Will Students Take the ‘JUMP’ for Human Rights in the Middle East?

By Nicole Zelniker February 18, 2015

This past June, Boston University junior Raphael Fils decided he was fed up with the stances Jewish organizations take on the conflict in the Middle East. Whether Hillel, Jewish Voice for Peace, or J Street, all organizations seemed to have a bias. To change that, Fils launched Justice and Unity in Mideast Policy, or JUMP…

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The Language of Angels

By Josh Morrel February 5, 2015

  As I sit across from her over a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a cup of dark coffee in the newly renovated faculty cafeteria, I think to myself: “I have so much respect for her.” Truth be told, I have so much respect for all of my colleagues because they’ve been doing this…

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Why Should we Care About Bibi’s Speech to Congress?

By Amram Altzman February 2, 2015

I’ve written before about my how my hesitance to involve myself in the Israeli political process stems from a larger phenomenon I’ve noticed of the increasing separation between Israeli Judaism (and Israeli-Jewish culture) and American Judaism. Yet, the controversy over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned congressional speech and the upcoming Israeli elections are extremely important to…

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Why the Search for Aaron Sofer Matters

By David G. August 27, 2014

On Friday, August 22, Aaron Sofer was taking a shortcut through the Jerusalem Forest with his friend. The two became separated when his friend wanted to try hiking up a hill, and later that evening when the friend returned home, he discovered that Aaron was missing. When I came online Saturday night, I learned about…

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Mourning the American-Jewish Political Middle

By Amram Altzman August 18, 2014

  If nothing else, the over-discussed Pew Report from almost a year ago (almost a year ago — and here we are, still quoting it like it’s the Bible itself!) heralded the death of the American-Jewish religious middle. This summer’s Operation Protective Edge seems to have heralded the death of the American-Jewish political middle, as…

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Together We Can: A Call for Unity in Peacemaking

By Tomer Kornfeld June 27, 2014

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most divisive issues in modern politics. For years, the world—as much as Israeli and Palestinian leadership—has been trying to reconcile their differences, and, though there has been some progress, sadly, a full peace has yet to be achieved. To tell you the truth, there are times when this…

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Bring Back Our Boys, Not Just Our Boy

By Amram Altzman June 23, 2014

In response to the abduction of three teenagers, Eyal Yifrah, Gil-ad Shaar, and Naftali Frankel, over a week ago in the West Bank, a petition to President Obama has been circulating around the Internet asking for the Executive Office to pressure the Palestinian Authority to release the one American citizen of the three kidnapped teenagers….

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Israel Now is What White South Africa Was

By Jonathan Katz May 7, 2014

 Activists often term Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and sometimes Israel itself, as constituting an “apartheid state.” So too do political figures concerned with ending the awful situation – be they Omar Barghouti, John Kerry, or Tzipi Livni. Indeed, it is a convenient, short, and powerful way to term the brutality of…

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Challenging “The J Street Challenge” (or, Why I Didn’t Go To AIPAC This Year)

By Amram Altzman March 17, 2014

I am an American. I am neither an Israeli, nor am I a Palestinian. However, I am a Jew, and a pro-Israel American, who lives in a country which has strong, positive relations with Israel. As a Zionist, I see it as my job to defend Israel as a Jewish State, and that means protecting…

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Fighting B.D.S. on Campus is a Waste of Time for Jewish Advocates

By Zev Hurwitz February 27, 2014

Scores (if not hundreds) of Jewish and Pro-Israel students spent Tuesday night in a crowded ballroom at UCLA to advocate against the student government’s proposed passage of a divestment resolution. I, on the other hand, sat at my computer 125 miles away, wearing sweatpants and drinking Coke Zero with lemon watching the USAC divestment meeting…

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Why the Protect Academic Freedom Act Must be Stopped

By Derek M. Kwait February 11, 2014

On January 28, a bill passed in the New York State Senate punishing universities that use state funds in support of academic groups, such as the ASA, that boycott Israel. Universities transgressing this ban would lose all state funding. It was fought relentlessly by civil rights groups, unions, academic institutions, and many Jewish groups. It…

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In Praise of Al Jazeera America – Israeli Media Can Take a Lesson

By Sam Hantverk February 6, 2014

Al Jazeera. Simply hearing the name would bother me two years ago, like nails on a chalkboard. In my ethnocentric view, I believed Al Jazeera existed for the sole purpose of promoting anti-Israel propaganda with the utmost criticism of the nation. How could I trust any of their other journalism with their articles containing blatant…

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What we Talk About When we Talk About Settlements

By Amram Altzman December 9, 2013

Bloomberg columnist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote an editorial last week explaining why Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not the central issue in the Middle East today. He explains that, yes, settlements are definitely one of the obstacles to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, but then proceeds to list the ways in which the…

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South Park Brings Peace to the Middle East… For 10 Minutes

By David G. November 20, 2013

I have a confession. For all my self-proclaimed desire to rise above the profane, I absolutely love South Park. While the majority of this last season has been a bit of a disappointment for me, the creators of South Park offered up a true gem recently with the episode, “Ginger Cow. “ For most, I…

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You Gave the Nobel Peace Prize to a Group that Was Supposed to Rid the World of Chemical Weapons? In 2013??

By Eliana Glogauer October 16, 2013

The Nobel Peace Prize was established in 1901 for the purpose of rewarding those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” One would then assume that the awarding of the prize is based…

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