Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Last week I promised an exploration of Jewish/queer identity in this week’s blog post. Unfortunately, that I can’t provide…because I showed up mad late to last week’s ‘Queer Shabbat’ at my Hillel. I did get there in time to catch an interesting documentary called “Trembling Before G-d”, about the struggles of queer Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox…
Just like cathedrals are for Catholics, synagogues are proud monuments of Jewish history, our legacy in architecture passed through generations. But what should be done with old synagogues where no Jews longer live, the living conditions—inhabited by non-Jews—are poor, and money is being spent to rebuild synagogues that are never used? This problem sprang up…
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 those of AJWS. In Michael Moore’s newest exposé,…
“In 100 years, the situation will be the same as it is now. Nothing will change.” So said a friend of mine on my final night in Jerusalem last summer. She rolled her eyes and sipped a beer. “What about the demographic issue?” I said. “Whatever. We’ll just import a million more Russians. Why do…
After a long hiatus from watching Israeli movies (my Netflix account doesn’t see much action while I’m away at school), I finally decided to get back to my roots a bit and watch Ushpizin with my brother and his friends. At first, the movie’s premise didn’t seem like anything extraordinary–a Jewish Orthodox couple in Jerusalem…
I was a junior at the Ida Crown Jewish Academy during the height of the second Intifada in 2003 and I remember that for Israel’s memorial day that year our school put up a large banner across the stage, quoting the biblical verse, “And I said to you, ‘In your blood you shall live!’ And…
The worst thing you could say to a university student in Israel is the word “strikeâ€. It sends shivers down the spine and immediately conjures up images of the long hot days of summer spent in classrooms instead of at the beach. Most students spend their year in university praying that they will be able…
One of the most appealing, revolutionary, perplexing and perhaps sustainable aspects of J Street’s message is that there is not one but multiple ways to be pro-Israel. Appealing because it lets us be freer with our opinions; revolutionary because it appears to break with the traditional American Jewish idea that we must present a unified…
Since I got interested in and involved with Judaism two years ago, my Jewish library has become an impressive (or at least mountainous) fixture in my bedroom. I have somehow managed to amass, according to my LibraryThing page, at least 91 books on various Jewish topics since then. Some have been staples, like The Jewish Book…
Tomorrow evening, thousands (tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands?) of Jewish college students across the United States will “go to†their Hillel center or a Chabad house or another Jewish communal setting, say Erev Shabbat prayers, sing blessings and songs, and eat Shabbat dinner with their fellow Jewish students. And I’ll be one of them….
On a chilly autumn Wednesday in Connecticut, I stood before the six students of my Kita Hey (fifth grade) Religious School class and tried to review with them the written words of the Amidah, a core section of the daily Jewish service. “I like your hair, Morah Miriam,†one girl called out. ‘I like your…
Yesterday I had an interview to be considered to attend Birthright Israel. The idea of traveling to Israel has been in my mind since I can remember so I was overly excited for this. Out of the nearly twenty trip organizers, I chose to apply to the Yael Adventures program. Besides the great feedback I…
Hello faithful readers! If you write a review of us on this website, we get exposure all across the Worldwide Web, i.e. the internet. So write us up! The reviews don’t even have to be good. You can write whatever you want about us, such as: “I was about to renounce the internet forever until…
I recently got one in a series of forwarded e-mails from my dad, who enjoys passing on Jewish jokes and trivia to his friends and family. This one was particularly interesting. Entitled, “Jewish Trivia Worth Sharing!,” the e-mail went on to uncover a number of people who allegedly have a Jewish heritage, including Winston Churchill,…
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. Â Â Â Â Â Â I often feel that as young people we are blessed to be of this generation. At least…