5 Jewish Facebook Spaces For All Your Procrastinating Needs

By New Voices Staff June 26, 2017

Sure, it may be summer now, but fall semester is coming quicker than you know it. And when it does come, you’re going to need ways to procrastinate your midterms, projects, and more. Thankfully, New Voices has you covered with five Jewish Facebook spaces to enhance your procrastinating experience. Whether you’re into arguing with fellow…

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Dear Freshmen, Don’t Fear a Community That Challenges Your Beliefs

By Sonya Levine June 13, 2017

Dear freshmen, Last month, I helped facilitate an info session at Wesleyan University for 70 rising seniors from the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, where I attended elementary school. These students sat before me in the admissions office, looking slightly perplexed about why their Jewish day school had taken them to visit a liberal, off-the-beaten…

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Poem: You Have to Keep Swimming

By Rachel Chabin May 11, 2017

When Oceans Stand Between You and Your Dreams, You Have to Keep Swimming By Rachel Chabin, Stony Brook University Our Exodus begins with water. It begins with crossing when the water is over your head. It begins with a decision, a conviction; it begins with the choice to try to swim. When we fled to…

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Are You an #AppallingYoungJew?

By Sara Weissman February 23, 2017

This week, social media users witnessed a beautiful onslaught of snark and defiance from the Jewish millennial corner of the Twitterverse. Young Jews took to Twitter appalled by a swiftly deleted tweet suggesting that Israeli Knesset member Michael Oren had called their views on Israel appalling. “The opinions of young #american #jews are appalling. They need the…

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The Middle Ground on Israel Went Missing

By Charles Dunst February 23, 2017

The American political sphere is more polarized than ever – and the discourse around Israel is no exception. The issue has recently become a popular talking point on both the far-left and the far-right, while centrists of both parties are pushed to the sidelines. While the far-left cries of a non-existent, Israeli-committed genocide (see Aljazeera’s…

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“Refusing to Choose” Forum Highlights Orthodox LGBTQ Activists

By Michele Amira February 2, 2017

In the Talmud it says, “Whomever saves a life, it is as if they have saved the entire world.”  Yet many observant queer Jews are struggling in the closet and suffer high rates of suicide. According to Hannah Bar-Yosef, a member of the Israeli Interministerial Committee for Suicide (operated under the auspices of the Health…

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David Friedman Would Be a Disaster as Ambassador

By Marc Daalder December 28, 2016

The advertisement is deceptively simple – a darkened image of Donald Trump smiling next to David Friedman, overlaid with four block-lettered words, the last in red: “He Called You Kapos.” This is J Street’s latest ad campaign, a stark reminder of the abuse that Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel has showered on liberal…

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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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The Algemeiner Made the Worst List of “Worst Colleges for Jewish Students”

By Ross Beroff December 26, 2016

The Algemeiner recently released a list of the “40 Worst Colleges for Jewish students.” Already students and Jewish professionals on these campuses are reacting to the list, some defending it, some arguing against its creation, and others complaining that their universities were not listed. I do not go to any of the schools referenced, but…

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Between Politics and Religion: Jewish Activism at Columbia

By Solomon Wiener December 20, 2016

Originally published in the Fall 2016 edition of The Current. Since the famed student uprising of 1968, many generations of Columbia students have felt an obligation to perpetuate the legacy of the late 60s by creating a myriad of activist clubs and organizations here on campus. And not uncommonly, Jewish students have occupied prominent lay…

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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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Students Protest Steve Bannon at the ZOA Gala

By Sara Weissman November 21, 2016

“Racist, fascist, anti-gay! Stephen Bannon, go away!” Jewish protesters shouted last night as they marched toward the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City – where Stephen Bannon, Donald Trump’s appointed chief strategist, was invited to attend this year’s Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) Gala. When police told protesters to disperse outside the hotel or risk…

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When Posters Target Pro-Palestinian Students, Campus Jews Speak Out

By Mari Cohen November 17, 2016

Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian posters appeared on college campuses across the country throughout the month of October, provoking condemnation from a variety of campus groups and administrators. These posters were a product of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, an organization spearheaded by anti-Muslim extremist David Horowitz, and are part of the organization’s campaign called “Stop the…

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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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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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