Imagine if every season was election season. Millions of Israelis felt a sense of deja vu this past November when they cast their ballots for the fifth time in just over two years. Many things were left up in the…
Why Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Return as Israel’s Prime Minister is Good for the Arab States
Following the election of Likud leader Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister and the new conservative coalition in the Knesset, Arab leaders from Bahrain, Jordan, Sudan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt congratulated the incoming administration. Despite the mixed…
“The Wrong Kind of Jew”: How the Erasure of Mizrahi Jews Shifts the Narrative about the Jewish People
This November, many within the Jewish community observed Mizrahi Heritage Month, a time dedicated to bringing visibility to a historically underrepresented Jewish demographic in the Western world, the Jews of North Africa and the Middle East. After the Jewish people…
Hen Mazzig: Confronting the Rise of “Modern” Antisemitism
When Hen Mazzig came to speak at the UCLA Hillel in late October, I had no expectation of seeing him again ten days later at the Jewish National Fund’s National Conference in Boston, some 2,500 miles away from Westwood. While…
What The New Israeli Conservative Government Means for the Protests in Iran
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Two Jews Walk Into a Bar: A Brief History of Jewish Humor
Jewish history is no laughing matter; it is painfully riddled with tragedy, trauma, and loss. Yet, despite the tragic periods that often define our heritage, the Jewish experience has been the subject of countless jokes. As if by some peculiar…
Republicans Reaffirm Their Support for Israel at RJC
With antisemitism on the rise across the globe, Republican leaders in the United States have maintained their adamant support for Israel and the Jewish community. The Republican Jewish Conference that took place last weekend in Las Vegas saw keynote speakers…
This Mizrahi Heritage Month, Say A-WA to Mizrahi Music
November is Mizrahi Heritage Month, a time dedicated to bringing visibility to Jewish people of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. “Mizrahi,” meaning east in Hebrew, describes the Jews that live in diaspora in the Middle East and North Africa.…
Chanukah 5783: What’s in a name?
Warren Buffett has famously said that while it takes 20 years to build a reputation, five minutes is sufficient to ruin one. As someone who is only a few months older than twenty myself, I think I’ll have to take…
Book Review: The “Titan of Tehran” by Shahrzad Elghanyan
Over the summer, I had the privilege of reading the biography of former Iranian Jewish leader and businessman Habib Elghanyan, “Titan of Tehran,” written by his granddaughter Shahrzad Elghanyan. In her book, Elghanyan traces her grandfather’s rags to riches backstory,…