On Tuesday night, the Undergraduate Students Association Council evaluated the qualifications of Rachel Beyda, a second-year economics major, as a potential justice for its Judicial Board. Appointed by USAC President Avinoam Baral, she proved herself to be extremely qualified for…
Persian Girl Problems
Persian girls are known for their beautiful hair, unique attitudes and determination to succeed. But hold up — it’s not so simple, no one’s life is a happily-every-after fantasyland, and just like everyone else, Persian girls deal with their own…
Who said it — world leaders or fifth grader?
Please note: This article contains strong language. In the modern day, you may find yourself shaking your head and wondering what on earth our leaders are thinking. We all have had times when we heard a situation involving world leaders…
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…
Above and Beyond: My night at the film premiere
Last November, I had the pleasure of attending the 28th Israeli Film Festival LA premiere of Above and Beyond, a documentary produced by Nancy Spiegelberg about the foreign airmen of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. That eventful Thursday night was…
Battling apathy towards Israeli politics in the Jewish student community
J Street and the Jewish Agency recently hosted discussions about the upcoming Israeli elections, in which UCLA students were invited to learn about and debate over the issues that caused the calling of early elections, and discuss how those issues…
Speaking different languages, hearing nothing at all
Have you ever had difficulty trying to find the right words to say? Language allows us to communicate with one another but also tends to limit our ability to say what we mean and mean what we say. It is…
Twitter terrorism: a stab in the back
Barely two weeks have passed since a catastrophic wave of terror shook Paris, leaving 17 people dead. The impact of the attacks was felt across the world — the media overcome with expressions of shock. As day faded into night,…
Racism anywhere is racism everywhere
In an eye-opening lecture at Hillel this week, Paul Von Blum spoke to students about his life of social activism and unshaken secular Jewish identity. A second-generation Holocaust survivor, he claims his experience in civil rights began before his birth…
Thought Lounge: resuscitating a tradition of dialogue
One of our richest cultural inheritances is the Talmud. Its roughly 6,200 pages consists of rabbinic folklore, customs, history, ethics, philosophy and law, oftentimes moving between these topics in the span of a sentence. Since I went to private Jewish…