The Hanukkah Story Your Rabbi Forgot to Mention

As wintertime rolls around again, the most universally celebrated Jewish holiday —Hanukkah — will begin. When the average Jew is asked about the historical events leading up to this beloved holiday, he will claim the classic Jewish holiday line: “An…

Trumpflation, the Student Debt Bubble and Jewish Socioeconomics

The election of Donald Trump surprised a vast majority of pollsters and pundits, with many predicting that Trump had a mere 15% chance of winning prior to the election. Many were shocked at Trump’s success due to the huge swaths…

Praying With our Feet: Jewish Activism in the Age of Trump

Growing up as an active member of Jewish youth groups and continuing my involvement through Jewish campus groups at UCLA, I have always been fascinated by the history of Jewish activism in America. Practically every American Jewish institution these days…

Attending class during the holiday

There is perhaps no decision more representative of the difficulties of being a practicing Jewish college student than the quintessential question of whether or not to attend class during Chag. To me, this is not a question of grades or…

Resolving the problem of the Jewish Left

In my previous article I outlined the several reasons why the Jewish left is in an existential crisis, my goal in this piece will be to provide a potential solution to this problem, a solution which preserves the role of…

House of Cards: the Israel episode

Israeli politics can best be described as a volatile and tumultuous show. Recent events have provided yet more evidence of this phenomenon and have cemented president Benjamin Netanyahu’s reputation as Israel’s Frank Underwood. The current saga began several months ago,…

Shabbat: A time to look back and look forward

This article is dedicated to the boards of the Transfer Undergraduate Students at Hillel, Bruins for Israel and the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus for all of their hard work and dedication. A special thank-you goes out to Hillel at…

Jews and Bruins United: A parasitic relationship

Last week, the UCLA Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC) elections resulted in a huge victory for the Bruins United “slate,” or campus political party, which secured nine of 14 spots on next year’s student council table. Bruins United has long benefited from…

Jews in Politics: Bad for the Jews?

Several months ago, one of my uncles called me out of the blue. My uncle is one of the few red blooded conservatives who still dares to reside within the increasingly liberal New York City. He, like most of my…

The roots of BDS

In the summer of 2014, the Gaza-based terrorist organization Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians and used its terror tunnel network to launch attacks in Israeli territory. In response, Israel launched the defensive Operation Protective edge to eliminate…