Archive
The last U.S. troops may have left Iraq on Dec. 18, but this generation’s involvement with that country is far from over — whether they realize it or not.
Thousands of American private security contractors (read: mercenaries) remain on the Pentagon’s payroll — otherwise known as the taxpayers’ payroll. Tax dollars are still flowing, and Iraq’s stability is far from assured. For recent college graduates and those who will graduate in the new year and in coming years, the domestic financial aftermath of the war matters as much as the global security issues. The $1 trillion spent in Iraq means $1 trillion not spent at home — money that could have been used to benefit current and future students by forgiving college debt or providing low-interest student loans.
There is something fundamentally Jewish about Christopher Hitchens’ legacy of debate, intellectualism and moral exploration. It doesn’t take much to see a parallel between his confrontational, often enraged discussion style and the general tone of the Judaism’s prophetic books — especially on questions of ethics and morality. Let’s acknowledge from the outset that Hitchens’ impact was felt by all who crossed his path. He would not have appreciated the imposition of a narrative with spiritual undertones upon his words, choices and platforms. Nevertheless — with all his question marks, conflicts and contradictions — Hitchens embodied a fiery, secular Judaism with totality of spirit.
With the landmark New York marriage equality legislation of 2011 several million Jews now live within a state that allows same-sex marriages – and the Conservative Movement has noticed. Only five years ago the Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards (CJLS) – the central authority on halakhah (Jewish law) for the Rabbinical Assembly – issued […]
Yesterday, I talked about the uncertain future of college Jews in organized Reform Judaism. Now there may be hope, but from Hillel rather than Union for Reform Judaism, whose biennial convention I’m reporting from. About five years ago, Hillel realized there was a dirth of Jewish life on college campuses. When they asked themselves how […]
Last week, New Voices (and everyone else on the planet) reported on the tale of the YU Beacon, a Yeshiva University student newspaper that decided to go independent to save itself from censorship. This week, it’s all about the editorials, including two op-eds — not one, but two! — from Beacon editor and New Voices […]
The Union for Reform Judaism’s biennial convention, held this year at a gargantuan conference center/hotel outside Washington, D.C., is bigger than ever: It sold out when 5,000 people signed up before registration closed. But the excitement is palpable for another reason: This is Rabbi Eric Yoffie’s last, and Rabbi Rick Jacobs’ first, biennial as president […]
We take this as an article of faith: A press free from censorship is a prerequisite for an open, modern society. It is the right and responsibility of every community, acting through journalistic institutions, to hold a mirror up to themselves, to examine every inch of their communal face — and to linger when a blemish is found.
When it works, we don’t always like what we see; hopefully, we will right the newfound wrong. Sometimes we will simply avert our eyes in shame; this too is our right.
But we must resist the urge to shoot the messenger.
The ugly inclination to lash out at the press for bringing up a woefully seldom discussed issue reared its head at Yeshiva University last week.
If they’re not slogging through all-nighters, most college students are already home for the break. (Unless you’re on the quarter system; we have no idea what’s going on with you guys.) After meeting liberal and left-of-center Israel activists at school, they may bring some unwelcome ideas about Israel home with them. Many parents and students will find that bringing up Israel can create an atmosphere at home almost as tense as the atmosphere on some campuses.
College, as the cliche goes, is all about discovering unfamiliar ideas, stumbling into new interests and encountering fresh ways of looking at the world. At least, that’s what our parents always said, staring off all misty-eyed at the dinner table while recounting the glories of their radical days. But the dinner table is about to get a little more interesting. The Israel that many Jews hear about on campus today isn’t the same place they remember from Hebrew school.
The tale of the newly severed ties between Yeshiva University and the YU Beacon, the most controversial of YU’s several student newspapers, is over. But the telling of the tale continues: The New York Times arrived a little late to the party, but God forbid they should ever miss out on a quirky Jew-y New York […]