“Multitudes of Who I am”: Queer Jewish Songwriting with Syd Bakal

By New Voices Editorial Board August 28, 2020

In a day and age of DIY Judaism and Jewish innovation, Syd’s Queer Jewish music is modern revelation: a Jewish practice that draws from tradition and is refreshed with new melodies and media. New Voices has a conversation with Syd to talk about composition, spirituality, queer identity, and creativity in a time of quarantine.

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Illustrating the Day-to-Day: “Young, Jewish, and Alive” through COVID-19

By Rebecca Lubow July 27, 2020

In this short illustration series, 2020 New Voices Fellow Rebecca Lubow reflects on the moments in-between during the Coronavirus pandemic.

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“Youth to Power” Offers Activism 101 for Students

By Sophie Hurwitz June 18, 2020

Would reading “Youth to Power” have changed many of my decisions for the good or bad? I’m not sure. But I do know it would’ve made me feel less alone.

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Up All Night: A Shavuot Zine for 5780

By Rena Yehuda Newman May 27, 2020

Staying up all night to learn Torah for Shavuot is an old tradition – so why not print out a zine to enhance your at-home, quarantined learning experience?

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Hashish: A (Jewish) History

By Jordan Adelipour March 10, 2020

A cornerstone of Jewish identity is a fierce love of argument and discussion- coupled with intoxication, of course. At least that’s what I saw that one time at Chabad.

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Self-Portrait

By Phillip Neman November 8, 2019

As a California native whose Jewish family is effectively barred from returning to Iran safely, Neman grew up embracing and celebrating the new place that his parents chose to call home.

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Exploring Elul

By Naomi Rose Weintraub September 24, 2019

Elul always brings transition, new beginnings, and reflections. Through my art, music, and video work I explore my obstacles and ground myself by confronting my fears. I hope these pieces can help guide your own personal process of deep thinking as we enter the new year of 5780!    

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Prayer is Punk

By Naomi Rose Weintraub August 6, 2019

Prayer is a form of direct action. Taking time out of our days to bless the act of waking up and eating food interrupts expected behavior.

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Ariana Katz Weaves Her Mark Into Jewish Podcasting with “Thread”

By Ariella Markowitz June 27, 2019

“If the only thing this podcast accomplishes is to have someone resist saying even one time ‘I’m a bad Jew’… then it will have been a success. Rule #1: there is no such thing as a bad Jew.”

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“Yadet Miad?”: Recollections of Jewish Life in Iran

By Sophie Levy May 8, 2019

This series of graphite illustrations on paper combines images and text from a wide range of sources to pose and address the question: “what does it feel like to remember a place you have never been?”

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Book Review: “Between Iran and Zion”

By Josie Krieger April 5, 2019

Photo credit: Josie Krieger. Lior Sternfeld wants you to judge his book, “Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran,” by its cover. Depicting the Tomb of the prophet Daniel in Susa, Iran, its movement and color speaks to the relationship between Iranian Jews with other Iranians – and other Jews. The fluid and…

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Spotlighting Unsettled: Deep Reporting From a New Series on Gaza

By Ariella Markowitz March 26, 2019

Media representation of Gaza usually falls into one of two categories. There are programs covering the facts and figures: KALW’s “Gaza Corner” comes to mind, a weekly news program reported by foreign correspondents. The second category is the generalizing documentary project: think Ai Weiwei’s Human Flow, which employs Gaza as a metaphor in a more…

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Q&A: Writer Marissa Miller on Journalism and Imposter Syndrome

By Julia Métraux February 21, 2019

Having written for dozens of publications, from Vogue to Vice, Marissa Miller’s extensive portfolio is certain to strike the interest of many journalists and media consumers alike. Miller, who hails from Montreal, Quebec, isn’t what many would consider a typical Jewish journalist. Her beat doesn’t center on the Jewish world, but rather on gender, fashion,…

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Vaybertaytsh and the Language of Exile

By Jonah Lubin January 30, 2019

Yiddish holds an extraordinary place in Jewish history. From a Middle High German lexical and syntactic base, Yiddish was shaped by the conditions of Jewish life in Central Europe. It adopted words and syntax from Romance and Slavic languages, and, of course, was heavily influenced by the Hebrew and Aramaic of traditional Jewish learning. The…

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Judaism’s “First Reformed” Moment Is Here

By Ariel Wexler January 9, 2019

The central question of “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader’s film about a pastor reckoning with climate change, is, “Can God forgive us for what we’ve done to this world?” It’s a good question for American Protestants, and for all of us living between skeptical optimism and righteous despair. It’s high time for Jews to have our…

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