I stumbled upon this letter in the JQY (Jewish Queer Youth) online forum. I found it to encapsulate many of the challenges that Jewish queer individuals must face, and I think that understanding and empathizing with these experiences will truly…
The Fountainheads Advise Us to Dip Our Apples
The Fountainheads are a group of young Israeli dancers, singers, actors and artists, all graduates and students of the Ein Prat Academy for Leadership. This year, they commemorate Rosh Hashanah with yet another Judaicized rendition of a radio favorite – this…
United Arab Society Opens Arms to Jewish Students at Hookah Session
Last night, the United Arab Society at UCLA commenced this year’s programming with an event that I didn’t even think was permissible: a gigantic hookah session right outside Covel Commons. As I relaxed on the beach earlier that afternoon, enjoying…
Olive Tree Initiative meets Dennis Ross
When I first embarked on this journey to DC and the Middle East, I intended to thoroughly document my experiences and impressions daily. But I didn’t bring a laptop, nor do I own a smart phone, so for now, I’ll…
Anti-Semitism Studies returns to Yale despite PLO criticism
This past June, Yale University announced that its Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA), which had been operating since 2006, was meant to be discontinued. The official reason given by Professor Donald Green, director of Yale’s Institu te…
Matisyahu and the Nine Days
I wrote this post yesterday as an introduction to my coverage of the Matisyahu concert: Today is my sister’s birthday, and a few days ago, her friends and I decided to celebrate by taking her to a Matisyahu concert. Only…