Why I’m Skipping My Own Graduation

By Simi Lichtman May 30, 2013

Today was my college graduation and instead of attending, I’m at work writing about it—much to the chagrin of my poor mother, who has now had two children finish college with not one graduation ceremony to cry at. According to a very informal survey I just took, about a quarter to half of college grads…

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Learning to Love Iran

By Simi Lichtman May 30, 2013

BBC World Service recently released the results of a 25-country survey determining how the world’s citizens view 16 countries and their influence on the world. Iran came at the very bottom of the list, with 15% of respondents seeing it as having a positive influence and 59% saying it has a negative influence. That result…

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Urban Adamah: Celebrating the Jewish farm tradition

By Catie Damon May 28, 2013

Across from Red Sea tobacconist and flanked by a dive bar, parking lot, and storage unit is Urban Adamah, a one and a quarter acre Jewish urban farm in the heart of Berkeley, California.  Rows of collard greens, chard, onions, beets, and peas radiate from a newly-built yurt and cob oven. Inside the farm, the…

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Academic Freedom Restricted in Name of Academic Freedom

By New Voices Editorial Board May 23, 2013

It takes a lot for the Association For Asian American Studies to make international headlines. The AAAS is a group of academics within the fields of Asian and Asian-American Studies who work to advance the fields of Asian Studies and Asian-American Studies. Not exactly the kind of organization regularly covered by CNN. A quick Google…

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Pluralism in Hillel must extend to Israel

By David A.M. Wilensky May 23, 2013

Our very own Lex Rofes — New Voices opinions editor and student representative on the board of Hillel — has joined forces with J Street U President Simone Zimmerman for a truly cracking op-ed at JTA about Hillel’s pluralism shortcomings: (JTA) — Throughout our four years in college, Hillel  as been our home on campus….

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Tikkun Olam: Repairing or Healing?

By Grace Gleason May 20, 2013

This article was originally posted on jU Chicago’s blog, and can be found here. Tikkun olam has become a motto for young socially-conscious American Jews, at least so it seems to me. This phrase has been adopted as the Jewish call to social justice action. It is commonly translated as “repairing the world.” The verb…

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Ruth Feldman’s ‘Blue Thread’ an important YA read: review

By John Propper May 20, 2013

As I sat down to review Ruth Feldman’s “Blue Thread,” I struggled to make sense of how to describe the novel in a way that wouldn’t, by default, turn away large segments of the reading public. With my fiancee, also a voracious reader, I tossed out ideas for pitching this novel without falling into the…

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On The Seventh Day, God Made Fashion

By H. B. Rubin May 14, 2013

Hassid or Hipster? It’s a topic of discussion that never gets old. But what about these bearded men’s female counterparts? While I don’t think we’re going to see any Hasidic women sporting crop-tops and wedged Supergas anytime soon, there may be more stylish overlap than you’ve previously considered. Whether it be the variety of hats lining…

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Ruth Tenzer Feldman on Writing, Judaism, and Why Oregon is Better Than Italy

By Simi Lichtman May 14, 2013

The publishing world is hard to get into. To make the process easier, and to give graduate students real-life hands-on experience with publishing, Portland State University created its own publishing house for its publishing school’s Master’s students. The company, Ooligan Press, was founded in 2001. Students are involved in every step of the publishing process,…

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From Amy to Aviva: My Journey From Bullying Target to School Faculty

By Aviva Perlman May 9, 2013

Two months ago, New Voices published an article about childhood bullying and its life-long effects. We put out a call for our readers to send in their own stories, of bullying and of what that bullying means to them now; of these stories, we chose the one that resonated with us most strongly. That story…

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My Homeless Friend

By Atara Siegel May 8, 2013

May is Mental Health Month in America. 25% of homeless individuals in the U.S. suffer from some form of severe mental illness, compared to 6% of the general population. This article is a tribute to the daily positivity of one homeless man in the face of all his struggles.  One of the friendliest people I…

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Are You Sexy Enough for the JTA?

By Lex Rofes May 2, 2013

“How would you rank the attractiveness of female Jews on your campus?” Does this question bother you? It certainly would bother me, regardless of the circumstances. What if it were being utilized as a question to determine the “Best Jewish Campus” in the country? Would it bother you more? For me the answer is a…

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What Modern Orthodox Jews Think of Women of the Wall

By Simi Lichtman May 1, 2013

It’s clear from recent changes that the mission of the Women of the Wall is gaining traction. The Jerusalem District Court ruled recently that the Law of Holy Places does not require “local customs” to be Orthodox practices, that police had no reason to detain the Women of the Wall earlier this month and that…

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