Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
On a typical Friday morning, most college students would sleep in if they had the opportunity. Not in the nation’s capital, where some students don blazers and pantsuits to lobby on Capitol Hill.
For many years, students from American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University and the University of Maryland have set out in person for lawmakers’ offices to lobby on behalf of Israel. All four schools coordinated to send a total of more than 60 students to 31 senators’ offices on a lobbying day last month.
The David Project has long been known as one of the most aggressive, acrimonious pro-Israel voices on campus. But their new report, “A Burning Campus” Rethinking Israel Advocacy at America’s Universities and Colleges,” is starting to change that reputation. Full of new strategies for combating what they see as destructive efforts to delegitimize Israel on campus, they hope the report will form the basis for a new unifying strategy for all on-campus Israel advocacy organizations. At its core is a complete 180: the idea that vigorously attacking “anti-Israelism” on campus is counterproductive.
David Bernstein was hired as the executive director of the David Project two years ago. I spoke with Bernstein yesterday. We went beyond the new report and touch on everything from the definition of pro-Israel to the upcoming Israeli Apartheid Week — and Bernstein talked about correcting common misconceptions about what Jewish campus life is like today.
Wilensky: After working at the American Jewish Committee for several years, what drew you to the David Project?
Bernstein: I started out as a pro-Israel student activist in college. I was the head of the pro-Israel student group at [Ohio State University], an activist in the Soviet Jewry movement and I was on the national Hillel student executive committee. I’ve always felt a special kinship to the campus scene.
No Jews in the Ivy League [Caroline Glick] Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post, rails against an upcoming conference at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government which begins with disputing Israel’s right to exist. “The embrace of the cause of Israel’s destruction by so many celebrity professors today is part and parcel of the…
If you’ll be in NYC on Thursday night and you have a hankering for free vodka, free knishes or the general debauchery both of those delightful things imply the world over, join me at Heeb Magazine‘s 10th anniversary party. And if you’re still not convinced — or you wanna know what the actual details are…
Sarah Kate Silverman was born December 1, 1970 in Bedford, NH. Silverman is a comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Though she does not come from a religious background, the comedian is ethnically Jewish. “I have no religion. But culturally I can’t escape it; I’m very Jewish,” she said. Her comedy focuses on social taboos…
Last week, New Voices pointed out a report by +972 Magazine on Norman Finkelstein, Palestinian rights activist and controversial thinker. In a move that has surprised many, Finkelstein came out in opposition to the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), which seeks to protest the conflict between Israel and Palestine through a variety of boycotts…
The responsibility of Jewish federations [Forward] With the economic recession hitting many organizations, religious or otherwise, with hard times, leaders must make choices to ensure survival. But are some federations unfairly compromising the well-being of their employees in the process? The Jewish Daily Forward takes a look: “In this flip exchange lies a serious issue….
Anybody from AU knows that our homonymic nickname is “Gay Jew,” given the University’s large population, and administration and student support of, both the LGBT and Jewish communities on campus. But this weekend at American University in Washington, D.C., the campus got a dose of both in one when the National Union for LGBT Jewish Students…
Avi Shafran’s recent article in the Forward discussing gay “reparative” therapy has made me reflect on my philosophy of life. It’s always difficult for me to know the balance between halacha and happiness. I grew up in a world where Judaism came before all else. I still believe strongly in the importance of keeping the…
Video mashes up Chasidic celebration with “Teach Me How to Dougie” [Youtube] A hilarious YouTube video featuring a clip from what appears to be a Chasidic wedding dance paired up with Cali Swag District’s meme-tastic song has hit the web. Hey, they’re better than the Black Eyed Peas. Curlier too. Wigless photo of former chief…
This past weekend marked not only Nicki Minaj’s first-ever onstage exorcism, but also the passing of one of America’s greatest talents of the past two decades: Whitney Houston. Known for powerful vocals and expressive ballads, Houston remains a part of the American soundscape through songs like “I Will Always Love You” and “I Wanna Dance…
I’ve known them since I was 10 years old. We’ve gone through everything together- pimples, training bras, hating our parents, loving our parents, hating boys, loving boys (we’re back to hating them, FYI) high school, mean girls – you get my point. We were that group of girls who spent every waking moment together, who…
I wouldn’t call myself a rabid feminist. In fact, sometimes I’m so downright feminine that I put Stepford wives to shame. But today two things happened that made me want to whip off my bra and light it on fire right in the middle of my college’s lobby. Let’s start in the classroom. In one…
Shit Girls Say was funny, at least the first time around. Shit Girls Say to Gay Guys was surprisingly accurate. But Shit Zionists Say took the meme out of its playfully mocking intentions, placing it in the midst of the conflict no one wants to touch. There was nothing funny about the video. Memes are…