KOACH Kallah and the Mahar Coalition

By ahowie February 28, 2011

This past weekend, I joined over 70 other Conservative Jewish college students at the KOACH Kallah, hosten by Northwestern University this year.  The Kallah is a convention to bring together Conservative Jewish leaders from coast to coast for an enthusiastic, meaningful weekend of Jewish learning, connections, and Shabbat.  This annual event brings together Jewish leaders…

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J Street Conference: Hillel Hearts J Street

By Ben Sales February 28, 2011

J Street may still be fighting for acceptance in the Jewish community almost three years after its founding, but there’s one place where that battle is over and the self-proclaimed “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group has emerged victorious: the college campus. J Street U displayed its secure position in the established Jewish campus world today by organizing…

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J Street Conference: Not Kosher

By Ben Sales February 28, 2011

Some people say J Street is too far to the left; others complain that it’s too far right. But there’s another, more basic reason for Jews to doubt J Street’s kashrut: Its food is literally not kosher. Of course, plenty of Jewish organizations serve non-kosher food at their events, and that’s fine. Given that the…

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J Street Conference: Lots of college students–no press allowed

By David A.M. Wilensky February 27, 2011

There’s a blurry line here at the J Street Conference between press and participant. And between college student and press, insofar as I’m here. The participants’ badges hang on black lanyards, but the press is easy to spot because of our bright orange–just go New Voices, I’m sure–lanyards ours hang on. Every time I see…

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J Street Conference: Clapping for Hate?

By Ben Sales February 27, 2011

There’s a plenary going on right now at the J Street Conference that’s exploring the present democracy movements in the Middle East. Good stuff. Something everyone–and especially the peaceniks here–can get behind. The first two panelists gave unsurprising speeches supporting democracy and the peace process, which elicited some token cheers from a mostly silent crowd….

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J Street Conference: Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots! etc.

By David A.M. Wilensky February 27, 2011

Possibly the greatest conference giveaway $5 souvenir item I’ve ever seen: The J Street U shot glass. Unfortunately, I think it may be making the wrong point for them. If you fill these to the green line, you don’t get everything you want. So…

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J Street Conference: I found the one-man protest. And he’s a retired federal judge.

By David A.M. Wilensky February 27, 2011

Herbert Grossman, retired federal judge, is stationed outside the convention center. His sign says, “J STREET: Quislings, Kapos, Appeasars, the New JUDENRAT.” I was surprised to find that there’s only the one. And that he’s a retired federal judge. I was not surprised to find that he’s a tad crotchety. Q: What are you doing…

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J Street Conference: A quarter of this conference is college students

By David A.M. Wilensky February 27, 2011

I’m a little slow on math. Despite the fact that last night’s plenary was full of “there are 2000 people here” and “there are 500 college students here,” it didn’t dawn on me that, if these numbers are accurate, a quarter of the population of this conference is made up of college students. That’s impressive….

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Live from the J Street Conference: “Nearly 500” Jewish college students, over 2000 total

By David A.M. Wilensky February 26, 2011

The conference is under way. Rachel Lerner, the head of the conference itself, says that there are more than 2000 people here. I’ll buy that. It’s packed. The corner nearest the press seating I chose is chock-full of college students. I wonder how many of them them are here. Rabbi David Saperstein, head of the…

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Live from the J Street Conference: Why it’s called “J Street”

By David A.M. Wilensky February 26, 2011

J Street, the political arm of the pro-peace, pro-peace crowd is getting ready for its second annual conference here in DC. It’s 7:30 already and we haven’t started the opening plenary–set to being at 7–yet. And now they’re announcing that we’ll start in 5 minutes. Jews. Am I right? In other news, the DC convention center–the location…

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Birthright “the most successful project in the Jewish world…” ?

By David A.M. Wilensky February 24, 2011

Crossposted to Jewschool That’s right, folks. You heard it here first. (Well, actually, you heard it at JTA first.) Birthright Israel said it has received a record-breaking number of North American applicants for its free, 10-day trips to Israel. The organization, which provides all-expense-paid trips to Israel for Diaspora Jews aged 18 to 26, received…

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The blind, 47-year-old Black guy at Hillel

By David A.M. Wilensky February 24, 2011

The Jewish Exponent has a great feature from a couple weeks ago about a blind, 47-year-old black guy who has been a fixture at UPenn Hillel for twenty years. Ben just included it in The Reading List, but I wanted to put up a larger thing about it. Here’s a bit of it: At 47…

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The Reading List: The blind, African-American man at Hillel

By Ben Sales February 24, 2011

A feel-good story from our friends at Penn. [The Jewish Exponent] And if you want a (rare) feel-good story from Israel, check this out: The Chilean miners just landed there. [YNet] How can American colleges affect the Middle East situation? [Chronicle of Higher Ed.] Alliteration is alive! Mini Me visits the Western Wall! Extremely Excellent! [Heeb] Rahm…

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Glenn Beck goes extra hateful

By mekeisler February 24, 2011

If you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing you’re not down with Glenn Beck, but did you know that Pinkface Half-wit is a notorious anti-semite? Beck has a long history of appropiating the holocaust for political games, has called George Soros a “puppet master”, and has dressed up as a fetishized Nazi officer for his book…

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The Reading List: My Brief Romance with Natalie Portman

By Ben Sales February 23, 2011

As the Oscars approach, one student reflects on what might have been. [Tablet] A victory for the Israeli left: there will be no NGO monitoring panel. [JPost] A rabbinical student finds a tallit at H&M. [JW] Want to know about young Jews? Read these studies. [Judaism Without Borders] Here are some acronyms you should know if…

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