Campus anti-Semitism isn’t always about Israel

By Chloe Sobel March 29, 2016

Today, the Forward published six students — five studying at American universities, one in South Africa — who answered a call to write about an experience at college that had shaped their Jewish identity in ways good, bad, or other. It’s an interesting read. The preface states that “every student interpreted the question as being about…

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University of California approves statement condemning anti-Semitism

By Chloe Sobel March 24, 2016

The University of California’s governing board has signed off on the “Statement of Principles Against Intolerance,” which condemns anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism. The original statement, which has since been revised, stated that “anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California.” The University of California Academic Council objected to the original language…

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Bibi is wrong: Brussels is not Israel

By Chloe Sobel March 22, 2016

In 1996, I moved to Brussels. In 2000, I left. In 2007 and 2011, I went back again, both times for only a few short days. I have no Belgian ancestry or citizenship, but I’ve always felt a little bit Belgian — it’s hard not to, when it played such an important role in my…

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Was StandWithUs robot surveilling Brown University Israel talk?

By Nicole Zelniker March 18, 2016

In the last few years, robotic technology has made tremendous strides. We can now use the technology to open doors or even move cars. As of this year, we can also use robots to attend campus events. On March 3, pro-Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs partnered with the technology company Tele-Buddy to send a robot to…

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BDS has no place in student government

By Erika Streisfield March 17, 2016

This article originally appeared in The Queen’s Journal on March 11, 2016. While it’s essential for institutions to practice freedom of expression, there’s no place for intolerance at a university. This is especially true in student government, where neutrality should be upheld. On Feb. 22, over 900 students gathered for the Students’ Society of McGill University…

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Find inspiration in Jewish history on International Women’s Day

By Michele Amira March 8, 2016

Today is International Women’s Day, a global simcha that began as International Working Women’s Day in 1909, spawning from the Socialist Party as a way of acknowledging the world-changing contributions women have made to society. Eishet chayil, or “woman of valor,” is my kavanah for International Women’s Day. While we rejoice in the women who have…

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Students looking to start new businesses always have TAMID

By Jackson Richman March 4, 2016

To begin the next great enterprise requires certain skills. An aspiring entrepreneur needs to know how to pitch, how to fundraise — and how to find people who can help them get their business off the ground. At George Washington University and two dozen more American campuses, there’s a club for aspiring entrepreneurs to develop…

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Dear fellow liberal Zionists: The establishment doesn’t want us

By Abe Silberstein March 1, 2016

Three weeks ago, I attended a small lunch event at Hunter College’s Roosevelt House featuring spokespeople from the New Israel Fund and Breaking the Silence, as well as the Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard. Given the recent tension at my alma mater between student supporters of Israel and members of Students for Justice in…

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Talking about not talking about Israel: Or, addressing the Israel problem

By Amram Altzman February 1, 2016

  We, the American Jewish community, have an Israel problem, and we need to talk about it. It’s not the fact that Israel exists. It’s not the fact that it’s a politically fraught topic to discuss — although that’s certainly part of it. It’s the mere fact that Israel and Zionism as abstract concepts are…

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LGBTQ Jews: Let’s stop talking about Israel

By Amram Altzman January 26, 2016

When I first heard about the National LGBTQ Task Force’s decision to cancel A Wider Bridge’s event at the Creating Change conference this past weekend, I was sad. I know what it’s like as a religious person to feel alienated from queer spaces because of my decision to remain religious despite coming out of the…

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Co-opting social justice won’t erase reality in Israel

By Chloe Sobel January 20, 2016

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…

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The left-wing double standard on Israel

By Amram Altzman December 22, 2015

When the documentary “The J Street Challenge” was released in 2014, one of its main arguments was that while certain Israel advocacy groups who claim to be bipartisan are acceptable political advocates, left-wing political groups, like J Street, should be condemned as beyond the pale of acceptable conversation about Israel for disagreeing with the Israeli…

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Zionish challenges readers to find nuance in Zionism

By Nicole Zelniker December 17, 2015

There seem to be two choices in mainstream Jewish life: Either you’re pro-Zionism, or you’re anti-Zionism. A new online publication, Zionish, rejects that binary. “Our stance is to reject the traditional stances,” Zionish editor Aaron Simons told New Voices via email. “People conceive of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one where you have to be either…

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HaaretzQ addresses some questions; raises more

By Chloe Sobel December 16, 2015

Perhaps nothing characterizes the divisions I see in American and world Jewry better than the list of opening and closing keynote speakers at HaaretzQ, a conference on Israel hosted by Haaretz and the New Israel Fund in New York Sunday. The day kicked off with speeches from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, MK Tzipi Livni of…

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Is there a Jewish Agenda on campus?

By Zev Hurwitz December 10, 2015

When a UC Santa Cruz student leader is instructed to abstain from a BDS vote due to his allegiance to a “Jewish Agenda,” the proper response from the Jewish community is very simple: Such activities are anti-Semitic, and do not belong on diverse, pluralistic campuses. This is only the latest case of anti-Semitism that has…

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