Why Did “Indecent” Become An Overnight Classic?
The play by Paula Vogel became an immediate theater phenomenon. It hasn’t stopped captivating audiences and gracing student stages. What explains its unusual success?
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
Revisiting the Jewish American Princess Zine
“While the Jewish American Princess has been weaponized by non-Jews for antisemitic purposes, intracommunally it’s often been used as a caricature to make fun of classist and racist Jewish people.” Welcome to the Jewish Underground Press.
Illuminating the Diaspora in “The Full Severity of Our Connection”
Capturing the tension between a wide-ranging diaspora and conflict-ridden Jewish state in her new book, “The Full Severity of Our Connection,” author Kayla Cohen navigates questions of peoplehood in a contemporary, global context as a Jewish college student.
Beyond Continuity: Speaking Out Against Toxic Hookup Culture in Jewish Youth Groups
“Four years after my entry into youth groups, I’ve finally been able to process the harmful culture I was subjected to. Now, I’m more than ready to join a discussion about consent and power in Jewish spaces; there is still much work to be done, and we need participation from the community as a whole in order to create a healthier culture for every Jewish teen.”
Besamim for Heartbreak: A New Jewish Zine
What happens when two people in an interwoven community break up? A confessional glimpse into ritual and relationships, “Besamim for Heartbreak” braids together archival research, poetry, ritual practice, collage, embroidery, illustration and personal narrative, in a new zine centered around Besamim, the Jewish practice of smelling spices.
Shabbat Shira: My Kind of Judaism
“Still, the images—Portland tweens and Seattle teens and Polish and British and American and Israeli and Hungarian and Canadian staff singing their hearts out in languages familiar and foreign, skipping around with friends and strangers turned best friends, busting moves in sync or at random without blinking an eye—remains starkly etched in the crevices of my mind. Finding my place in this global network of people and identities reminds me just how much room there is under the umbrella of Judaism.”
Nice Jewish girl seeks same for legal wedding
On October 11, 2009, I woke up in my best friend’s apartment at 5 a.m. We had a bus to catch to D.C. We were going to the National Equality March. Before that, though, we had something to do. Together we’d decided we would come out on Facebook, in honor of the march and National…
BirthWrong explores Jewish culture outside Israel
In May, BirthWrong gave students the opportunity to travel to Spain to learn about communism, the Spanish Civil War, and Jewish culture outside of Israel. BirthWrong was founded by the left-wing British organization Jewdas as a response to Taglit-Birthright Israel, an organization that takes Jews aged 18 to 26 on a free trip to Israel….
What Can Marmite Tell Us About Diaspora? – A Jew in the Motherland
It was certainly one of the stranger Jewish conversations I have had. (Mind you, I have had many.) There I was in Oxford after a hearty Sabbath lunch, walking in the beauty of Christ Church Meadow, chatting with a new friend about food. At a moment, he turned to me and said, “You said…
Meeting New People: A Five-Step Guide for Non-Jews Meeting Jews for the First Time
College means opening your mind and seeing a lot of new faces. You may even find yourself learning more from those around you than from of all the information in your textbooks. Of course, meeting people who think differently than you can be nerve-racking. If you’re meeting a Jewish person for the first time,…
#Generation
I love hashtag communication: the modern use of these small hash symbol labels meant to convey a specific point. You can sum up an entire paragraph of concepts and ideas in a single pairing of symbol and word. Who needs prepositions, gerunds, and contractions? Who wants words? I’m an English literature major, and even I…
The Black and White Necessity for Grey Zone Judaism
This academic year I am a part of the Peoplehood Project: a UJA sponsored program that brings together students from Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Oranim College in northern Israel, and ZWST, a German Jewish organization. Each cohort spends time learning in their respective home countries, then, over winter break, all three groups spend time traveling and learning…
Romancing the Sephardi
There’s been a bit of news about Sephardim lately. Although the attempt began a few years ago, the Spanish government recently announced a more concerned effort at paving the way for Sephardim – ancestors of those Jews expelled in the Inquisition of the 15th century – to acquire Spanish citizenship. The ways of determining who…
Jewish Tokenism and Tolerance: On Liberals, Narratives, and Costa Rica
Zach Cohen’s New Voices article was not exactly the most adulatory of Costa Rica. His piece prompted responses: one from Q Costa Rica and two from the Costa Rica Star – an initial piece and a follow-up. These pieces took a largely self-defensive, mocking, and somewhat anti-Semitic tone. Yet at the same time, the pieces…
Herring. Yum.
I will never forget the day I brought herring sandwiches to school. There I was, an awkward little seven-year-old, eating a vinegary and odorous pickled herring sandwich on brown bread in the middle of the lunch room. A delicious and very filling lunch for a first-grader. And there were the faces of my (mostly Jewish)…