Yiscah Smith: activist, leader, hero

We are a species that categorizes. Categories permeate every facet of our lives, as categorization is a natural process for us to organize the world around us. Essentially, humans naturally dissect one another into compartments, or identifiers. Consider how others…

How Hadas Libman keeps it on par

Hadas Libman is the latest diamond in the rough in Jewish Athletes. She hails from Israel and sacrificed time away from her family to live the dream of becoming a professional women’s golfer. She won her first Israeli Open when…

How Judaism can help students maintain sanity

A college student’s lifestyle can be extremely unhealthy. Besides the physical health issues that may come from binge-eating ramen noodles every finals cycle, students may also develop mental health issues such as severe anxiety and depression, which may be induced…

Azerbaijan: A “Model for Tolerance”

Along the shore of the Caspian Sea lies the republic of Azerbaijan, a country that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Although composed primarily of Shi’ite Muslims, this country is still the home to “the largest all-Jewish settlement outside the…

An open letter to the UC Regents working group for the Principles Against Intolerance

Dear Eddie Island, Norm Pattiz, John A. Pérez, Bruce Varner, Avi Oved, Linda Katehi, Dan Hare, and Yvette Gullatt: Your most recent task as regents, chancellors and university leaders is to debate, revise and re-construct the UC Statement of Principles…

The Judaism in thanks-giving

Thanksgiving is perhaps one of the American people’s favorite national holidays. It is a time when individuals unite with friends and family to bask in one another’s company, increase their caloric intake, and brag about the items they intend to…

Our democratic fight

As a student who grew up in a democratic and liberal environment, I was constantly told to be proud of myself and to stand up for who I am and what I believe in. Earlier this week, the student government…

Non-denominational or non-Orthodox?

As an Orthodox Jew, there have been many times in my life where I have felt unwelcome in the wider Jewish community. This feeling of discomfort has arisen in a wide variety of circumstances: from being unable to attend certain…

JWW honors Gabriel family with night of music, art

At their annual gala in recognition of leading community philanthropists, Jewish World Watch presented the Katzburg Gabriel family with the Global Soul Award Wednesday night in Royce Hall. According to co-founder Janice Kamenir-Reznik, Jewish World Watch (JWW) was founded in 2004 in…

Kosher Korner: Soul-warming onion soup

As the weather turns cooler, it’s nice to enjoy some hot, comforting soul food. To me, a rich onion soup is the peak of comfort and definitely something to anticipate at the end of a long, windy day spent trudging…