Jackson Richman

IAC Panel: Campus Jewish Left Faces a ‘False Choice’

By Jackson Richman November 10, 2017

Although left-leaning Jewish college students sympathize with progressive movements, like Black Lives Matter, social justice causes have often excluded them over their support for Israel, at least according to an expert panel at this year’s Israeli-American Council conference. Founded over a decade ago, the Israeli-American Council is an umbrella organization created to connect Israeli-Americans and…

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To the Alt-Right – From the Grandson of Holocaust Survivors

By Jackson Richman August 17, 2017

Originally published at Red Alert Politics.  At the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference, I passed by prominent white supremacist Richard Spencer, who beforehand said, “Effectively, any policy, idea, or belief that is markedly right-wing and traditional — that evokes identity, power, hierarchy, and dominance — must be regulated by the possibility that it could potentially lead…

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Your Favorite Childhood Reads and Their Surprising Holocaust Histories

By Jackson Richman July 10, 2017

My favorite childhood books, “Curious George” and “Where the Wild Things Are,” always gave me a smile. They’re both fun light reads with lovable, mischievous main characters. Their creators, however, share a dark, trying past. The authors and their ancestors, H.A. and Margaret Rey and Maurice Sendak, respectively, survived the Shoah before creating some of…

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Republicans React to Jewish Campus Life Under Trump

By Jackson Richman March 6, 2017

The media has shown us months of outraged reactions over Donald Trump’s election, particularly among students. Campus protests frequently appear on our TV screens and in our newspapers. But, few are talking about students who walk past the rallies that protest the result of their vote – or their presumed vote as Republicans. Few are…

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Jewish Schools, Stop the Statements on Policy

By Jackson Richman February 10, 2017

Although President Donald Trump’s temporary immigration ban has been halted by a federal court in Washington state, Jewish educational institutions shouldn’t be publicly sitting in judgment on issues that do not pertain to the Jewish community or Israel. At the expense of possibly furthering division in the Jewish community, it is best for such institutions…

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This Professor Gets the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act All Wrong

By Jackson Richman January 16, 2017

In The Wall Street Journal a couple weeks ago, former Harvard Professor Ruth Wisse wrote about how we need to fight anti-Semitism through the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which requires the Department of Education to take the broad State Department definition of anti-Semitism into account when determining if an act can be deemed anti-Semitic in accordance with Title…

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Chabad Reaches All 50 States

By Jackson Richman January 11, 2017

We all know the joke: The first life on Mars will be… a Chabad House. While Chabad, a juggernaut Jewish presence on nearly 200 campuses nation-wide, isn’t quite intergalactic yet, it recently took one step closer. Chabad is finally in all 50 states with its recent addition of a Chabad House in South Dakota. South…

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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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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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Steve Bannon: Sympathy for White Supremacists in the White House

By Jackson Richman November 16, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump has started to select members for his upcoming cabinet. Two positions have already been filled: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus as chief of staff and Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon as chief strategist. The former is a sane and solid choice, based on his experience in the GOP establishment, while…

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Will Trump’s Presidency Help Israel?

By Jackson Richman November 10, 2016

In an election between two of the most unpopular candidates in U.S. electoral history, real estate and media mogul Donald Trump accomplished the unthinkable – winning the presidency. His transition from the Trump Organization to political business in the Oval Office will entail a lot of challenges domestically and abroad. His domestic challenges will include handling…

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“Denial” Describes a Case of Fact vs. Fiction

By Jackson Richman October 23, 2016

The movie “Denial” is about a court case between Fact and Fiction. Through the case David Irving v. Penguin Books Limited, Deborah E. Lipstadt, “Denial” shows how injustices like the Holocaust cannot be denied. One of the most controversial cases of the 1990s, this case distinguished scholarship from bigotry. Emory University Professor Deborah Lipstadt (played…

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U.S. Aid Isn’t Good for Israel

By Jackson Richman October 19, 2016

The U.S. and Israel recently renewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The current version, signed in 2008, expires in 2018. According to officials, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to an MoU that would provide more than $30 billion over a decade, which would include advanced weaponry systems. The continuation of…

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Students looking to start new businesses always have TAMID

By Jackson Richman March 4, 2016

To begin the next great enterprise requires certain skills. An aspiring entrepreneur needs to know how to pitch, how to fundraise — and how to find people who can help them get their business off the ground. At George Washington University and two dozen more American campuses, there’s a club for aspiring entrepreneurs to develop…

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Perspectives on Syrian refugees: Is the Holocaust comparison inappropriate?

By Jackson Richman February 26, 2016

Read the first part in our series of Jewish perspectives on Syrian refugees, “Finding commonality in Jewish history.“ For the last few months, I’ve seen the comparison of today’s Syrian refugees to the plight of European Jews during the Holocaust trending on social media. This is an ignorant comparison with no real critical analysis behind it….

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