Around me, I could hear murmurs of different languages including Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, French, and Spanish. The eclectic crowd at the Nov. 30 event organized by the Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa organization represented the many…
Why Are Student Leaders and Jewish Bruins Under Attack at UCLA?
There will always be that one person who does not like you. There will always be that one person who thinks you can do no right. And while you acknowledge your own faults, that one person sees them as far…
Wall constructed, pamphlets passed: Palestine Awareness Week and pro-Israel pushback
Every year, Students for Justice in Palestine reserve Bruin Plaza for their Palestine Awareness Week — a week when they erect a temporary, six-paneled wall complete with drawings and multicolor, bulletpoint displays in order to inform passersby about the Palestinian…
Toward a more humble Middle East policy: a post-uprising update from Dr. Robert Malley
May 20, 2013 — When told by the student introducing the event that he would be expected to offer his thoughts on the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Dr. Robert Malley retorted that the events to which she referred were…
Israel and apartheid: a lesson in the risks of media bias
For Israel, a country trapped under the brutally judgmental microscope of global scrutiny, public image is everything. A recent poll published on October 23, 2012 by Haaretz (a leading Israeli news source), and its accompanying piece by Israeli journalist Gideon…
Environmental Christmas Tree Lights and Unites in Haifa
Haifa Last year, on the same day the forest fires began ravaging the Carmel region of northern Israel, the Haifa municipality erected a Christmas tree sculpture comprised of over 5,000 recycled water bottles in honor of the Christian holiday. The tree, designed…
Multinational Initiative Seeks Peace Through Environmental Cooperation
Friends of the Earth Middle East, (FoEME) founded in 1994 originally under the name EcoPeace, is an organization without national identity because it is run by, and serves, three distinct peoples in the Middle East. Israeli co-director Gidon Bromberg was…
Surfing for Peace: How One Man Has Made a Difference
“Surfboard diplomacy” is not a term we often find amidst the sound bytes and jargon used to deliver the Middle East news. For Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, however, it’s a term that guides his vision of the Middle East. The self-proclaimed, “first…
Modern media sinks claws into healthy Israel-US relationship
In this age of mounting international tension along cultural, religious, political, and ideological lines, it is more important than ever to pursue objectivity and to avoid subliminal implications in our journalistic endeavors. Unfortunately, many news sources are increasingly providing fanciful…
United Arab Society Opens Arms to Jewish Students at Hookah Session
Last night, the United Arab Society at UCLA commenced this year’s programming with an event that I didn’t even think was permissible: a gigantic hookah session right outside Covel Commons. As I relaxed on the beach earlier that afternoon, enjoying…