On a humid Westwood night, my roommates, Mai and Chelsea, and I were walking back to our dorm. Our stomachs ached with laughter and our bellies were full from a night out. “Which way should we take home?” Mai asked.…
How to Succeed on Final Exams
As courses transition to an in-person format, students must adjust to the different testing conditions. Gone are the days of taking a final exam in bed on your laptop. More importantly, gone are the days of taking a final exam…
Return to the Orient: my experience as an Asian in Hebrew class
In ”Return to the Orient: my experience as an Asian in Hebrew class” Martin Chen, a contributing writer to Ha’Am, recounts his experience as a non-Jewish student in a Hebrew language class at UCLA. Chen writes about why he chose…
Jews in the Civil Rights Movement
On March 21, 1965, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched from Selma to Mongtomery, Alabama in order to support voting rights for African Americans. Next to him stood Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herschel, a Jewish theologian who faced Nazi perseuction…
A Coalition to End the Reign of Prime Minister Netanyahu?
Israel’s democratic fever dream has almost broken. After four elections in two years, a coalition government finally seems poised to end the 12 year reign of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The proposed coalition could give Israel a semblance of stability…
No Action Taken Against Anti-Semitism on Social Media
Social media runs our lives. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, our phones are bombarded with notifications from various social media sites. We spend an average of over two hour a day on…
Valley Of Tears: A Somber Look at the Yom Kippur War
Earlier this year, as I was doing my patriotic duty by socially distancing and scrolling through HBO Max, I found myself watching an Israeli war series titled Valley of Tears. The show focuses on the Yom Kippur War, a traumatic…
Conflict Rises Between Israel and Gaza
Violence intensified between the Israeli government and Hamas on Tuesday, May 11, after Hamas fired initial rockets. More than 83 Palestinians in Gaza and six Israelis were killed as a result of this ongoing conflict, according to “The New York…
The Mizrahi Black Panthers of Israel
When considering civil rights in Israel you would be remiss to not focus on the treatment of Palestinians, and their relationship with Israelis. But this year marks the 50th anniversary of a different civil rights movement, one that pitted Israeli…
Let There Be Light: What to Watch During Passover Holidays
That special time of year has come again. Seder plates, cups of Maneshevitz, and whacking families members with onions during Dayenu fill our homes every March. As a child, my cousins and I loved searching for the Afikomen, a half-piece…