A Meme for All New-Report-About-Israel Occasions
By way of following up on yesterday’s post on a new report about Israeli and Palestinian textbooks: (via quickmeme)
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
Never Been a Better Time to Be a Jew in College
We hear it all the time: The American Jewish community is in decline. Interest is lacking, affiliation is down — and Jewish babies are popping out less frequently than we would like. If members of the Jewish establishment are correct, the future of American Judaism is in great peril, and if we don’t do a…
Israeli Politics: A Glorified Personality Contest
As Obama signaled a more liberal second term during his second inaugural speech, I braced for the Israeli election. International media predicted a “right-wing doomsday,” decrying the end of once dominant “secular liberalism” in Israeli politics. One article from Israel/Palestine-based +972 Magazine projected that Prime Minister Netanyahu was losing ground—to the extreme right. In other words,…
The Roller Coaster Ride of Zionism on California Campuses
Last winter, I attended the second Occupy Oakland port shutdown, along with hundreds of other students. At a midday rally, Angela Davis, one of my greatest heroines and a professor of my alma mater, addressed the crowd. My heart soared as she spoke of the “wins” of the first port shutdown. However, my beating pulse…
Should Palestine Get a Chair at the U.N.?
Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, will speak before the U.N. General Assembly today and present a resolution to upgrade Palestine’s membership to the status of an “observer-state.” Many expect this resolution to pass. What do you think this new status for Palestine in the UN will mean for Israel and the peace…
Why Cynicism Is Not the Answer: Israel on Campus
I have a confession to make: I’ve been cynical. While I love Israel deeply, studied abroad in Haifa, and study the Middle East academically, for the bulk of my college career I would not get involved with campus Israel-related activity. It was too polarized, too entrenched, and too disconnected from the nuanced and intellectual conversations…
GJV: Hasbarah Facebook Campaign is Just Slacktivism
If you are a Jewish student on Facebook, then your exposure to infographics probably stands at around 500% of normal due to the storm of social media hasbarah meant to buoy Israel’s Gaza operation, called Pillar of Defense. Most people don’t think twice about re-posting these images, confident in their “contribution” to Israel’s safety or happy…
Girls on Facebook; Reform lay-offs; and more. [Required Reading]
Beis Rivkah High School’s war on Facebook immodesty [The Algemeiner] A school in Brooklyn, New York, is coming under fire for trying to force students to delete their Facebook accounts (under fines and threat of expulsion). Why? Because girls, dammit! The Algemeiner writes: “The decision by the all-girls Beis Rivkah High School in Brooklyn, New…
College Students Flood J Street Conference [J Street 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…
New Voices on Al-Jazeera (for real this time) [Self-Promotion]
As promised, I was on Al Jazeera on Monday, where I joined: Pro-Palestine activist Max Blumenthal, Breitbart.com editor Ben Shapiro, Al Jazeera anchor Derrick Ashong, Al Jazeera online producer Malika Bilal, Stanford University Student Body President Michael Cruz and Occupy AIPAC organizer Sasha Gelzin for a discussion on AIPAC and college Jews with a focus…
Jewish Student Interrupts AIPAC Session [AIPAC 2012]
Yeah, remember when I said Occupy AIPAC was going to be across the street from AIPAC Policy Conference? Well…they crossed the street. Liza Behrendt, a recent graduate of Brandeis University and a current member of the Avodah service corps in New York, interrupted a session with the help of CODEPINK organizer Alli McCracken, shouting that she…
Mr. Shmuley goes to Washington; Heeb turns 10; and more. [Required Reading]
Joseph Goebbels takes on Heeb Magazine [Heeb] As Heeb Magazine celebrated its 10th anniversary of… well, being Heeb Magazine… with a crazy party, it seems the Jews aren’t the only ones paying attention. This little gem cropped up online yesterday, and we’re not sure, but we think it means Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels was…
Jews have a historical right to the land of Israel [Decent Dissent]
In his response to my op-ed, Harpo Jaeger touches on the issue of Israel’s treatment of Judea and Samaria – better known today as “the disputed territories.” Jaeger alleges that “millions of Palestinians…live under occupation” and that their lives are “endangered by checkpoints, raids and searches.” I take issue with the allegation that millions of…
Boycotts and big people pants [Palestine]
Last week, New Voices pointed out a report by +972 Magazine on Norman Finkelstein, Palestinian rights activist and controversial thinker. In a move that has surprised many, Finkelstein came out in opposition to the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), which seeks to protest the conflict between Israel and Palestine through a variety of boycotts…