Judaism and Veganism: Matisyahu Speaks at UF

By akinman March 17, 2011

Beat-boxing sensation and reggae superstar, Matisyahu, brought together the Jewish student community last night at the University of Florida for Jewish Awareness Month (JAM). ACCENT, the UF student-run speaker series, and JAM brought Matisyahu to perform and guest speak at the Philips Center for the Performing Arts. For the first hour, Matisyahu and Adam, the…

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Clothes make the (wo)man

By jcohen March 16, 2011

I have always believed the phrase “clothes make the (wo)man.” You cannot deny that when you look sharp, you feel special and people treat you accordingly. Dressing up makes you the center of attention, but this term, I learned a little something about dressing down. A few weeks ago, I was just lazing around the…

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Game Theory and Transportation: Dr. Nicole Adler

By mmoncaster March 16, 2011

Advanced mathematics does have some real world application, even though I like to tell myself it doesn’t (how else can I justify my ineptitude in the subject?). But despite my distaste for anything harder than basic algebra, I was able to appreciate a recent lecture I attended at the University of British Columbia Hillel House….

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Bloggers’ Round Table: Should Brandeis Hillel exclude JVP? (Captain Picard says no)

By David A.M. Wilensky March 15, 2011

The Bloggers’ Round Table is a new (potentially) weekly feature we’re trying out at New Voices. We e-mailed all of our bloggers a question. And here are some of their answers. Much to the consternation of some, Hillel at Brandeis voted not to bring the Brandeis chapter of the pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions group Jewish…

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Cutting through the rhetoric: J Street is centrist, not leftist

By David A.M. Wilensky March 15, 2011

I got about halfway through this Boston Globe editorial before I realized what seemed so remarkable about it to me: This editorial is the first thing I’ve read in the press that acknowledges that J Street is really a center/center-left organization. It’s not radically leftist to promote a two-state solution, which is at the heart…

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Reading List: Happy Purim from Eva Longoria, Alaska airlines freaks out about tefilin and more…

By David A.M. Wilensky March 15, 2011

Above, Eva Longoria wishes us all a happy Purim on behalf of Sesame Street. She’s not Jewish is she? Why can’t they get Natalie Portman to do this? The Nation wants to tell you all about “the new Israeli left.” How often have we heard that such a thing is about to become a big…

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St Patrick’s Day or the Fast of Esther?

By ahowie March 14, 2011

On college campuses this week, we’re all gearing up for two very important holidays: St Patrick’s Day — with lots of green beer — and Purim — with lots of wine and other substances.  Sadly, however, there is the little known Fast of Esther that coincides with St. Patty’s Day this year, which leads to…

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Correction: J Street U was, is, and will be pro-Israel

By Harpo Jaeger March 13, 2011

My last post alluded to a dust-up where J Street U dropped the term “pro-Israel” from its slogan.  Trouble is, that never happened: The national board of J Street U neither discussed nor voted on any action to remove the term “pro-Israel” from our platform, policy or the way we describe ourselves at J Street…

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As tragedy strikes again…

By hdilman March 13, 2011

On September 1st, 2010 I blogged about the tragic terrorist attack that took the lives of four people. Last night, as I turned on my computer after Shabbat, I went straight to the news, wanting to find out about Japan’s quake/tsunami. However, I was shocked by something else: another terrorist attack that took the lives…

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Will the Pope’s Words Affect Anti-Semitism?

By Carly Silver March 11, 2011

The pope’s latest statement about Jews follows his announcement that, two thousand years after the fact, we were not, in fact, to blame for killing Jesus. While this statement might reverse future anti-Semitism, it might be a bit too little, too late. Unfortunately, hatred towards the Jews for something we didn’t do is likely too…

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As Knesset Prepares J Street Hearing, J Street Offers Students as Proof of Viability

By David A.M. Wilensky March 11, 2011

At the J Street Conference in DC two weeks ago, we noted the strong, visible and audible presence of students among the attendees. J Street itself noticed too and is using the big student turnout and the quick pace of growth of J Street U as proof of J Street’s viability. J Street President Jeremy…

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What’s my name again?

By lcuen March 11, 2011

Two years ago, an Egyptian student in my history of the modern middle east class referred to Jewish culture as stolen culture, the Mizrahis eat Arab food and the Ashkenazis eat schnitzel so, he concluded, basically Israel was a country of stolen identities. I’m usually pretty peacenik/organic-granola-and-free-lovin but for some reason that statement gave me…

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When the Establishment Works

By Ben Sales March 11, 2011

Like most New Voices editors before me, I’ve felt a compulsion to criticize the Jewish Establishment. And while I may not be as contrary as my predecessor, I–along with the rest of our writers–have had no problem admonishing Hillel, AIPAC, (of course) the ADL or any other large Jewish organization. So when the American Jewish…

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The Reading List: Video Edition!

By Ben Sales March 10, 2011

Yay new media! Today’s reading list will feature five videos–not including the two Purim videos we already posted. Thanks, YouTube! So, you want to go to rabbinical school… [CFIDSgurl] Here’s what happens when sheltered Orthodox college boys try to be risque. [The Lonely Turtle] Yet another Purim parody video. I’ll be honest: I haven’t watched…

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Five Students, Five Questions, One Israel Apartheid Week

By Ben Sales March 10, 2011

With Israel Apartheid Week in full swing at campuses nationwide, here’s what five students from right to left have to say about the programs and controversy at Berkeley–the birthplace of Students for Justice in Palestine.

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