Hillel Speaker Series featuring Dr. Saba Soomekh

The new Hillel Speaker Series, a weekly event featuring a notable scholar or leader in the Jewish community, has created a forum at which students can explore Jewish identity. This past week, students had the opportunity to learn with Dr.…

Persian Jewish Life at UCLA: A Reflection

At UCLA, Bruins are encouraged on a daily basis to familiarize themselves with their origins so as to better understand how their identities were formed and have shaped their lives. Persian Jewish Bruins are no exception to this campus phenomenon.…

Purim: did the party really end?

It is no secret that Persians like a great party with food, wine, dancing and music! King Ahasuerus of 4th century Persia, was no different, throwing a 180-day-long drunken festival in celebration of his vastly growing Persian Empire in its…

Persian Girl Problems

Persian girls are known for their beautiful hair, unique attitudes and determination to succeed. But hold up — it’s not so simple, no one’s life is a happily-every-after fantasyland, and just like everyone else, Persian girls deal with their own…

30 Years After and the threefold identity of Iranian-American Jews

Eager as can be, with my program in hand and my nametag around my neck, I made my way into the ballroom of the historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles for what would be a momentous gathering. I had…