Last Wednesday, April 13, local members of the Jewish community filled the sanctuary at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills to listen to former social protest leader and current Zionist Union MK Stav Shaffir. The event, hosted by J Street Los…
The evolution of essence
Mathew Miller never has and never will be a static person. The current college generation has a unique relationship with Matisyahu. He rose to prominence as we rose to the bimah for our bar or bat mitzvahs. And for many of us,…
The dangers of jumping to conclusions
Last week, a video emerged. It apparently shows an Israeli soldier shooting a wounded Palestinian terrorist in the head, killing him instantly. Never mind that the footage was supplied by B’Tselem, an organization well known for misrepresenting and distorting facts. Pay no…
Let My People Know: the historical reality of the Exodus
“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21) This aforementioned moral obligation, influenced by the events of Exodus, has arguably had one of the most positive effects on…
“Intifada”
Ha’Am staff writer Yaacov Tarko and Wali Kamal of Al-Talib work together to deconstruct the different meanings of the word “Intifada” Yaacov: My relatives in Israel have been personally affected by violent attacks in the current “silent Intifada,” and one…
Why should you care about the primary?
What if I were to tell you that we have ruined democracy? Would you believe me? Millennials outnumber both Generation X and the baby boomers, yet our influence on politics is far less pronounced. Our generation skews tremendously towards libertarian…
(Jewish) workers of the world unite: on Marxist Zionism
In modern political discourse in America and much of the West, there is an unspoken assumption that Zionism and leftism are inherently at cross-purposes—that to be left-wing means to be anti-Zionist and hostile to Israel. However, this was not always…
Never again: Why Israel has a Jewish identity
Last week, a friend invited me to a political club where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was being discussed. The lecturer, a fellow UCLA student, was explaining that many Israeli Jews are worried that the minority Arab population is growing at a…
Opening eyes: anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism. Yes, folks, today I will be broaching the subject that you have likely pondered, discussed, and debated so much that it seems like reading this article will finally do your brain in like a mallet to a cantaloupe. “Why,…
Israel and Palestine: Beyond two states
Mainstream public discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict revolves entirely around the two-state solution. Under such a peace agreement, the Palestinians recognize Israel’s right to exist and jettison terrorism, tacitly proclaiming that violence is neither an an act of justice nor…