Jews have no homeland; they spread out among the nations and seek to control them through a vast underground conspiracy. This was the central claim of Western ethnically-centered anti-Semitism; the point of Zionism, in the writings of Herzl and practical plans of Ben-Gurion and Begin, was to invalidate that claim by providing a nation-state for […]

The Global Citizen is a joint project of New Voices and the American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Throughout the year, a group of former AJWS volunteers will offer their take on global justice, Judaism and international development.  Opinions expressed by Global Citizen bloggers do not necessarily represent AJWS. “When life itself is at stake it […]

What is it about our lives that fictional books and movies appeal to us more than non-fiction or real life stories? Why don’t people have enough confidence in their own lives, their own story, that instead they feel that they have to turn to movies and books while hoping that these things would happen to […]

While compiling my thesis prospectus this semester, I have come across some very interesting information on American Jewish attachment to Israel. The most contemporary of this research suggests that American Jews have been consistently attached to Israel over time, with older people being more attached and young people being less attached. While this research fails […]

Last spring I was fortunate to attend Hillel’s Alternative Spring Break in New Orleans with three other F&M students. My Hillel Director recently asked me to write up a reflection on this trip for their newsletter. I feel it is appropriate to share on this blog and hope you all can gain knowledge from it. […]

I have found that Middlebury College is a wonderful place to be Jewish. Since my sophomore year, I have been actively involved in Hillel on campus, where I have not only met great people and had a lot of fun, but also engaged meaningfully on issues facing Jewish students and the Jewish people more generally. […]

One of the coolest and perhaps most under-used Jewish resources at Swarthmore is our ‘Beit Midrash’. ‘Beit Midrash’ means ‘House of Learning’ and Batei Midrash around the world function as study halls expressly for the purpose of studying classical Jewish texts. Our Beit Midrash is a small room in a small quad in a relatively […]

The Conservative affiliated Religious School where I work, like all Jewish institutions, is consistently behind schedule. The planned activities outside of the classroom – services, shirah, and bagel break – inevitably detract from the already limited time each teacher has with his or own class. Yet despite this already segmented schedule, the Synagogue felt that […]