Is Giving Presents a Jewish Tradition?

By Elizabeth Zakaim December 30, 2016

Gift-giving on Chanukah is so popular a custom that we rarely stop to think about it. Why do we do it? Are we just copying Christmas, or is there some Jewish tradition present in the act of gift-giving? (No pun intended.) To find out how gift-giving became such a prominent aspect of Chanukah, we have…

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What’s the Real Gift of Chanukah?

By Joshua Reynolds December 29, 2016

What are you getting for Chanukah this year? I don’t mean the gifts you’re anxiously awaiting in your mailbox, though gift giving on Chanukah is actually an ancient tradition. I mean, what really is the gift of Chanukah? Is it freedom? Is it independence? Is it survival? Is it the ability to wrap a drone…

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David Friedman Would Be a Disaster as Ambassador

By Marc Daalder December 28, 2016

The advertisement is deceptively simple – a darkened image of Donald Trump smiling next to David Friedman, overlaid with four block-lettered words, the last in red: “He Called You Kapos.” This is J Street’s latest ad campaign, a stark reminder of the abuse that Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel has showered on liberal…

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Give Ambassador David Friedman a Chance

By Jackson Richman December 28, 2016

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump nominated campaign adviser and bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel. The appointment was understandably controversial in the Jewish community; Friedman’s stances on pertinent Israel issues are abhorrent to the Jewish left and increasingly left-leaning Jewish youth. Regardless, he must be given a chance to succeed. First, Friedman…

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An Israeli Chef Brings “Balaboosta” Back

By Michele Amira December 27, 2016

I consider myself a balaboosta in training, as my Bubbe would say, using the Yiddish word for a Jewish homemaker who has it together. For this reason, my Torah of trying to cook food for family is The New York Times’ best-selling cookbook “Balaboosta” by feminist Israeli chef Einat Admony.   Admony came to my hometown,…

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In Defense of My Americanized Chanukah

By Mari Cohen December 26, 2016

When I was little, I looked forward to the day in December when my dad asked us to dig the “Chanukah box” out of the attic. Out came the electric menorah to put in our window, the glitzy blue and silver garland of dreidels and Jewish stars to hang on our bannister, several rolls of…

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The Algemeiner Made the Worst List of “Worst Colleges for Jewish Students”

By Ross Beroff December 26, 2016

The Algemeiner recently released a list of the “40 Worst Colleges for Jewish students.” Already students and Jewish professionals on these campuses are reacting to the list, some defending it, some arguing against its creation, and others complaining that their universities were not listed. I do not go to any of the schools referenced, but…

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Why Religion Matters – With or Without God

By Daniel Levine December 21, 2016

Original version published on whoknowsoneblog.wordpress.com. Is there something that faith brings to our society that we would lack if we lived in a world without religion? To the person who has perfect belief in God or a specific religion, this question seems silly. In their minds, of course the presence of their specific religion is of…

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Between Politics and Religion: Jewish Activism at Columbia

By Solomon Wiener December 20, 2016

Originally published in the Fall 2016 edition of The Current. Since the famed student uprising of 1968, many generations of Columbia students have felt an obligation to perpetuate the legacy of the late 60s by creating a myriad of activist clubs and organizations here on campus. And not uncommonly, Jewish students have occupied prominent lay…

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Are We White Right Now?

By Sara Weissman December 15, 2016

After the election, my friend’s younger brother called from Israel. “Are we white?” he asked. Her immediate response was, “Not anymore.” As I listened to my friend talk about this exchange, I wasn’t sure which part was more telling, the question or the answer. The question – how we fit into America’s racial landscape as…

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There’s Life After “Stranger Things” – and It’s Called “Red Oaks” Season 2

By Josh Weiss December 15, 2016

Let’s face some unsavory facts: the first season of “Stranger Things” is over and the show won’t be back until 2017. If you’re anything like me, there’s a gaping Eggo waffle-shaped void in your soul where Eleven and the rest of the Hawkins, Indiana gang used to reside. Was it the best new television series…

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Finals Week News Round-Up: Texas A&M Rabbi Confronts White Supremacist

By New Voices Staff December 9, 2016

Are finals interfering with your catch up on campus news? New Voices has you covered. Stay in the loop with this week’s news round-up, featuring three of the latest stories from campuses across the nation. Click the links to read more. See something here that you want to report on – or kvetch or kvell about? Get in touch at editor@newvoices.org. At…

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Jewish Institutions, Oppose Bannon – or Millennials Will Leave You Behind

By Marc Daalder December 8, 2016

Over the past three weeks, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Steve Bannon for chief strategist has drawn a lot of attention. Bannon has been accused of turning conservative website Breitbart News into a home for neo-Nazis and the alt-right movement, of being a racist, a white supremacist, and even an anti-Semite. At the same time,…

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Secretary of State Candidate John Bolton Won’t Bend on Israel Policy

By Jackson Richman December 6, 2016

Let’s play a game of “Who Said It? Secretary of State John Kerry or Secretary of State Candidate John Bolton?” (The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations met with Vice President-elect Mike Pence last Thursday and met with President-elect Donald Trump last Friday.) On the One vs. Two-State Solution: Quote #1: “The one-state solution…

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