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It’s been 11 years since the day that shook America to the core, with aftershocks felt by every country around the world. In these 11 years, our country has changed: It’s grown harder and more cautious, but at the same time stronger and more understanding. We’ve gone to war, and worked to end the wars. […]
THANE, India– Inside the narrow alleys of the Kalwa slum, past the shanties abutting the train tracks and the stray pig rummaging through garbage scraps, Pramila Mane rattles her rice dish and gently blows on the kernels on the second floor of her home. Across the room, Shayna Lebovic, 19, a volunteer with the Gabriel Project Mumbai, a Jewish nonprofit working to reduce hunger and provide educational services in Kalwa, crouches in front of a small chopping board diligently chopping onions.
Mane, a member of a local women’s group partnered with the Gabriel Project, and Lebovic would not be cooking partners in this enclave north of Mumbai were it not for Jacob Sztokman. The director and founder of the Gabriel Project, Sztokman toured the Dharavi slum during a business trip to Mumbai in 2011 while working for a data security company. Sztokman, 42, did not visit just to pay homage to the slum that inspired “Slum Dog Millionaire.” While doing research prior to the trip, he watched YouTube videos and read up on poverty in India and felt inspired to work in the slums.
As we noted the other day, the glory days of journalism for pay are alive and well here at New Voices: We’re looking for current students interested in positions as blog editor, opinions editor and as staff writers. Full details on all that are over here. And as if that isn’t amazing enough, we’re also […]
The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has long been a controversial topic in the United States, especially on college campuses. Personal identity can influence how people view the conflict, causing some to assume that this discussion is, or should be, conducted strictly along ethno-religious lines. This assumption, however, has the potential to chill speech and push dissenters out of their communities. As a Jewish and African American student critical of Israeli policy and involved in Palestinian solidarity organizing at U.C. Santa Cruz, I experience this firsthand.
The image has become a classic in our pop culture lexicon: Charlton Heston, arms outstretched, robe billowing about him as if wrapped in a thundercloud. He turns from the teeming masses below him toward the sea and, with a voice equal parts prophet and politician, cries out, “Behold his mighty hand.” The sea parts. People cross on dry land. Music swells. “ABC’s presentation of ‘The Ten Commandments’ will conclude after these messages.” Thankful for the brief interlude, we race to relieve our bladders.
There was a time when journalism attracted the best, the brightest, and the boldest. Journalists were brilliant and famous, changing the way the world saw the world. And yes, they even got paid for this. At New Voices, we’re keeping that era around. New Voices Magazine is a national, independent magazine written by and for Jewish […]
There’s something fundamentally Jewish about celebrating the lives of our great teachers. The challenge is in how we celebrate, whether with somber intention or with a sense of fun. JTA highlights an example of this debate in the musical “Soul Doctor,” which explores the life and times of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, known across movement lines as […]
The last few weeks have been mixed for Matisyahu: from a successful album release, to the controversy surrounding his recent re-liberalizing. On his official Facebook page, the reggae star has started responding to critics who haven’t taken too kindly to his ditching the kippah and tzitzit and, it seems, the Orthodox way of life. On July […]