Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Several weeks ago, I attended a screening of the classic 1937 Yiddish language film, The Dybbuk, open to the University of Chicago community. For me, the appeal was in the Yiddish language; the film was a natural compliment to my Yiddish 101 class, and, in fact, my professor highly encouraged my class to attend. There…
The Other Israel Film Festival, featuring films by and about Arab populations living in Israel, just finished running for its seventh season at the Manhattan Jewish Community Center. I was lucky enough to stream a few of the festival’s documentaries and dramas this week from my little corner of the West Coast. Two films impressed…
[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”] You’d think after forty years of wandering and two thousand subsequent years of diaspora, the Jewish People would be used to spatial transitions. I mean, we seem to pass everything else L’dor v’dor, from generation to generation, so why not the nomadic nature? Don’t we even take a full eight…
Part 3 in a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. 7. What are your reactions to survey respondents’ answers to “What does it mean to be Jewish”? What creates Jewish meaning for you? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: These questions pertain to areas of great ambiguity. I wouldn’t…
I don’t generally date non-Jews. I’m not snotty about genealogy, I think the treatment of those who intermarry is barbaric and exclusionary, and I would not be upset if I ended up marrying a non-Jewish man. That said, I do usually end up falling head over heels for young Jewish men who can understand things…
This article was originally posted on the author’s personal blog, and can be read here. What I have to say is controversial. But bear with me, and let me first contextualize, with something I think we all can agree on. The Jewish narrative is one of struggle. With me so far? Since the birth of the…
It was small stuff, but it bothered me. At 3:45 PM, I was waiting for the bus, hoping I wouldn’t be late for work. It was Sunday afternoon, sunny out—I couldn’t find my ipod before I left my apartment so the wait was killing me. You know, playing tetris on my phone, texting people I…
Bernard Avishai has a really excellent essay (PDF) based on survey data (summarized by Haaretz here) from the Macro Center for Political Economic Research. It’s a long read, but worth every bit of it. A highlight: Approximately 40% of young Israeli Jews believe (about a third, strongly) that the state should not offer civil marriage….
Two years ago, an Egyptian student in my history of the modern middle east class referred to Jewish culture as stolen culture, the Mizrahis eat Arab food and the Ashkenazis eat schnitzel so, he concluded, basically Israel was a country of stolen identities. I’m usually pretty peacenik/organic-granola-and-free-lovin but for some reason that statement gave me…
I feel lost in Ashkenazic culture. Outside of it, maybe? I’m not the only person who feels that way, I know I’m not—anyone who didn’t grow up with it, come from it, it’s a foreign land. Ashkenazic culture in the United States is like a Jewish default setting. You grow up outside the prescribed norm,…
I give people all sorts of very sound, very Jewish advice. Find a synagogue you like going to. Check out your local JCC. Check out services. Find your own unique, awesome way to celebrate your Jewishness, your faith, your culture. Get involved with people romantically who understand how important faith is or isn’t important to…