For far too many Californians, the cost of housing in the Golden State has become too high. With one out of three renters shelling out at least half of their income for rent and homeownership remaining nothing more than a…
From Coast to Coast: Israel Fellow, Amit David Brings Israeli Culture to UCLA
Photo courtesy of Amit David With the start of another academic year, new faces emerge in the UCLA Jewish community — students, professors, leaders and everything in between. They come from near and far, and in Amit David’s case, very far.…
Taste of Torah: Creating a Window in your Life
Moti Zilberstein is an undergraduate student at UCLA In the very beginning of this week’s Torah portion, G-d tells Noach, “You shall make for yourself a “Tzohar” [usually translated as “a window”] in the Ark” (Genesis 6:16). But what does…
The Unlikely Zionist
Photo courtesy of BFI “Why do you consider yourself a Zionist?” Recently I have been bombarded by this question from all directions. At UCLA and beyond, those around me genuinely do not understand why this Christian, Armenian-Lebanese student has such…
Speechless.
Photo by kellybdc I’m not going to waste too much space in this column speaking to the importance of free speech, diversity of opinions and the benefits of engaging in lively academic conversation with those who disagree with us. Blah…
Restaurant Review: The Holy Grill, A Truly Spiritual Experience
Photo by Edwin Korouri Six months ago, The Holy Grill ported their popular downtown LA based food truck into a brick and mortar restaurant located on Pico in the heart of what I like to call “Kosher Restaurant Row.” The…
30 Years After: A Reflection
Photo courtesy of Shanel Melamed Within the Jewish Bruin community, civic engagement is a matter that is not taken lightly. At Hillel at UCLA, for example, students are given the opportunity to immerse themselves in a number of programs such…
Professor Hakak Retires from UCLA After Over 40 Years on Campus
(Photo by Inbar Goren) As the school year comes to a close, UCLA will be saying farewell to Lev Hakak, a professor of Hebrew Language and Literature in the Center for Jewish Studies and the Department of Near Eastern Languages…
What is Judaism?
Last week, I was interviewing for a job at a pluralistic Jewish institution and was asked the following question: “About 10-15% of our students are not technically Jewish, so would you feel comfortable teaching them as if they were Jewish?”…
UCLA Jewish Graduation
As the academic year comes to an end, college seniors all over the country will be celebrating their graduations and attending commencement ceremonies. Jewish seniors at UCLA have an additional graduation ceremony to attend— the student-led Jewish graduation that will…