Hello, friends. I am trying something a little different today. Today’s topic has nothing to do with being Jewish or LGBTQIA+. It has nothing to do with Israel or the polarization on college campuses. Today I am going to talk about the depiction of the college process on a little show called Gilmore Girls. Writing about my usual topics is meaningful but a bit heavy. Gilmore Girls, however, is exceptionally fun, and I could not pass up the opportunity to talk about it as I rewatch the series...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello, friends. I hope you are well. I am checking in on the eve of Yom Kippur with a heavy heart and an upset stomach. The ongoing, seemingly never-ending war in Gaza is making me want to throw up. Earlier in the war, I attended events at my synagogue to discuss it, but I have stopped. They held a discussion about Zohran Mamdani, and I didn’t attend that either because the major headline about Mamdani is where he stands on Israel. I wish we had more space to talk about other things. I had...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Bend the Arc is a US-based progressive Jewish organization with an interesting take on antisemitism. I would recommend their Dismantling Antisemitism Message Guide for its refreshing perspective that challenges popular notions of antisemitism, but I’m not going to make you open another window. I’ll just summarize. Basically, they teach that antisemitism is manmade and therefore can be man-destroyed. They teach that we can end antisemitism, and they criticize folks who talk about antisemitism...
6 months ago • 2 min read
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the devastating acts of violence against American Jews in Boulder and DC. I’m sure you have too. The Boulder attack was an act of cruelty in which the assailant set demonstrators, including the elderly, on fire. In DC it was an act of murder. These were targeted attacks against Jews. People are furious at Israel for its destruction in Gaza, and this is reasonable. I am too. But being furious at Israel doesn’t cause a reasonable person to wield a Molotov...
7 months ago • 1 min read
In my last newsletter, I highlighted the extreme polarization between certain factions of Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews on college campuses. The examples were intense. Each side literally thought the other side was trying to kill them. We see this polarization in the Jewish community outside of college campuses as well. On the extreme ends of the debate, one side thinks Israel can do no wrong, and the other side thinks Israel is a scourge on the Jewish people and the world at large. I’d...
8 months ago • 1 min read
Most people know that Hillel is basically synonymous with Jewish life at American colleges, but what you might not know is that the organization has caused a political uproar. Hillel has a clear stance on Israel. As they state in their controversial Israel Guidelines, “Hillel is steadfastly committed to the support of Israel” and “views Israel as a core element of Jewish life.” To put it in the reductive modern-day parlance, Hillel is a Zionist organization. Though many people perceive Hillel...
8 months ago • 3 min read
International students have suddenly been thrust into “an environment of fear” because of dramatic and confusing federal policy changes. The Department of Education has been gutted. And the Trump administration is threatening elite universities with dire cuts to their federal grant funding. If they do not stand up to him, they will not be able to maintain their academic freedom. The norms I have long taken for granted in higher education are in limbo, and this impacts my students and me, thus...
9 months ago • 1 min read
I grew up in a strict household, and my parents gave me no choice but to live a Jewish lifestyle. We went to shul so consistently that I could chant the entire Musaf Amidah by heart. (The fact that our shul did a full repetition tells you how fun Shabbat services were.) By the time I reached adolescence, the limitations of my family’s observant lifestyle started to chafe. I was eager to explore other options. Whenever we would visit colleges, my mother would take me to check out the Hillel,...
10 months ago • 2 min read
Last time, we talked about the increase in pro-Palestinian campus activism and its excessive coverage in the media. Everyone and their mother is talking about antisemitism on college campuses, including those in the White House and the halls of Congress. There are some people who genuinely care about what is best for American Jews and others who view this moment as an opportunity. Let’s spend some time talking about the latter group. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx: A Case Study Though Jews are...
10 months ago • 3 min read