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Pew Survey Conversation (Part 2)

By Derek M. Kwait October 29, 2013

Part 2 of a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. 4.      Are the survey’s categories of denomination a useful marker of determining true religious affiliation/practice in today’s Jewish world? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: Yes. Denominational identities can be meaningful for people as many are strongly attached to Orthodoxy, Conservatism, Reform, and Reconstructionism. But…

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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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J Street U Students Meet for First-Ever Student Summit

By Gabriel T. Erbs April 2, 2013

This year’s four-day J Street U Student Summit in Washington, D.C. was followed shortly by both the Passover holiday and President Obama’s quick trip to the Holy Land – yet the organization’s student leadership made a pointed effort to avoid the low-hanging fruit of the Passover metaphor. However, many an interlocutor capitalized on the intersection…

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Reflections on the J Street Conference [Blogging]

By rcohen March 28, 2012

As a student leader of J Street U, I was really looking forward to my first national conference in DC. Now that the conference has come and gone, I head back to campus feeling inspired and exhausted. I also feel motivated to try and figure out how to improve our organization in light of new…

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College Students Flood J Street Conference [J Street 2012]

By Zach C. Cohen March 24, 2012

Of the 2,500 attendees of J Street’s “Making History” Conference, a lot of them are skipping class. About 650 students, 24 percent of the conference’s attendees, turned out in droves for the movement’s third national conference in Washington, D.C. (500 were at last year’s conference). Just to break that up for you, that’s: 125 universities, 24…

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Disorganization, lack of information characterize run up to annual event [Israeli Apartheid Week]

By Dafna Fine February 24, 2012

Israeli Apartheid Week begins on Sunday and runs through Saturday, March 3. New Voices writers will be covering it all week on several campuses. If you know of  IAW events — or its counterpart, Israel Peace Week — on your campus, let us know by emailing Dafna Fine at dafna@newvoices.org. The trailer below is from…

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Correction: J Street U was, is, and will be pro-Israel

By Harpo Jaeger March 13, 2011

My last post alluded to a dust-up where J Street U dropped the term “pro-Israel” from its slogan.  Trouble is, that never happened: The national board of J Street U neither discussed nor voted on any action to remove the term “pro-Israel” from our platform, policy or the way we describe ourselves at J Street…

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J Street U has come a long way, and has a long way to go

By Harpo Jaeger March 2, 2011

Update: I’ve issued a correction to some of the information in this post. I’m really impressed with the passion that the leaders of J Street U bring to their work.  At the student session on Sunday night of the J Street conference, they emphasized the role that students can play in the larger movement.  This…

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J Street Conference: Hillel Hearts J Street

By Ben Sales February 28, 2011

J Street may still be fighting for acceptance in the Jewish community almost three years after its founding, but there’s one place where that battle is over and the self-proclaimed “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group has emerged victorious: the college campus. J Street U displayed its secure position in the established Jewish campus world today by organizing…

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Steven Cohen: Birthright should include J Street (and other news…)

By Ben Sales February 4, 2011

In the above video, posted yesterday by the Berman Jewish Policy Archive, BJPA Director Seven M. Cohen says that “Birthright is making a mistake” by not allowing a J Street trip. Cohen recommends, in brief, that Birthright provide “value-oriented trips to Israel”–a range of trips that provide space for students with diverse values or beliefs. Birthright,…

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Update: What Birthright has to say for itself

By jmerkin February 1, 2011

J Street U issued a statement yesterday that its Birthright trip had been cancelled, but today Birthright issued a statement of its own saying that it never approved the J Street U trip in the first place, and that J Street U cannot facilitate a Birthright trip because J Street has an overt political stance…

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BREAKING NEWS: J Street U Birthright Trip Canceled

By Ben Sales January 31, 2011

New Voices has just confirmed that the planned J Street U Birthright trip has been canceled. On Jan. 25, J Street U, the campus arm of J Street — the pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby in Washington, announced that it would be leading a Birthright trip called “Explore Israel: Progressive Zionism and Social Justice” this summer. The…

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OMG J Street Has a Birthright Trip!

By Ben Sales January 25, 2011

Here’s yet another sign that the self-proclaimed “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group — despite claims that it’s a terrorist-funded, anti-Israel, Hamas-loving shill — might actually be pro-Israel: It’s sponsoring a Birthright trip. OMFG!!!! We’ll post some thoughtful analysis of this announcement soon, but in the meantime here’s an excerpt from the press release and some quick thoughts…

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The JVP Conversation Continues…

By Ben Sales December 28, 2010

Does Jewish Voice for Peace deserve to be included at Hillel? Lots of people in the Jewish community have been asking this question, and New Voices has been driving the conversation on this issue during the past couple of weeks. In case you’re not on our email list, Facebook page or Twitter feed, here —…

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The Reading List: Do Jews Like to Date Jews?

By Ben Sales December 10, 2010

So says the Maryland Mitzpeh, which put out some strong new content this week. According to a poll of almost 100 students, a majority would not date outside the fold, which is surprising given soaring intermarriage rates. [Mitzpeh] Marriage in college? Check it out. [Mitzpeh] Here’s some bad romance: A Columbia professor — who I…

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