Archive
I haven’t always been scared for Israel. When the news of soldiers going into Gaza flooded our TV airwaves last year, I shrugged and then went on with my routine life, largely unaffected and unfazed. This year, when the horrific attacks and stabbings began to happen, I was immediately enraged and consumed with dread. These […]
Think you know Jewish life in Portland? Radio Jewce wants you to think again. Radio Jewce, a podcast that released its first episode last month, is the project of Ellena Rosenthal, a junior at Portland State University, and Aaron Peterson, the engagement associate at Greater Portland Hillel. The podcast is described as a “looking glass” […]
On Oct. 30, mainstream Orthodox leaders in the Rabbinical Council of America confirmed once again that women who receive the same training and jobs as men still are not — and never will be — equal to men. Six days later, the Union for Reform Judaism passed a landmark resolution on the inclusion of transgender individuals […]
This Sunday, thousands of people will arrive in Washington, D.C. for the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. Just outside the GA, they’ll be joined by the Jewish People’s Assembly, a protest that its organizers from Open Hillel expect to draw around 100 attendees. The protest, according to its website, has three […]
I like Jewish boys. A lot. Which is why I was elated when Urban Outfitters released its 2016 Nice Jewish Guys calendar — and then I realized how conflicted I was. While I support the proliferation of the Nice Jewish Boy — and God only knows the world needs more of them — I also […]
Every morning for the last two weeks, like many other people, I’ve woken up hoping that the wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians has ended overnight. Every morning for the last two weeks, I’ve been upset, frustrated, and saddened to realize that, no, the violence hasn’t ended. It often seems that I and […]
At some point in our school careers, we learn about the horrors of the Holocaust. But what information is presented to us in that academic setting? Perhaps the teacher delves into a brief history ranging from January 1933, when Hitler became chancellor of Germany, to May 1945, when the Nazis surrendered. Maybe we read Anne […]
A few years ago, while I was working as a staff member at Brandeis High School Programs, someone asked me what could be done for LGBTQ people who were still in the closet. At first, I had no response. The only real way to give someone the direct help that they need is for them […]
With over two hundred thousand students enrolled at more than 800 institutions, Jewish day schools are becoming more and more prevalent in the American Jewish community. That’s two hundred thousand students learning about Israel from an early age — but what are these students actually learning about Israel? That’s what “Between The Lines,” a documentary […]
What Judaism will actually look like 50 years from now
I don’t often like to think about the future. Instead, I like to study my past (hence my Jewish History major) and understand my present (hence my sociology major). But when Commentary released its symposium wherein seventy professional Jews — academics, philosophers, researchers, and the like — were asked about what Judaism will look like […]