The tragedies of the summer of 2014 in Israel began with the abduction and murder of three Israeli children, Eyal, Gilad and Naftali. Though the vast majority of Jews across the world had no direct connection to the boys, we…
Israel at the Oscars
The 85th annual Academy Award celebration boasted some of Hollywood’s premier talent. While most viewers were closely attuned to the celebrity sightings, spectacular gowns, provocative host, show-stopping performances, and the major awards themselves, some of us with strong Jewish and…
The SodaStream controversy: should we boycott settlements?
Israel has long prided itself on being an environmentally conscious, technologically advanced nation. SodaStream is therefore exactly the kind of product Israel wants to promote: a machine which carbonates tap water, relegating fizzy drinks in a can as unnecessarily expensive…
Bil’in Celebrates “Friday of Loyalty to the Martyrs”
For the past six years, villagers and international activists have convened in the village of Bil’in to protest the presence of Israel’s security barrier. The inhabitants of Bil’in, which lies just west of Ramallah and about ofur kilometers east of…
Palestinian ‘freedom riders’: the protest we’ve been waiting for?
Israeli police have detained six Palestinians dubbed West Bank Freedom Riders who boarded a Jerusalem-bound bus used by Jewish settlers. The activists say they drew inspiration from 1960s US civil rights demonstrators who campaigned under the same name against segregated…
Re: Speakers, Speeches Deserve Respect
After reading Rohan Viswanathan’s Opinion piece in the Daily Bruin on September 26, I was taken aback by his departure from the sentiments that I thought, based on claims of Islamophobia lobbed by Al-Jazeera and other publications I had been…
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…