The resurgence of rampant antisemitism has clouded the Jewish community’s experiences, thoughts and conversations. This shift has been felt on UCLA’s campus, where some UCLA Jewish students feel uncomfortable to publically share aspects of their Jewish identity. Just this month,…
Shavuot Customs and Modern-Day Lessons We Can Take From The Book of Ruth
Background on Shavuot: The Spring Harvest Festival The end of the Spring Quarter coincides with one of the most significant holidays in Jewish tradition: Shavuot. Shavuot celebrates the spring harvest festival and marks the acceptance of the Torah–the Jewish Book…
Jewish Life Across the Border: The Surprising History of Mexico City’s Jews
Behind Mexico City, known for its street tacos and Lucha Libre, there is an unexpectedly Jewish story. Over winter break, I had the opportunity to explore Mexico City and much of what it offers– from Teotihuacano pyramids to kosher sports…
“The Wrong Kind of Jew”: How the Erasure of Mizrahi Jews Shifts the Narrative about the Jewish People
This November, many within the Jewish community observed Mizrahi Heritage Month, a time dedicated to bringing visibility to a historically underrepresented Jewish demographic in the Western world, the Jews of North Africa and the Middle East. After the Jewish people…
This Mizrahi Heritage Month, Say A-WA to Mizrahi Music
November is Mizrahi Heritage Month, a time dedicated to bringing visibility to Jewish people of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. “Mizrahi,” meaning east in Hebrew, describes the Jews that live in diaspora in the Middle East and North Africa.…
Queen Shlomzion: The Last King of Ancient Israel
The most impactful ruler of ancient Israel might not have been King David, but a queen by the name of Alexandra Shlomzion. For a long time, this powerful queen had been forgotten from history, but with the unearthing of the…
Vegan Shavuot
Shavuot, the Jewish Spring Harvest Festival, centers around many deep-rooted Jewish customs such as all night learning, Tikkun Leil Shavuot. This kabbalistic tradition aims to correct the faults of our ancestors, who were unprepared to receive the Torah, by demonstrating…
The Third Intifada?: An Outline to Last Month’s Outbreak of Terror in Israel
While UCLA students call for an intifada from the comforts of their Los Angeles campus, Israelis and Palestinians suffer the consequences. Last Tuesday, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a pro-Palestinian student organization with an anti-Semitic history, protested on Bruin…
From Berlin to Beijing, History Repeats Itself
Just one week after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the world blinds itself to genocide. The 2022 Winter Olympics are being held in Beijing, China despite significant evidence of China’s crimes against humanity. In an extravagant yet deceiving opening ceremony, Dinigeer…