Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Since this article was published, Hillel International released the following statement. Hillel International recently landed itself in a controversy among its constituents by endorsing President Trump’s civil rights nominee for the Department of Education, Kenneth Marcus. A little background: Marcus is the founder and president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under…
IfNotNow’s “Liberation Seder” in New York on Wednesday began with a march from Bryant Park to the lobby of the Anti-Defamation League’s office building, and ended with the arrests of 17 protesters. The New York action was one of five that took place from April 19-21 held by the Jewish anti-occupation group. IfNotNow was founded…
I was hoping that in 2016, the Jewish community would find better ways to reach out to millennials. I guess they have, if co-opting social justice, intersectionality, and related ideas counts as outreach. It started with an op by David Bernstein, the current CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, published Jan. 4 in…
A few years ago, while I was working as a staff member at Brandeis High School Programs, someone asked me what could be done for LGBTQ people who were still in the closet. At first, I had no response. The only real way to give someone the direct help that they need is for them…
We’re usually pretty hard on Israel here at New Voices, and though more forgiving than some, I’m no exception. Yet, I find that in the midst of all my anxiety over the results of the last election or railing against the settlements, Yom HaAtzmaut provides the ideal opportunity to step back and remember why I…
“I felt my feet were praying.” – Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel on his experience in the third Selma to Montgomery march for civil rights. I was marching through a display of Christmas trees with a group of Jews screaming for the rights of people of color when I was first struck by the question of…
On Monday, the final day of what Previous New Voices Rebbe David A.M. Wilensky calls “Liberal Jewish Comicon,” my first interaction was with Ali Kreigsman, who was attending in support of her and Jana Kozlowski’s upcoming documentary, Between the Lines, about Jewish day school students who come to university and discover that in spite of…
The case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., presented a classic conundrum in American constitutionalism: a conflict between religious expression and the lengths to which such expression may infringe on the rights of others. The case also raised controversial questions of personhood and gender equity, and ultimately seemed to pit the interests of religious…
The context in which the force-feeding bill is passing through the Israeli Knesset is clear. Ziva Miral, a spokesperson from the Israeli Medical Association said that the practice “goes against the DNA of the doctors to force treatment on a patient…force-feeding is torture, and we can’t have doctors participating in torture.” The bill has…
It used to be, said a speaker at J Street U’s plenary session during the national J Street Conference, that students were expected to listen to learn from others. Now, he said, with the success of the fights for civil rights, marriage equality, unionizing, and women’s rights—all of which were led by student movements—the world…
Avi Shafran’s recent article in the Forward discussing gay “reparative” therapy has made me reflect on my philosophy of life. It’s always difficult for me to know the balance between halacha and happiness. I grew up in a world where Judaism came before all else. I still believe strongly in the importance of keeping the…
Jewish students are now protected under a law banning racial or ethnic harassment on campus. But will this serve to lessen anti-Semitism, or will it gag speech critical of Israel? [Forward] In the Israeli secular university students’ protests over stipends for Haredi yeshiva students, the country’s chief rabbi sides with… the secular students. [JTA] [JPost] Not all…
The vitriol of conservative talk radio never ceases to amaze me. First, Glenn Beck compares social justice to Nazism, and now Rush Limbaugh says that those who work in non-profits are “lazy idiots” and “rapists in terms of finance and economy.” Well, Rush, to show you that I’m not lazy (and not a rapist), I’m…