From Fall 2016 Print Edition, “Transitions” “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” Friedrich Nietzsche is most memorialized in popular philosophy by this catchy, contentious extract from The Gay Science, published in 1882. For all of…
The Changing Middle East and its Implications for Israel
From Fall 2016 Print Edition, “Transitions” If you’ve been following the news in the Middle East, you have probably noticed a popular trend in the region — instability. Since the 2010 eruption of the Arab spring in Tunisia, political unrest…
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…