Overcoming My Eating Disorder, Publicly

By Simi Lichtman February 14, 2013

This articles deals with the topic of eating disorders and may be triggering to some people The Beacon, an online publication for the Orthodox Jewish community (and, incidentally, the paper I helped start two years ago), is tackling an important issue this month, with first-person narratives and various other articles related to eating disorders. The…

Read More...

Imagine a More ‘Open Hillel’

By Julia Wedgle February 13, 2013

Hillel is advertised as “the foundation for Jewish campus life.” Yet, even before I joined the programming board of my Hillel at Tufts University, I could tell it was missing an important part of the Jewish campus community: those who support Palestine through international non-violent movements that currently fall outside the Jewish institutional mainstream. In order to…

Read More...

Five Jewish Dating Sites Whose Names Don’t Rhyme With Day Jate

By Simi Lichtman February 13, 2013

Though the Yelp-like app Lulu, which invites women to publicly review and rate men in a number of categories, has yet to be adapted to a Jewish version, we Jews have no shortage of creative ways to meet and mingle with the opposite gender using our smartphones. Everyone knows about (the many, many) classic Jewish…

Read More...

The Future, As Said By Some Girls and Bridesmaids

By H. B. Rubin February 12, 2013

As I look out my window, all I can see is graduation approaching. And maybe the off-white dregs of the gargantuam blizzard that hit on Friday. And yes, my street remains unplowed. But I digress. Graduation. Leaving this student house, these student classes, this student food behind and finally becoming… a 20-something. Though I have been twenty for almost…

Read More...

Sarah Silverman, the Pope and Some Editors Walk Into an Email…

By David A.M. Wilensky February 11, 2013

Get excited. This is a special behind-the-scenes-at-New-Voices blog post. It’s also an excuse to post the above video here on The Conspiracy. You excited? You ready? This how the sausage gets made at New Voices: I saw something on Facebook about how Sarah Silverman’s sister, Rabbi Susan Silverman, was arrested at the Western Wall in the…

Read More...

Seniors, Recent Grads: Run This Publication – Actual Salary Included!

By David A.M. Wilensky February 11, 2013

Seeking recent college grad for full-time position: Editor in Chief of New Voices Magazine New Voices Magazine and the Jewish Student Press Service have a full-time job opening for the editor of an online magazine and director of a small non-profit. The start date is flexible, somewhere around late spring/early summer 2013. Applicants will have…

Read More...

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Click on That Profile

By Simi Lichtman February 11, 2013

In our latest update of Bizarre Jewish Dating Ideas, today we bring you: TheJMom.com. Remember the good old days when Mama used to meddle in her children’s lives way too much, back before men and women were allowed to choose their own spouses? For reference, see Fiddler on the Roof. It worked so well there….

Read More...

News Roundup: BDS Explosions at Brooklyn and Harvard AAAAAAAA!

By Gabriel T. Erbs February 7, 2013

Both Jewish and non-Jewish organizations are part of increasing opposition to a 2010 ruling by Hillel barring fraternization with pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] groups on campus. The 2010 ruling encouraged, but did not require, local Hillels to draft rules in line with the national policy that the organization would “not partner with, house, or host organizations, groups, or speakers” that…

Read More...

Progressive Judaism and “Going Too Far”

By John Propper February 7, 2013

In past blogs, I have talked about progressive Judaism at length. I’ve written about queering Jewish spaces. I’ve explored the burgeoning institutionalization of Jewish atheism. I’ve critiqued the bureaucracy of conversion in Israel and for immigrants. Sometimes, the reaction to these pieces is positive. Thanks for that. Other times, the reaction goes something like this: “How much…

Read More...

The Abayudaya People Meet Portland, Oregon

By Emma Fredgant February 7, 2013

The Abayudaya are a tribe of roughly 1,000 Jewish Ugandans living in and around Mbale. Haven’t heard of them? Me either—until I recently got the opportunity to meet their leader, Aaron Kintu Moses, during a shabbaton at the P’nai Or of Portland. The event was sponsored by Kulana, a non-profit organization that works to support isolated…

Read More...

From Cats to Hamas: an Interview with Jenna Gang

By Catie Damon February 6, 2013

On the first day of Ulpan, Jenna Gang showed us the tattoo of her Hebrew name printed on the back of her neck. From then on, we called her Yosefa. We lived together in a cramped apartment in Jerusalem, she the established New York City photographer and I the aspiring California writer, both participating on…

Read More...

Doppelgänger Week

By Simi Lichtman February 6, 2013

In case you couldn’t tell, this week is Doppelgänger Week on Facebook. What does this mean? Practically, it means your newsfeeds will suddenly become overrun with a steady stream of highly attractive people who you’ll recognize not as your friends, but as actors, athletes, and an assortment of other famous people. Your friends will choose the…

Read More...

A Meme for All New-Report-About-Israel Occasions

By David A.M. Wilensky February 5, 2013

By way of following up on yesterday’s post on a new report about Israeli and Palestinian textbooks: (via quickmeme)

Read More...

Lena Dunham Gets More Awesome

By Simi Lichtman February 5, 2013

Oh, Lena Dunham. Every awkward girl out there now has a role model to pin her hopes and dreams on; every female writer can hold her up and say, “Look, she can do it. Maybe I can too.” It’s a nice fantasy. Because not only does she have a wildly successful, award-winning television show (based…

Read More...

A Mechitza Runs Through It: ‘Partnership Minyans’ Arrive on Campus

By Rebecca Borison February 4, 2013

Students trickle into a cozy room. Boys walk to the farther side, and girls sit in the closer side. A mechitza [partition] runs down the middle. Everyone opens up his or her siddur and prepares for Kabbalat Shabbat as a female student walks up to the bima [stage] and starts the Yedid Nefesh prayer. This…

Read More...