Ben Sales

The Reading List: Tzitzis Are Sexy!

By Ben Sales December 22, 2010

But it depends how you wear them. [Leftover Cholent] Ramen noodles, college students’ bread and butter, may lead to chronic illness. Tradition Soup, anyone? [MainStreet] Netanyahu caves to the anti-Zionist students. [Ha’aretz] Don’t get a Ph.D. [The Economist] With DADT over, will the ROTC return to the Ivies? [NYT]

Read More...

The Reading List: Gazan students to Visit Holocaust Museum

By Ben Sales December 21, 2010

It will be one of their stops on a tour of the U.S. This really proves the “Muslims hate Jews” hypothesis. [JTA/JJ] Six Haredi yeshivot in Israel may have stolen tens of millions of shekels from the government. [Ha’aretz] Is Israel a hi-tech paradise? Not for students. [YNet] Watch out for pick-up artists, even if…

Read More...

How I Lost Faith in Barack Obama

By Ben Sales December 21, 2010

I never thought Obama was the messiah. Sure, the posters moved me. So did his words, his slogans, that music video and all the rest of the propaganda that came with his movement. But despite my enthusiasm, I did not expect Barack to fix all of our problems. I, like many, knew that there would be pitfalls…

Read More...

The Reading List: Anti-Semitic IU Suspect Turns Himself in

By Ben Sales December 20, 2010

The man who vandalized a Jewish building at the University of Indiana turned himself in to police. [JTA] A Jewish student goes to India and takes a cooking class with three Israelis. Why are we not surprised? [Pink Pangea] Increasingly more Muslim students are attending Catholic universities. [WaPo] A British student leader says Jewish persecution is a…

Read More...

Hillel Must Put Students First

By Ben Sales December 20, 2010

Hillel recently banned Jewish Voice for Peace from its facilities nationwide. Such a ban betrays Hillel’s mission and divides the Jewish campus community that Hillel purports to serve.

Read More...

The Reading List: Why Do Pro-Palestinian Students Oppose Dialogue?

By Ben Sales December 17, 2010

According to Philip Weiss, pro-Palestinian students at Brooklyn College don’t want dialogue with the pro-Israel group. Here’s a telling quote from a student there: “We hold an anti-normalization stance on dialogue,” said Eeman Abuasi, 21, a co-founder of the Palestinian Club who grew up in Brooklyn, east Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah….

Read More...

The Reading List: Are Jewish Students Scared?

By Ben Sales December 16, 2010

Natan Sharansky says that anti-Israel intimidation is silencing pro-Israel students on campus, but where’s his evidence? [NJJN Just ASC] Hillels should include, not oppose, JVP groups. Look for more on this in an NV blog post later today. [The Magnes Zionist] In related news, the NIF comes out explicitly against BDS. [Atlantic Jeff Goldberg] And BTS (Breaking…

Read More...

The Reading List: Equality for lefties!

By Ben Sales December 14, 2010

Here’s a story that’s near and dear to my heart: Left handed students in Israel demand desk equality. [Ha’aretz] Seven clerical students, including a few soon-to-be rabbis, are the subject of a new documentary on PBS. [JW] College is valuable, but it does not hold the key to unemployment. [NYT] More discrimination against Arab students…

Read More...

Shabbat is Not Cancelled, and It’s Always Free

By Ben Sales December 10, 2010

“No Shabbat on Friday, March 6th due to Washington Universities Spring Break!” So read an email I received a year and a half ago, during my senior year of college. Leaving aside the grammatical errors, I laughed. Of course there was Shabbat; There was just no Shabbat dinner at Hillel. I assumed that they’d forgotten to…

Read More...

The Reading List: Do Jews Like to Date Jews?

By Ben Sales December 10, 2010

So says the Maryland Mitzpeh, which put out some strong new content this week. According to a poll of almost 100 students, a majority would not date outside the fold, which is surprising given soaring intermarriage rates. [Mitzpeh] Marriage in college? Check it out. [Mitzpeh] Here’s some bad romance: A Columbia professor — who I…

Read More...

The Reading List: Peter Beinart Lives!

By Ben Sales December 9, 2010

In other words, people are still debating his column from six months ago. First, Roger Cohen says that Jewish organizations in the US need to abandon “Israel right or wrong,” and quotes J Street U employee/rock star Ira Stup–who works in our office–throughout the article. [NYT] Then Gary Rosenblatt casts doubt on Beinart’s evidence and…

Read More...

The (Double) Reading List: When a “Maccabeats” reference goes too far

By Ben Sales December 8, 2010

Today the concerned and compassionate editors of New Voices are offering you a double reading list to apologize for dropping the ball on these roundups yesterday and on Monday. Enjoy these ten worthwhile links from the Jewish internet: We all love Maccabeatlemania, but here’s how we shouldn’t use the craze that’s sweeping American Jewry. On…

Read More...

Menorah at UF Vandalized

By Ben Sales December 6, 2010

A group of about ten vandals damaged the University of Florida Hillel’s menorah early Saturday morning, according to Hillel Executive Director Keith Dvorchik. Dvorchik told New Voices that at around 11 p.m. on Friday night, Hillel staff saw about ten men walking through Hillel’s property shouting, “F-ck you, Jews! Happy Hanukkah!” Police came and told the men…

Read More...

Living in a Movie

By Ben Sales December 6, 2010

Josh Freed’s “Five Weddings and a Felony” chronicles one summer in the filmmaker’s life, a few months of weddings, hookups, apologies, neuroses and irresponsibility. And it’s also about my family.

Read More...

The Reading List: Maybe Yeshivas Have the Right Idea…

By Ben Sales December 2, 2010

Turns out gender-separated study leads to better results. Thanks, rabbis. [HuffPo] J Street U’s Jeusalem organizer says we should listen to the prophets–and pursue peace and justice. [Jewschool] Meanwhile, back in Belarus, students help restore a Jewish cemetery. [Forward] Here’s why, against all odds, you should expect Israeli-Palestinian peace, at some point. [JW] Who should…

Read More...