Few things bring more delight to me than festivities in the Jewish tradition. Among them, Purim nestles itself comfortably as the chief party animal, and I think it achieves this with the wonderful inclusion of costumes. Dressing up as your…
A Nation Within A Nation: Divided Loyalties
When U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar tweeted that Americans’ support for the state of Israel was “all about the Benjamins,” many Jews took offense, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published a rebuttal criticizing Omar’s perpetuation of the stereotype that Jewish money…
Students for Justice in Palestine Fails to Appreciate Nuance, Value Truth
This week, Students for Justice in Palestine is holding its annual “Palestine Awareness Week,” a rebranding of their Israel Apartheid Week. Typically, this week serves as little more than an opportunity to spread false or misleading information about the state…
That’s a Wrap: Reflections on Fall 2018
Week 0 of Fall 2018 the Ha’Am team was no more than five people total. By week 3, we had nearly 25 people committed to spreading and developing the Jewish voice on campus. In the past quarter, our small team…
Hear Me Out: Thoughts about Thoughts about Israel and Palestine this Week
photo by Scott Clarkson A cursory glance at your Facebook over the past week might have yielded a stream of posts about the unprovoked Israeli murder of five dozen unarmed peaceful protestors in the Occupied Gaza Strip. Or perhaps you…
Faculty Corner: Zionophobia – our only fighting word
In this inaugural opening of the Student-Faculty Corner of Ha’Am, I would like to elaborate on an idea that I advocated in my interview two weeks ago. The idea is simple: From my observations of campus life in the past…
Submission: Vote “Yes” to move Westwood Forward on Tuesday, May 22
Stakeholders in Westwood are being asked to vote on whether or not a broad coalition of UCLA students, UCLA faculty and staff, Westwood businesses, homeowners and renters should get their own Neighborhood Council to better represent their interests. While this might not…
Activists Must Avoid Flippant Responses to Protesters
After a major Jewish community leader sticks his middle finger up at protesters, we need to rethink how we engage with those with whom we disagree. An old adage suggests that if you don’t have something nice to say, you…
Submission: The Jewish community’s vote must be earned
I want to take you back to the UCLA I was admitted to three years ago, in the spring of 2015. A close friend of mine, Ariel Rafalian, was running for Transfer Student Representative in a hard fought student government…
One Issue ≠ Endorsement
The Jewish Community must do a better job of picking and choosing our battles. An old adage suggests that “two Jews, [have] three opinions.” This appears to suggest reference to the indecisiveness and appreciate for debate which Jews are renown.…