On Monday afternoon, shortly after 4:30 pm, the mostly middle-aged to elderly audience members — armed with cookies, pastries and beverages — shifted in their seats as more places were set out to accommodate the large number of attendees to…
Off Campus
The zionist imperative of Passover
This week we celebrate the festival of Passover. If asked on the spot what the point of the holiday is, you would probably respond “to commemorate the redemption from Egyptian bondage.” This interaction is reenacted on the Seder night: The…
Aliyah throughout the ages
Imagine you are living in a land where you must tuck away your kippah or Magen David necklace in public in fear of putting your life in danger, simply because of who you are. This has been an unfortunate reality…
International Jews of UCLA
UCLA’s prestige, location, and admiration for diversity within its student body has made it a highly attractive university for potential attendees around the world. In fact, international students constitute 12.6 percent of UCLA’s undergraduate program. Elinor Samuel: The Tea-Loving Hippophile…
My Grandfather’s Uniform
Last week, I visited the Israeli consulate to renew my passport. As the lady at the desk was happily typing my information into her computer, a sense of relief quietly overcame me, knowing I would soon be one step closer…
The Empathy Gap
The tragedies of the summer of 2014 in Israel began with the abduction and murder of three Israeli children, Eyal, Gilad and Naftali. Though the vast majority of Jews across the world had no direct connection to the boys, we…
The practicality of the Shurat Hadin lawsuit
Last Monday, a US jury ordered the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to pay over $218 million to the victims (and their families) of terrorist attacks in Israel that the PA provided material support for. The trial provided…
Exclusive interview pertaining to the mysterious death of Alberto Nisman
With the recent panic over the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks in Paris and its implications for the future of free speech in the Western world — in addition to the safety of Jews in Europe — UCLA students have done…
“UCSA, you do not represent us”
This past Sunday morning, students from across the UC campuses gathered at UCLA’s Tom Bradley International Hall for the University of California Student Association’s divestment hearing. Two resolutions called for the UC Regents to divest from American companies which some…
Upcoming address to Congress: the next move in Netanyahu’s chess game vs. Obama
If one considers a single word that best encapsulates President Barack Obama’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu throughout the past six years, the colloquial portmanteau “frenemies” immediately comes to mind. Dictated by circumstance, Obama and Netanyahu’s arranged matrimony…