Photo Gallery: Along India’s ‘Hummus Trail,’ Businesses Brush up on Hebrew

By Gabe Weinstein January 31, 2013

There is still at least another hour before the moon blankets the surrounding rice fields and the gargantuan boulders here in the south Indian town of Hampi. But at Dudu Falafel it may as well be midnight. An Israeli tourist stands in the main window serenading passing strangers with the lyrics of an Israeli pop song as it blasts over the speakers. In the kitchen, Dudu Falafel owner Chandru Singh supervises his staff as they prepare falafel, shakshuka, and moussaka for Israeli backpackers and other foreign tourists. Dudu is one of several local restaurants offering Israeli comfort food – but it stands out from the rest, boasting that it imports its zaatar, paprika and even the instant coffee that many Israelis can’t live without.

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Never Been a Better Time to Be a Jew in College

By New Voices Editorial Board January 31, 2013

We hear it all the time: The American Jewish community is in decline. Interest is lacking, affiliation is down — and Jewish babies are popping out less frequently than we would like. If members of the Jewish establishment are correct, the future of American Judaism is in great peril, and if we don’t do a…

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Dear Students: Get Paid to Run a Blog

By David A.M. Wilensky January 30, 2013

The Global Jewish Voice is hiring a new Editor. The position of GJV Editor is for an undergraduate university student, preferably based in the U.S. It lasts for approximately one semester and begins ASAP. The position reports to the Editor in Chief of New Voices. The GJV Editor receives a $500 stipend and has the opportunity to publish…

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Jewish Pranksters Take Hot or Not to a New Level

By H. B. Rubin January 30, 2013

Guess what? Not only does the Internet provide you access to how Jewish your favorite celebrity is, it now also lets you know how anti-Semitic ze might be. Modeled after everyone’s favorite (read: disgusting) Facebook game, Hot or Not, the website AntiSemiticOrNot.com offers up people and events for viewers to rate on an anti-Semitic scale of…

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Israeli Elections Might Just Be Superior

By Lex Rofes January 29, 2013

I have a quick question to ask our readers in the wake of recent elections in both the USA and Israel. What is Barack Obama’s middle name? My guess is that you, like much of our electorate, know that his middle name is “Hussein.” My guess is that you know this not because you were…

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Israeli Politics: A Glorified Personality Contest

By Gabriel T. Erbs January 28, 2013

As Obama signaled a more liberal second term during his second inaugural speech, I braced for the Israeli election. International media predicted a “right-wing doomsday,” decrying the end of once dominant “secular liberalism” in Israeli politics. One article from Israel/Palestine-based +972 Magazine projected that Prime Minister Netanyahu was losing ground—to the extreme right. In other words,…

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People of the Book, Not the Nook

By Rebecca Borison January 24, 2013

It’s sundown on Friday, and I have just turned off my laptop. I walk downstairs to light the Shabbat candles, and I prepare myself for 25 hours without technology. After a nice Shabbat dinner, I retreat to a warm and cozy couch. I settle in with a book in one hand and a magazine in the…

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Kavanah vs. Keva In Jewish Prayer

By Lex Rofes January 23, 2013

This article was originally posted on PunkTorah.org. Kavanah. If you’re Jewish, you’ve probably heard the word thrown around by your Rabbi, or perhaps by a friend. Perhaps you use it yourself on a regular basis. For me, it’s a biggie. Loosely translated as “intention,” and related to the word kivun meaning “direction,” living life with…

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‘Companionship or Death’: Jewish Engagement With the Injustice of Solitary Confinement

By Rachel M. Cohen January 22, 2013

If community is a foundation of Jewish life, what does Judaism have to say about solitary confinement, the forcible separation of a person from the community? A few months ago I began an internship with Solitary Watch, an investigative news organization dedicated to reporting on solitary confinement. Once I got started, I became interested in…

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“Zero Dark Thirty,” or Shut Up and Watch

By John Propper January 22, 2013

“Zero Dark Thirty.” Something tells me I could type that title and walk away, and the comments section would take care of itself. No need for further input. Good game, everyone. Why is there so much anger over this movie? Many say it exaggerates the positive relationship between torture and the death of Usama bin…

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Banshee: Your New TV Addiction

By Simi Lichtman January 17, 2013

Disclaimer: I have a literary crush on Jonathan Tropper. All glowing reviews of Jonathan Tropper and his works in this article may very well be biased by said crush. But my crush is well earned. Just pick up one of his books—I’d recommend This Is Where I Leave You to start—and you’ll understand. Not only…

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American Jewish University: Not Just American Jews

By Sara Gold January 17, 2013

From an outsider’s perspective, the undergraduate college at American Jewish University in Los Angeles may not seem diverse. After all, the college, while not a religious institution, is predominately Jewish. However, AJU students – much like American Jewry as a whole – are differentiated by homeland, customs, beliefs, and individual personality traits, despite being generally…

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The Fight You Won’t Pick Can Still Pick You

By Stacey R. Hamman January 14, 2013

Jerusalem, ISRAEL — As the 2010 film Inception suggests, the introduction of a simple idea can be done very subtly but can transform a person’s resulting thought pattern or behavior completely. In reality, if you do not have conviction about a particular fact, you are much more likely to be swayed to believe the opposite when…

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My College Advice

By Simi Lichtman January 10, 2013

For most of my three years in college, my main goal was to graduate. I started out pre-med, under the delusion that I enjoyed sciences, and then college had a purpose: to educate me in the basic sciences so that I could attend medical school. But once I took and subsequently came to loath Chemistry,…

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The Roller Coaster Ride of Zionism on California Campuses

By Shani Chabansky January 7, 2013

Last winter, I attended the second Occupy Oakland port shutdown, along with hundreds of other students. At a midday rally, Angela Davis, one of my greatest heroines and a professor of my alma mater, addressed the crowd. My heart soared as she spoke of the “wins” of the first port shutdown. However, my beating pulse…

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