Congressman Brad Sherman is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing California’s 30th Congressional District. Congressman Sherman is Jewish, a member of Encino’s Valley Beth Shalom synagogue, and a strong advocate for Israel. As a Congressman,…
12 Best Kosher Foods to Buy at Trader Joes
Trader Joe’s is well known for their healthy and cheap options, but in the Jewish world, they are well-known for the large variety of Kosher and pareve products on their shelves. With such a wide variety, here are a few…
The Impossible Kosher Cheese Burger
A cheese burger – the quintessential non-Kosher food. And now, it has arrived for the Kosher consumer. In late May, the Impossible Burger received Kosher supervision. The patty is a plant based meat substitute, which the company advertises as tasting,…
Taste of Torah: Vulcans, Kohanim and the “Thus shall you bless” in Nasso
photo by Alexander Mayer We are in Jerusalem in the year 600 BC. An old man walks up a narrow alley to speak to a scribe. As he looks up he can see the smoke rising from the holy alter in…
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…
Don’t be misinformed by Algemeiner’s latest Jewish college rankings
Breaking news! UCLA was named 22nd worst college for Jewish students in the U.S. That’s what Algemeiner’s list of THE 40 WORST COLLEGES FOR JEWISH STUDENTS IN 2017 (which came out last week) ranked our school. us. In fact, pretty much all…
Jewish Community Should Move Westwood Forward
Last quarter, my colleague Zev Hurwitz argued persuasively for UCLA’s Jewish community to renew its commitment to social justice. Soon, Jewish Bruins will have an opportunity to do just that by voting for the formation of a new North Westwood Neighborhood Council…
Making Time Count
Perhaps one of the most unique features characterizing Shavuot is the extensive ‘Omer’ count that leads up to the holiday. It’s fascinating that the Torah does not even prescribe a specific calendar date for Shavuot but simply positions it as…
Meet your next Jewish USAC President
I sat down with Claire Fieldman, the incoming president of UCLA’s student government and an active member of the Jewish community on campus. Here’s what we talked about: So let’s start out – Congratulations on winning the election! Thank…
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…