Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
I like Jewish boys. A lot. Which is why I was elated when Urban Outfitters released its 2016 Nice Jewish Guys calendar — and then I realized how conflicted I was. While I support the proliferation of the Nice Jewish Boy — and God only knows the world needs more of them — I also…
At some point in our school careers, we learn about the horrors of the Holocaust. But what information is presented to us in that academic setting? Perhaps the teacher delves into a brief history ranging from January 1933, when Hitler became chancellor of Germany, to May 1945, when the Nazis surrendered. Maybe we read Anne…
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…
With over two hundred thousand students enrolled at more than 800 institutions, Jewish day schools are becoming more and more prevalent in the American Jewish community. That’s two hundred thousand students learning about Israel from an early age — but what are these students actually learning about Israel? That’s what “Between The Lines,” a documentary…
Yom Kippur is a day we all associate with asking forgiveness. It is a day when every Jew admits in public that they are not perfect. That they have sinned. We ask God to inscribe us in the Book of Life despite our transgressions. Over the course of twenty-five hours we hit our chests while…
Imagine that you’re 14 years old. It’s December 1936. Today, and for a while now, you’re focusing on the fact that you are leaving home. Possibly forever. Your parents bring you to the local train station with your medium-sized black suitcase, and the three of you await the arrival of the next locomotive. All you…
With a new football season underway at the Ohio State University, the Buckeye community is determined to move forward in light of a report released this past summer regarding anti-Semitic lyrics in the school’s marching band songbook. OSU Hillel Executive Director Joseph Kohane told New Voices via email that the administration issued two statements condemning…
As a child, my rabbis and Judaic studies teachers cautioned me against straying “off the derekh,” which almost literally translates to off of the Orthodox straight-and-narrow. If we did, though, then the High Holidays were a time when we could return to once again being on the straight, singular path that Orthodoxy provided. As a…
This short story contains racial and ethnic slurs. “When’s that kike getting here?” “I wish you wouldn’t use such language, Henry.” “Why not? You’ve read the Protocols, same as me. They can’t be trusted, Gerry.” Gerald Thompson fiddled with his pocket watch that was always a minute behind. He glanced at his business partner,…
For Amna Farooqi, the newly elected president of the J Street U student board, what was once the elephant in the room has now become her job. Farooqi, a first-generation Pakistani-American, has been making headlines across the Jewish world as the board’s first Muslim president. She was elected to the position at the Aug. 17 J Street…
As the rift between J Street U and Hillel continues to widen, J Street U members remain dissatisfied with Hillel’s efforts to close the gap. On Aug. 17, Hillel International CEO and president Eric Fingerhut addressed J Street U in D.C. to apologize for declining to speak at the J Street U conference in March….
In America, Jews come from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, and have a shared memory of oppression and violence throughout history. That’s why, after the June 17 shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church that left nine dead in Charleston, S.C., several rabbis from across denominations came together and determined they had to do something…
Yesterday, I was reminded that the world in which I grew up — the Orthodox world — is one toward which I feel a sense of affinity, but also fear. The stabbing at Jerusalem Pride, carried out by a man who committed a similar crime a decade ago, confirmed this for me. I can love…
Have you ever wondered how Tu B’Av became marketed in Israel as an Israeli Valentine’s Day? When I went to Israel to visit my cousins, I was surprised to see Tu B’Av being celebrated as such a commercial holiday. Being the yenta that I am, I set out on a journey to find out why….
The AMCHA Initiative, a watchdog organization that works to investigate and combat anti-Semitism in American universities, launched a new web page last month to collect testimonies from students of on-campus incidents. Director and co-founder Tammi Rossman-Benjamin said AMCHA created the page because of concern over a rise in campus anti-Semitism. “We hear regularly from Jewish…