Is Israel a Jewish State? No. But it can be. by Ha'Am Contributor Groups like Bruins for Israel love to tout the idea that Jews, like all other national groups, deserve a state. That would be a good argument if it wasn’t for one flaw: Israel is not a Jewish state. Before we were expelled from our homeland by the...

An American woman and her husband tried for three years to have a child before their daughter, Chaya Zissel Braun, came into the world four months ago. To show their gratitude to G-d for this precious gift, they traveled to Israel and took their little bundle of joy to the Western Wall for the first time on Oct. 22. While...

Through childhood to adulthood, the topic of Israel — the sole Jewish state — is vibrant, sacred, and ever-present. This graphic comic portrays the connection that many Jewish populations possess with Israel. The comic embodies the scrutiny, battle, and desire for this land after seeing all for which the country stands. Currently and historically, Israel has been fought over time...

Roughly 12% of UCLA’s student population is Jewish, and these 3,000 or so students may be the luckiest across the nation. They are not only supported by a vast network of Jewish Bruins, but also by various organizations that exist to uphold a Jewish environment just for them. The chief triad of these organizations consists of Chabad, JAM and Hillel...

Written by Sharona Kaplan, Rebbetzin for Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. What’s more emblematic of Chanukah than relaxing near a burning menorah and munching on latkes or doughnuts? The iconic menorah and the traditional oily foods reflect the ancient origins of the holiday. In response to the Talmudic question “What is Chanukah?” (explicated by Rashi to mean, “Based on which...

The past month has been challenging for both our UCLA community and our nation at large. On our campus, tensions flared between the pro-Israel and anti-Israel communities as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel surfaced at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels. Concurrently, the tragic death of multiple Black men at the hands of US police officers...

An Introduction to the Series: Judaism has always been somewhat of a romantic religion to me. Perhaps it is because it never ceases to evoke within me an authentic array of emotions, ranging from awe to love to apprehension. Through my knowledge of biblical and Talmudic tales of the nation of Israel, I would advocate that the purest love (that...

A United States passport is one of the most powerful documents in the world. It entitles the holder to travel unimpeded throughout most of the world's countries, and affords the full protection of the United States government. Like all passports, it also serves as a defining marker of the holder's identity, including legal name, birthplace, and current residence. According to...

In this day and age, the vast amount of information available at our fingertips leaves no excuse for anyone to be unaware of the Holocaust's atrocities. There is a myriad of films, books, and museums depicting the horrors that Jews and other targeted minorities endured under the reign of Nazi Germany. Nevertheless, the brutality and gross human rights violations that...

Written by Kerry Chaplin, rabbinic intern at Hillel at UCLA. My wife and I adopted an almost entirely black puppy recently. His name is Charlie (our last name is Chaplin). When we adopted Charlie, we steeled ourselves for the house training and the shoe eating and the general running amok. We weren’t prepared for Charlie’s diagnosis of megaesophagus. As much...