Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
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…
Imagine that you’re 14 years old. It’s December 1936. Today, and for a while now, you’re focusing on the fact that you are leaving home. Possibly forever. Your parents bring you to the local train station with your medium-sized black suitcase, and the three of you await the arrival of the next locomotive. All you…
This short story contains racial and ethnic slurs. “When’s that kike getting here?” “I wish you wouldn’t use such language, Henry.” “Why not? You’ve read the Protocols, same as me. They can’t be trusted, Gerry.” Gerald Thompson fiddled with his pocket watch that was always a minute behind. He glanced at his business partner,…
Have you ever wondered how Tu B’Av became marketed in Israel as an Israeli Valentine’s Day? When I went to Israel to visit my cousins, I was surprised to see Tu B’Av being celebrated as such a commercial holiday. Being the yenta that I am, I set out on a journey to find out why….
On June 9 in Malmö, Sweden, 27 residents of the Rosengård neighborhood, infamous in Europe as a segregated ghetto of recent refugees, were arrested on charges of attempted murder as gunfire was heard through the city streets. Three days later, on June 12, two men were injured in a bomb explosion near the Skåne University…
San Diego Comic-Con ended last week, and it did not disappoint. There were previews of the movies and TV shows being added to pop culture in the coming months, including a behind-the-scenes featurette of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and a number of longer-than-usual trailers for DC and Marvel superhero properties such as…
In May, BirthWrong gave students the opportunity to travel to Spain to learn about communism, the Spanish Civil War, and Jewish culture outside of Israel. BirthWrong was founded by the left-wing British organization Jewdas as a response to Taglit-Birthright Israel, an organization that takes Jews aged 18 to 26 on a free trip to Israel….
From pop-up Shabbats around Miami, to black caviar bagel spreads, to halvah ice cream, Jewish food is having a gourmet makeover. The definition of soul food is food of life, which is exactly what bagels are to American Ashkenazi Jews. The bagel has Jewish roots dating back to seventeenth-century Europe, where it was eaten…
If you’ve been counting the Omer, you are aware that Shavuot, a.k.a. the holiday of blintzes and cheesecake, is approaching this Saturday night. As a vegan, I have often wondered why Jews eat dairy on Shavuot. There are many answers to this question. One is that eating dairy foods symbolizes our continued acceptance of the…
It started over a cup of coffee. I had just gone to Israel and was eager to continue learning about that illusive country I had just been exposed to. Courtney Strauss had just started her new job as Director of Engagement of the Hillel Jewish University Center at the University of Pittsburgh and was eager…
Much of Europe’s political toolbox for facilitating multicultural policies is rusting. One of its biggest and strongest remaining tools, call it the hammer, is the Council of Europe (CoE). This hammer is trying to nail down a web of legislation working towards more recognition for Europe’s diverse cultural heritage. Expanding on the tool metaphor, the…
As apart of the 2015 Washington Jewish Music Festival, the Gypsy, Yiddish, klezmer, funk, fusion band, Golem, will grace Sixth and I Historic Synagogue on May 14th. I talked with the founder of Golem, Annette Ezekiel Kogan, to kibbitz about everything from the dance club vibe of their upcoming set at Sixth and I performance…
Although my favorite holiday, Tu B’Shevat, passed in February, Jewish tree lovers like me can still find joy in another holiday celebrating the beauty of earth’s many bountiful blessings: Earth Day and the week-long Broccoli City Festival. Starting in Washington, D.C. on April 25 and finishing up in Los Angeles May 3, the Broccoli City Festival…
In Matthew Vaughn’s 2011 movie X-Men: First Class, Professor Charles Xavier tries to stop his friend Magneto—controller of all things metal—from killing American and Soviet navy servicemen during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis by telling him the sailors were just “following orders.” Magneto then delivers arguably the best line of the film: “I’ve…
As I sat in Sixth & I Historic Synagogue the night before the start of Passover, I was surrounded by a sea of hipsters swagging SovJew, or Soviet Jewish. They were clamoring around, speaking in fast- paced Russian, to hear the self-proclaimed “ethno-chaos” of the Ukrainian folk fusion band DahkaBrahka. All around me, I heard…