Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
There’s a blog on Salon.com I like to read called “How to Save the World,†in which author Dave Pollard espouses his environmental philosophy, creative works, business papers and essays “in search of a better way to live and make a living, and a better understanding of how the world really works.†Among other things,…
Forget Iran. Forget Hizballah. Forget Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Brigade, rogue terrorists and anyone else. Forget Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the rest of the Arab world. Forget 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973. Forget Lebanons I and II. Forget the Intifadas. Forget Cast Lead It started with protesting. The yelling, marching…
And so, it finally happened. The “esteemed” Human Rights Watch has finally declared Hamas’s actions during Operation Cast Lead as war crimes. The question is, why has it taken them four months to come to the same conclusion that I, a mere citizen was able to come to five months ago.  I am not singing my…
The New York Times’ Freakonomics column reported today on a new ad campaign in Brazil being run by SOS Mata Atlantica, an environmental organization imploring Brazilians to pee in the shower in order to flush the toilet less often. The cartoon ad features a variety of animated silhouettes urinating in the shower while the voices…
Have you been here? I have a classmate at Brandeis who has. She’s originally from Bangladesh but now resides in the Netherlands. She’s not Jewish. She chose to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau after her high school history teacher sparked her curiosity in the famous exhibit of victims’ shoes in the Auschwitz museum. This summer, she had the…
My last night in Amman I called my mother in the States as I slowly wandered down the main road in the Tla Al’alia region where I live and searched for an empty taxi for the final ride to a friend’s. Amid the bustle of honking horns and blaring radios, I reviewed with her the…
As I tried to look at my evolving haircut in the mirror my eyes turned to the numerous certificates, letters of recognition and even a diploma touting the qualifications of the man who was now trimming my hair, a bonafide barber’s apprentice, according to New York State. I don’t know whether I’ve ever gotten a…
Even though I love Israel (and surprise, surprise, Israelis) and can’t imagine living anywhere else in the world, there is one thing I would change about Israeli society in a heartbeat, if I could. To be sure, there are actually several things I would change, but none as urgently as the Israeli mentality of “magee’a…
I’ve been thinking a lot about the impending schism in Orthodox Judaism in America. I’ll be perfectly honest and tell you flat out I’m pro-schism: Whether the moguls of the Orthodox world like it or not, it’s coming, and personally, I’d like to help bring it on. Where to start? Easy: the National Council of…
As borders and peoples began to settle following the formal creation of Israel, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) in collaboration with the Jordanian government established in 1952 the Jabal el-Hussien Palestinian refugee camp North West of Amman. Now, over fifty years later, the Jabal el-Hussien refugee camp has significantly grown and become…
Fans of funky music are used to finding Jews behind the scenes. During the 1960s, Jerry Wexler produced hits for Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. During the 1970s and ‘80s, David Geffen signed just about everybody. And in the 1990s, Rick Rubin locked the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in an abandoned Hollywood mansion and voila:…
Thanks, crooked ultra-Orthodox. You, with your flowing white beards, black velvet kippot, black coats and blacker hats, have shown the world that we Jews love laundering money through corrupt charities. You, who present yourself to the world as the platinum standard of our religion and culture, have branded us all with the stereotype we’ve been…
For the last couple of years, I have been slowly developing a passion for honey bees, fueled by a combination of delicious varieties of local honey, a passion for sustainable agriculture, and a fascination with the inner workings of bee hives. When I returned to New York City I decided to look for a venue…
As a child a tale was told to me of the Halutzim, the pioneers who came from the diaspora to the land of Israel and cultivated the parched, barren earth into the beginnings of a fruitful nation. I did not doubt this tale, or the image drawn for me of the proud pioneers as they…