In Search of True Egalitarianism

By Amram Altzman January 27, 2014

  Growing up in the early 2000’s means I watched copious amounts of Arthur, Cyberchase, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh!; I knew the dance to “Soulja Boy,” played on my Gameboy obsessively, and ate Go-gurts (or the kosher equivalents thereof) on the school bus ride home. Growing up in the 2000’s also meant that I saw men…

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Boycotts, Reform Rabbis, and Abortions – New Vices

By Derek M. Kwait January 10, 2014

MLA Hosts Panel on Boycotting Israel at Annual Conference The Modern Language Association will hold a panel called “Academic Boycotts: A Discussion of Israel and Palestine,” described as a discussion of “the political movement Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel, seen by its defenders as a viable means to end the Palestinian occupation,” according to…

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The Other Israel: The Garden of Eden

By Derek M. Kwait November 21, 2013

The 7th Annual Other Israel Film Festival, ending today at the JCC of Manhattan, presents films focused on the stories of the other 20% of Israel’s population such as Palestinians and other Arabs and Druze. The message of these films is powerful: There’s a whole other Israel out there than the one you see on…

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Racist Moms, Russian Spies, and Chabadniks: The Latest Sensations from Israel

By Catie Damon November 11, 2013

For 12 weeks I dated an Israeli. The majority of our relationship involved watching TV and smoking cigarettes on his couch. National Geographic was our favorite channel, since it was guaranteed to be in English. At first I felt guilty about staying indoors when I could hear Tel Aviv’s beaches a block away, but I…

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Fifty Shades of J Street

By Derek M. Kwait October 21, 2013

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…

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I Want To Hear Your Voice?

By Michael Snow November 19, 2012

I recently came across an absurd music video produced by the Office of the President of Israel. The video, released last May, features poppy synth dance loops with President Shimon Peres repeating the refrain “Be my friend for peace – I want to hear your voice.” The (music) video is truly bizarre; I couldn’t believe…

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Faked, but not forgotten [Photos]

By Gabriel T. Erbs March 14, 2012

The revelation that a pro-Palestinian UN official posted and circulated faked photos of victims is no longer startling. (The image, while graphic can be viewed here.) We know that pro-Palestinian groups have staged and filmed fake videos, and do so with impunity. On a token scale, pro-Israel activists have done the same. A Rabbi-friend of…

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Occupy Passover; ultra-Orthodox military draft; and more. [Required Reading]

By John Propper February 20, 2012

The responsibility of Jewish federations [Forward] With the economic recession hitting many organizations, religious or otherwise, with hard times, leaders must make choices to ensure survival. But are some federations unfairly compromising the well-being of their employees in the process? The Jewish Daily Forward takes a look: “In this flip exchange lies a serious issue….

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Two Israeli Films Show Hardships of War

By mmoncaster January 3, 2011

Israeli cinema has grown in stature on the international stage in recent years. Israeli-made films received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Over winter break, I watched two of these films, which both dealt with a challenging subject: war. If you are looking for an action-packed…

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The Reading List: Can a Shabbat Dinner Go By Without People Gettin’ Crunked?

By Ben Sales November 17, 2010

Observant Jewish students may not go out on Friday night, but that doesn’t mean they stay sober. [Mitzpeh] Another from UMD’s JewPaper: You can’t have a college party without beer, but is that beer kosher? [Mitzpeh] In Toronto, the rabbi of a community Jewish high school refused bribes to persuade students to study at a…

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The Reading List: Party like a Jew

By Ben Sales November 11, 2010

What should Jewish students who visit Brussels do? Apparently, they should celebrate Shabbat, tour the city and then get down.  [JPost] The kollel stipend protests continue… [JPost] While at Arizona State University, students protest IDF soldiers. [Mondoweiss] And at the University of South Carolina, the administration plans to revise the school’s discrimination policy, which could affect…

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Reading List: Even Religious Kids Light Up

By jmerkin October 27, 2010

Even the MOrthos engage in cannabis creations in Berkeley. [Tablet] New federal guidelines may protect Jewish college students against bullying. [Baltimore Jewish Times] StandWithUs launches a special password-protected website to help students fight campus BDS campaigns. [JTA] IDF soldiers find a new war: convincing U.S. college students that the Israeli-Arab conflict is not black-and-white. [JW] In…

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IDF Tells Soldiers Not to Post Embarrassing Photos on Facebook, Thanks Mom

By jagross October 25, 2010

I am paranoid. The more I understand about law, the government, advertisers and the Internet the more freaked out I become. I believe that anything sent via text, posted on the Web or said on a cell phone conversation is being recorded by someone. A corporation, the government, the police, I don’t know who but…

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IDF: the best time of your life

By hdilman August 19, 2010

Recently, Eden Abergil, an Israeli and former IDF soldier (discharged last year) posted some “controversial” photos of herself and Palestinians on her facebook page.  In an album labeled, “IDF- the most beautiful time of my life,” Abergil, in IDF uniform, is posing with Palestinian prisoners while they are blindfolded and handcuffed.  The comment under the…

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The Reading List: “Shanda for the Goyim” Edition

By Ben Sales August 17, 2010

For those of you who don’t know, a shanda for the goyim–a traditional Yiddish term–occurs when a Jew does something that shames us in the eyes of the world. On that note, here are some shandas. Enjoy: Not surprisingly, our first shanda comes from Facebook via Tumblr. In an album titled “Army- The Most Beautiful…

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