dorm alongside a full moon when the topic came up. She was recounting the story about the Nakba, cataclysm in…

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“Chava ecologit be Modi’in, bemeit?” “An ecological farm in Modi’in, seriously?”

By dbarmash February 3, 2010

I hear this sentence a lot. It is in response to where I live in Israel. It is generally accompanied by a bewildered, or even a smug face. Most Israelis, including those from Modi’in have no clue that there is an 8-acre farm, along the outskirts of their town. It is not surprising. Modi’in has…

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Defending Real Zionism

By Ben Sales February 2, 2010

The first time I heard about Im Tirtzu I was in a kosher Florida pizzeria that was selling the organization’s shirts in exchange of a substantial donation. I asked the cashier what the group was all about. “Tzionut,” she said. Zionism. Bu what kind of Zionism? She didn’t give any specifics. Last week, I found…

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What Can You Infer From a Name?

By kseeger February 2, 2010

J.D. Salinger, the renowned American author, passed away January 27, 2010. Like many other individuals, I am a big fan of A Catcher in the Rye, his most famous work. Salinger is a literary figure recognized for the sense of timelessness in his writing. Since I admire him so much as an author, upon seeing…

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The Global Citizen: The Jewish Intentional Community: Part One

By jsiegel February 2, 2010

The Global Citizen is a joint project of New Voices and the American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Throughout the year, a group of former AJWS volunteers will offer their take on global justice, Judaism and international development. Opinions expressed by Global Citizen bloggers do not necessarily represent AJWS. Throughout the world, friends, a revolution is…

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Bringing Activism to the Grassroots

By Ben Sales February 1, 2010

We don’t usually plug for events on the NV blog, but students in New York with progressive views on Israel should check out the launch of J Street’s local branch in NYC at the kickoff event this Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. on 27th and 5th. The event will include a webcast of a…

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Interview with the Tefillin Terrorist

By Joshua Goldman February 1, 2010

My cousin, the national security threat

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Shalom, Y’all!!!

By smelamed February 1, 2010

Welcome everyone to my sparkly new MASA blog.  To give you a better idea of where all this is coming from, allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Sam Melamed, I’m 22 years old, and I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison last May, having studied history and philosophy.  Besides studying abroad in Cape…

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