Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Surprise, surprise. The bill proposed and backed by the ultra-orthodox hasn’t garnered a majority in the Knesset. And why should it? Instead of helping incorporate the ultra-orthodox into mainstream Israeli society, it encourages unemployment and separatism. This idea of separatism is not new to the ultra-orthodox. They thrive on it. For instance, in order to…
Recently I found myself on campus without anything to do during a lengthy break between classes. Looking for an activity to fill my time, I wandered to the library. Out of sheer curiosity, I typed in “Judaism” on the library catalog, wrote down the call number for the first book on the list, and made…
New York? Pittsburgh? Hamas? Didn’t see that third one coming, did you? Me neither. I’ll admit, there are certain taglines or catchphrases that seem timeless. “Got milk?” is one that lends itself nicely to variations. And the “I heart (or I love…)” may be even more timeless. It’s certainly provocative. I don’t know many people…
Here is a tidbit of some of what is going on our Northwestern-New Voices website: A review of the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema by Abraham Benson-Goldberg. Howdy y’all! ABG here, checking in with some good suggestions for the NU Jew community. Arts and culture! As you know, if you know me, I’m a film…
There’s a large Middle Eastern population in Michigan, but there’s never been a kosher Middle Eastern restaurant — until now. Woody’s Oasis, an eatery near Michigan State University, is getting the hekhsher, according to an email from Kosher Michigan. In other campus news, the Israeli team wins the debate over whether Israel is a “rogue…
I am paranoid. The more I understand about law, the government, advertisers and the Internet the more freaked out I become. I believe that anything sent via text, posted on the Web or said on a cell phone conversation is being recorded by someone. A corporation, the government, the police, I don’t know who but…
New York City has a lot to recommend it: shopping, people, sites. But one of the factors that I take for granted is the Jewish baking. Sally Minier was the food manager for Lehman Brothers before the financial collapse. Now, she runs the bakery Sweetsally’s. Using family recipes and cooking equipment inherited from her grandmother,…
Looking at the picture of Hermann Cohen on the cover of his opus Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, it is a bit difficult to believe that he was a rock star. Not in the sense that he wrote brave contemporary music that spoke to the minds of the people, garnering an…
The coalition can’t hold, says Reven Rivlin and other Israeli political figures. The new question: how long until the next elections? [+972] Meanwhile, as that coalition refuses to renew the settlement freeze, Jewish building accelerates in the West Bank. [NYT] And on the peacenik side, Roger Cohen lists ten keys to the peace process that…
Last night, on the eve of the 15th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s murder, more than 1000 people gathered at Kikar Zion, in the heart of Jerusalem. The rally wasn’t a Rabin memorial but its date is significant and even metaphorical. While Rabin’s legacy looms larger than any of his actions- the moral from it is…
Anyone who wants to make an intelligent contribution to the discourse on the proposed Israeli loyalty oath should know that drunk 18-year old Americans are not a representative sample of Israeli or Jewish society. Jenny Merkin knows that. I’m pretty sure Brandon Springer knows that too. I’m not sure that Max Blumenthal knows that. In…
My post-secondary education has consisted of a couple years of this and that, followed by two years of almost exclusive (Western analytic) philosophy. Just speaking for myself, I have learned to ask pertinent questions, but articulating answers of a similar quality has not been part of my education. This is because philosophy teaches you how…
Yesterday, Jenny Merkin posted Max Blumenthal’s recent video of mostly young Jewish internationals in Jerusalem swearing allegiance to the State of Israel via a loyalty oath crafted by Blumenthal in the spirit of the Führereid, you know that oath the Nazi Wehrmacht swore to ze Führer. Astonishingly, most of Blumenthal’s subjects proudly swore the oath…
I think that what Mr. Blumenthal does here is pretty disingenuous and purposefully damning. What do you think? Check it out here: For more fun with American youth in Jerusalem and Israeli politics, click here.