Ha'Am Fall 2013 by Ha'Am: UCLA's Jewish Newsmagazine

Page 2 Fall 2013

[Opening]

Table of Contents 4

Israel Ultras & La Familia: Israeli football culture ............................... 4 by Lea Luterstein

5-8

The changing dynamics of Jewish education ................................... 5

Welcome to Ha’Am’s Fall 2013/ Kislev 5774 print edition! In this issue, we seek to tackle questions about what it means to be a Jew on UCLA’s campus, including how Jewish Bruins date, define their race, and celebrate a cross-roads of cultures with Thanksgivukah. We hope that you enjoy our pages, and as always, feel free to give us your feedback and read more articles at www.haam.org – Tessa Nath, Editor-in-Chief

Feature by Yona Remer

The ins & outs of Jewish dating at UCLA............................... 6-7 by Tessa Nath

Jewish Dating Quiz: What type of Jew is right for you? ................. 8 by Elyssa Schlossberg

Campus News Are Jews a race? Schuette and university admissions ............... 9 by Devorah Friedman

Opinion The Jewish spark at the Western Wall .......... 10 by David J. Chernobylsky

11-12

Lifestyle Thanksgivukah: Background & Celebration ... 11 by Nicole Rudolph

Thanksgivukah: Recipes .............................. 12 by Birtu Belete

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[Opening]

Ha’Am Fall 2013 Kislev 5774

Editor-in-Chief Tessa Nath Managing Editor Devorah Friedman Business Manager Elyssa Schlossberg App Manager Nicole Rudolph Content Editors Lea Luterstein Miriam Pinski Yona Remer Copy Editors Simone Dvoskin Nicole Rudolph Elyssa Schlossberg Layout Editor Nicole Rudolph Staff Writers Birtu Belete David J. Chernobylsky Photographer Talia Kamdjou Illustrators David J. Chernobylsky Talia Kamdjou Ha’Am Magazine 118 Kerckhoff Hall 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90024

Fall 2013

About Ha’Am Ha’Am is the official student-run Jewish newsmagazine at UCLA. We cater to a mainly college-age audience, with the distinct goal of uniting diverse Jewish communities through intelligent debate, maintaining the Talmudic tradition that has sustained our people throughout the millennia. We seek the unique Jewish voice in ageold arguments and perspectives, highlighting what makes the Jews of today exceptional through our articles, personality profiles, and pro-con discussions. We celebrate the intersections of religious and secular life that exist within each Jewish student and writer. This isn’t your grandmother’s Judaism — this is Ha’Am today. (Please note that individual opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Ha’Am as a whole.)

Ha’Am is always looking for talented writers, editors, designers, photographers, illustrators, sales representatives, creative thinkers, and skilled debaters. Look us up on Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail haam@media.ucla.edu to give us your feedback or to get more involved. Or visit our website at www.haam.org for even more articles.

For a look at this issue in full color, visit www.issuu.com and search “Ha’Am Fall 2013.”

Can’t get enough of Ha’Am?

Download our FREE iPhone app, and visit us online at haam.org. The UCLA Communications Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving grievances against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete procedure, contact Student Media UCLA at 118 Kerckhoff Hall, 310 825-2787, or director@media.ucla.edu. The UCLA Communications Board fully supports the University of California’s policy on non-discrimination. The student media reserves the right to reject or modify advertising portraying disability, age, sex, or sexual orientation. It is the expectation of the Communications Board that the student media will exercise the right fairly and with sensitivity. Any person believing that any advertising in the student media violates the Board’s policy on non-discrimination should communicate his or her complaints in writing to the Business Manager, (name of student medium), 118 Kerckhoff Hall, Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90024. For assistance with housing discrimination problems, call: UCLA Housing Office (310) 825-4491, or the Housing Rights Center (213) 387-8400. All opinions expressed in this newsmagazine are solely that of the author, not of the Ha’Am Editorial Board or the UCLA Communications Board. Letters to the editor should be directed to haam@media.ucla.edu

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[Israel]

Fall 2013

In Israel, your politics determine everything — where you sit in synagogue, what falafel stand you frequent, and especially what football (soccer) team you support. Israeli football culture, stemming from longstanding traditions of European football hooliganism and city pride, takes on a new level in a country whose geographical area is small but rich in human capital.

FOOTBALL IN ISRAEL Organized football in Eretz Yisrael began during the British Mandate of Palestine and consisted of separate British and Jewish clubs as early as 1906, when Israel’s oldest team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, was formed as a “social group.”

Lea Luterstein

of Palestine: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv (3-0), starts the oldest football rivalry in Israel; May: two Jewish clubs made it to usually British teamdominated finals in Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv vs. Maccabi Hasmonean Jerusalem (2-0)

1924 - Hapoel (Labor) Haifa forms and joins World Maccabi Organization; later breaks off to create Hapoel Organization

1920

1925

1934 World Cup - During British Mandate period, Israeli 1931 - First

mixed team of Jews and Britons plays international match

1930

international team competes as “Eretz Yisrael/Palestine,” as a virtually all-Jewish organization; first international match is qualifier for 1934 World Cup against Egypt in Cairo (loss 7-1); second leg in Tel Aviv (loss 4-1)

1939 - International team of Maccabi

1935

1940

Police win league under Chief Speiser (who later served as the first chairman of football association)

Throughout its development, Israeli football culture was a natural offshoot of the widespread English movement that started at about the same time that Israeli football was formally organized into a sport. Football fanatics whose team loyalties go beyond simple fan allegiances — sometimes called “ultras” — have also become a niche part of Israeli political culture: football hooliganism. Part of an English tradition started at the beginning of the 20th century and solidified from the 1960s and 1970s, football hooligans exploit city pride (and the various associations that go alone with them, includ-

1992 - Israel rejoins Union of

European Football Association and businessman Yaakov Shahar buys Maccabi Haifa: catalyzed private ownership of football cups in Israel

1967 - Hapoel Tel Aviv becomes first club to win the Asian Football Confederation Club Championships

and Hapoel players travels to Australia in first big tour

1932 - First league of nine teams is established; British

FOOTBALL POLITICS & HOOLIGANISM

PRE-INDEPENDENCE

1928 - February: First derby in the British Mandate

POST-INDEPENDENCE

Content Editor

ing religion and socio-economic class) to supercharge the natural adrenaline of football matches. For many football supporters, football matches are more than spectator sport events, they are an exhibition of national pride and often the catalyst to violent confrontations between rival teams. And Israeli teams are no exception.

HAPOEL TEL AVIV & ULTRAS HAPOEL Hapoel (“Labor”) Tel Aviv has long been the standard-bearer of the Israeli left-wing political movement. Explicitly connected to Israel’s Labor Party (Hapoel) since its inception, the club was the last to cut formal ties with

1945

1950

1967

1992

1948 - Israel national team goes to NYC, plays USA (3-1 loss) — first goal of Israeli national team

political affiliations, including the Histadrut trade union. Fans (“ultras Hapoel”) display red banners illustrated with the socialist motto “Workers of the world, unite!” and the face of international mass murderer and Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

BEITAR JERUSALEM & LA FAMILIA The familiar yellow and black of La Familia — Israel’s only officially recognized hooligan firm, begun in 2005 and supporting Premier League team Beitar Jerusalem from the eastern section of Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium — has roots in the Beitar political movement of the charismatic Revi-

sionist-Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Among the most zealous of Israeli football clubs, Beitar’s fans have often been penalized with docked points, closed matches and other disciplinary actions due to riots, the use of fireworks and anti-Arab chants from fans. From Beitar to Hapoel, two of Israel’s most colorful football teams, and every Israeli club in between, supporters have managed to turn sport into lifestyle. For Israelis of every ethnicity and voting record, there exists a team of supporters, a wide spectrum of political affiliations and a variety of scarves (tip: check out the northeast corner of Machaneh Yehudah for the cheapest).

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[Feature]

The changing dynamics of Jewish education

Fall 2013

Yona Remer

Content Editor The perpetuation of Judaism throughout the millennia has largely relied on one of its most important tenets: education. The Talmudic tractate Kiddushin (“Consecrations”; 29a) dictates that a father is obligated to teach his child three things: how to earn a living, how to learn Torah and, most oddly, how to swim. Although ensuring that Jewish youth are familiar with the breaststroke is no longer as imperative in Jewish communities, the first two obligations of vocational and Torah education have remained an embedded necessity for Jewish communities throughout the world. Education has long been a core element of Jewish culture. In America, for instance, “Estimates vary, but perhaps 85-90% or more of young adult Jews go to college,” according to a 2008 Inside Higher Ed report. Jews have long valued higher education as a means of self-advancement. But, finding an educational model that caters to both a Jewish and secular education has proven more elusive at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels. For Modern Orthodox and Conservative communities across America, the solution has largely relied on private community Jewish day schools of dual curriculum — composed of both secu-

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to the 2008 Orthodox Union summit report on Jewish education, “Schools with well-appointed facilities and enriched educational program matched by a panoply of extracurricular activities can cost about as much as prep school — more than $30,000 a year per student.” Moreover, even with the costs of “most day schools between $15,000-$20,000 a year” for each student, the prospect of equipping one’s child with an education is financially daunting. At these rates, the cost of tuition from elementary through high school can easily exceed a quarter of a million dollars per child, before college. In fact, trends in the costs of Jewish education have become increasingly exacerbated with the onset of the 2008 recession. The findings of the Orthodox Union summit highlight the same distinct problems. The summit, which included one hundred Jewish educational institutions throughout America and Canada, came to two conclusions. First, “a profound change in how our communities view and contribute to day schools” is required, and second, “a vigorous effort toward attaining government funds to support our children’s education in day schools” is essential. The report goes on to highlight several means by which

[...] blended education — a model that combines independent computer instruction with face-to-face traditional classroom method — is increasingly being applied to Jewish educational institutions throughout America.”

lar and religious studies. While these schools had previously proven successful models for providing Jewish communities with a sufficient Jewish and secular education, they have increasingly run into several problems. For starters, the inflated rate of tuition in conjunction with increasing financial hardships has left many families in an untenable position: the inability to afford providing their children with an adequate Jewish and secular education. According

schools and institutions can effectively engage government entities for additional support. Inasmuch as the reports underscore the financial pressures being placed on Jewish communities in paying for a Jewish education, they fail to make more drastic and structural steps towards curbing the exorbitant costs. In the last several years, a new model for delivering quality education has emerged. First implemented by universities as a means of constraining costs, blended edu-

cation — a model that combines independent computer instruction with face-toface traditional classroom method — is increasingly being applied to Jewish educational institutions throughout America. In a March 2013 article for Jewish Action entitled “Blended Learning: The Newest Frontier in Jewish Education?” Dr. Simcha Katz declares, “I believe that blended learning, while still in the experimental stages, may be one of the most exciting developments in the world of education, with particular effectiveness in grades one through twelve.” In an interview with Ha’Am, Rebecca Coen, Head of School at Yeshiva High Tech — a blended learning Modern Orthodox high school in Los Angeles — opined on the ongoing tuition crisis, “For a family earning $250,000, especially with the costs associated with living in

geles of more than $30,000 annually. However, the benefits of blended education are not entirely limited to cost. Teachers in traditional educational settings largely teach to the average student’s abilities, leaving out students with more exceptional or lagging abilities. Blended education, using online resources, allows for students to receive more individualized attention and work at a pace more conducive to their educational needs, according to Coen. In fact, “while traditional schools demand only one paper per term, Yeshiva High Tech students are expected to produce nearly 20 papers a year, allowing for them to build a stronger educational foundation.” As the fabric of community Jewish day schools increasingly falls victim to pressures of costs, the delicate balance of catering to communal needs and of-

TORAH TECH: Some yeshivas are moving to online education programs in order to cut the costs of rising tuition.

Los Angeles, at what cost do you give your child an education? The sacrifices families often have to make to ensure their child an education are often unfair.” Moreover, if current rates persist, by 2030, high school education could cost nearly $60,000 a year, according to Coen. With annual tuition of $9,250 per child, Yeshiva High Tech has managed to drastically reduce the costs of a Jewish high school education, especially compared with other options in Los An-

Photo by Talia Kamdjou

fering a sufficient Jewish and secular education is slowly eroding. What the future of Jewish education looks like has yet to be determined, but efforts to reshape the balance and provide accessible and affordable education to Jewish communities through the implementation of new and innovative models is a promising start. With these changes, there still remains an enduring message: that a quality education is necessary for the continuation of Jewish life.

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[Feature]

The

ins

outs of Jewish dating at UCLA

Tessa Nath

Editor-in-Chief

Fun Facts: Three of the last four Ha’Am editors-in-chief are either married to or dating someone they met on staff. If you’re interested in any of our beautiful staff, feel free to browse the bios at haam.org, and e-mail our resident shadchanit (matchmaker) at HaAmYente@gmail.com (she also has an advice column, and is accepting questions).

To many, college is a time to take classes, join interesting clubs, land dream internships, and meet soulmates/ hook-up buddies/Saturday night dates — not necessarily in that order. But for one who grew up in the Jewish tradition that firmly stresses the mitzvah of going forth and multiplying, the latter might be the most under-appreciated and under-stressed of the bunch. He saw her at Hillel’s Israel Shabbat, she learned his name at JAM’s Challah Baking, he talked to her for the first time at Chabad’s Parsha and Pizza. It is a back and forth game played across nights of socializing — but only if one makes time to frequent events. This article will take a closer look at UCLA’s Jewish dating scene, and how Jewish Bruins fit into Jewish dating life in general. “I definitely think that the appeal behind a majority of Jewish-based social events is the idea of finding a network. Most students look for unexpected mates, meaning that the Jewish community is a very small crowd and you don’t want to date your friends, but at the same time you definitely want to find that friend of a friend who you didn’t know was coming, who is highly attractive and uncommitted,” Rabbi Jacob Rupp of JAM at UCLA muses, chewing his words carefully, along with bits of persimmon. Elisa Gurevich, co-director of Chabad at UCLA, shares her observation that she does not see a lot of students looking for long-term mates. Gurevich says that most students pursue hook-up situations, which she and her husband, Rabbi Dovid Gurevich, try to discourage if and when they

“

on society not putting enough emphasis on meaningful relationships. “At JAM, we try to appeal to socially well-adjusted and intelligent people. We come together not under the pretext of a dating pool, but more ‘let’s come together based on a mutual interest in terms of social- or learning-based programming, and in the course of learning, you get to know one another better,’” Rabbi Rupp explains, momentarily pausing to wave at a passing student. Gurevich notes that every once in a while she sees students form sincere relationships, or even become engaged, but that happens mainly in the Orthodox community that frequents Hillel’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. Hillel’s JLIC, headed by Rabbi Aryeh and Sharona Kaplan, is home to most Orthodox students at UCLA. The couple is responsible for providing the space to bring people together, which often results in serious relationships and sometimes marriage. During the Kaplans’ ten years at Hillel, they have seen 16 couples meet at JLIC and eventually wed. “One of our active goals is to consciously create a community where people can hang, meet, and have social and Shabbat experiences. And definitely a consideration in that is that maybe they’ll meet someone they can date or marry,” Sharona Kaplan explains, carefully moving a stray hair out of her eyes. “Usually people just gravitate toward each other, but sometimes you’ll have one of them come and ask if we think they’ll work, or if they’re suitable. But

[When you meet on campus,] you can see them in groups and you can see them alone and you can see them not on their best behavior — it’s not artificial, like when someone might be all dressed up and shaved and putting their best foot forward for a limited amount of time.” — Sharona Kaplan, Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus

see the relationships become unhealthy. In Rabbi Rupp’s words, “I’ve heard guys want the paradoxical girl with Orthodox values and non-Orthodox actions.” Besides believing that the man looking for such a woman is bound to fail, Rabbi Rupp places much of the blame

it’s all student-initiated, and then once people start going out, we’re often called in if there are things they want to discuss, like how do I know, is it the right time, etc.” Kaplan believes that the campus environment creates a natural setting for people to date informally. “When you’re living life alongside somebody, you

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[Feature]

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don’t have to deal with all the anxiety and nervousness and formality. It’s much more comfortable and natural. And you see them right there with their friends, as an authentic version of themselves. You can see them in groups and you can see them alone and you can see them not on their best behavior — it’s not artificial, like when someone might be all dressed up and shaved and putting their best foot forward for a limited amount of time.”

Fall 2013 connect us and by our unique sexual and gender identities and links to our Jewish heritage.” Jewish groups are invaluable for networking. As current Jewish Student Union Co-President Amanda Sass notes, “If not for Hillel or other Jewish organizations, I don’t know how I would meet Jewish guys, unless I went to AEPi or something…but I don’t know if that’s the setting in which I would want to meet people. The only way to

We work together so that you can be a sterling example of who you are, which is naturally marketable to your appropriate spouse.” — Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Jewish Awareness Movement

Kaplan even offers her own bridal classes, or kallah classes, for women. She draws on the lessons learned during her 13 years of marriage and skills developed while studying to become a social worker, working at a mikvah (ritual bath), and being part of a Los Angeles and national network of kallah teachers. Kaplan is a certified kallah teacher, both on paper and in her attitude toward her students. She meets with brides-to-be either one-on-one or in small groups, in order to answer questions that they have, and to prepare them for life as married women. “It’s not always the best advice to have your sounding board be your roommate, or your sister, or your mom, because some of them are coming as invested parties and they’re not objective,” Kaplan observes, recrossing her legs under her black and white striped maxi dress. “And some of them are just inexperienced, or have their own prejudices or own insecurities or own jealousies. But a third party who has no agenda, who has experience with other couples, is an invaluable resource.” Kaplan compares her kallah classes to the orientation

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meet people if you don’t go to Jewish events is by chance — if you sit next to someone in class, or you take a Jewish Studies class or something.” Now dating, Eryk Waligora and Sass met last year on the JSU board, when Waligora was seeking Jewish clubs in which to get involved. “The whole reason that I got involved with the Jewish community here is because I didn’t really have one of my own, growing up. Judaism in and of itself wasn’t the important part of my life until I came to college, but now I like to think that it is. I would also like to think that being with someone who is Jewish is very important to me,” Waligora said with a smile audible even over the phone, as he and Sass drive to her parents’ house for Shabbat dinner. Another Jewish Bruin couple consists of the recently graduated Ronit Hakakha and Jonathan Waxer. Hakakha, former Hillel president says, “after meeting a few people during the Shagririm [Israeli-American Ambassadors on Campus] program, Jon started becoming more and more invested in the Hillel community,

If not for Hillel or other Jewish organizations, I don’t know how I would meet Jewish guys, unless I went to AEPi or something…but I don’t know if that’s the setting in which I would want to meet people. The only way to meet people if you don’t go to Jewish events is by chance — if you sit next to someone in class, or you take a Jewish Studies class or something.” — Amanda Sass, Jewish Student Union Co-President

weekend at the beginning of freshman year. She says that both college and married life are natural transitions for most people, but that if no one helps a person with the adjustment and explains certain things, the transition will be much harder. Across the spectrum of Jewish dating options at UCLA, from simple hook-up to complex marriage, students can find both what they are looking for and help getting there. “We work together so that you can be a sterling example of who you are, which is naturally marketable to your appropriate spouse,” Rabbi Rupp concludes, smiling wide and adding his signature “you love that” phrase. At UCLA, there is a community for everyone. Besides JAM, Hillel, Chabad, Bruins for Israel, Ha’Am, JStreet, Challah for Hunger, Bearing Witness…there is also Mishpacha, a community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Jews at UCLA and those who support them. According to Mishpacha’s website, “The name of our group, Mishpacha, is the Hebrew word for ‘family,’ reflecting the essence of our community. We are truly that, coming together to agree and disagree, bound by the human ties that

coming to events and eventually joining the leadership board. And I lived at Hillel from day one, so that worked out pretty well.” Indeed, at most Jewish social events on campus, sexual tension bubbles just under the surface — not in a repressed, self-denying Philip Roth fashion, but in healthy and curious excitement to connect spiritually, mentally, and often physically. For these reasons, it is no wonder why upon leaving school (or sometimes even while in school), Jews turn to social networking sites in order to connect further and sift through potential suitors. JDate, launched in 1997 to become the most popular Jewish dating site, describes its mission as follows: “to strengthen the Jewish community and ensure that Jewish traditions are sustained for generations to come. To accomplish this mission, we provide a global network where Jewish singles can meet to find friendship, romance and life-long partners within the Jewish faith.” Luckily, while at UCLA, Jewish events and groups create your network — seamlessly, even while you take a quick coffee break from studying or casually chat over Gemara.

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Page 8 Fall 2013

[Feature]

Jewish Dating Quiz:

What type of Jew is right for you? Elyssa Schlossberg

Business Manager/Copy Editor

a. Dorms/apartments b. Fraternity/sorority house c. The Bayit d. The library

2) You have half an hour between

classes, how do you pass the time? a. Sleep b. Chill at the Hillel Coffee Bean c. Study some Torah d. Check my e-mail or do homework

3) What’s your favorite source of

Challah? a. JAM’s Challah Baking b. Challah for Hunger on Bruin Walk c. I bake with the rebbitzen Thursday night d. I prefer sourdough

4) It’s Chanukah on campus! What do 7) At 6 p.m. on a Friday you’ll find you do to celebrate? a. Eat latkes at a random social event b. Sneak my chanukiah into my dorm and break the “no candles” rule c. Recite Al Ha’Nisim and Hallel d. Throw some gelt around the Chanukah bush

5) Who is your Jewish celebrity alter ego (ignoring genders)? a. Natalie Portman b. Drake c. Mayim Bialik d. Woody Allen

6) Ideally, you meet your potential significant other at: a. Challah for Hunger b. Shabbat dinner c. Sinai Scholars d. #PartyWithJews

him/her: a. Texting 10 people to join him/her for Shabbat b. Pre-gaming c. In his/her Shabbat best, singing Kabalat Shabbat d. Having dinner with friends at Yamato

9) You want to go from friends/

aquaintances to something more... What’s the next step? a. Dinner and a movie b. Date party c. Shidduch dating (no touching!) d. A kiss (read “drunken hook-up”) that leads to something more

8) At what weekly event do you keep 10) Who is your biblical romance seeing each other? a. We end up at the same parties on Thursday night b. Bruins for Israel (or other Jewish club) meeting c. Parsha and Pizza d. We have class together

role model? a. Adam & Eve — Who needs clothes? b. Moses & Tziporah — Talk about a power couple! c. Abraham & Sarah — They’ll follow each other to the ends of the earth. d. Samson & Delilah — Such a great Regina Spektor song!

Key: odds: a = 2, b = 1, c = 3, d = 0; evens: a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, d = 0

1) Where do you live?

Flower by Shutterstock

Results: You should look to date a Jewish significant other who is (a/an) ... Jew-ishly Involved AEPi Bro/Jewish Macher Talmid Torah <6 points sorority girl >22 points 14-21 points 7-13 points

Gabby Pollack, 2nd year Computer Science Engineering major, spends most of her time crying in the library. For leisure, she receives unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in Hillel’s IM sports teams and frequents parties. She may not attend Jewish events often, but when she does, she prefers to come in like a wrecking ball. Jacob Ashendorf, 4th year Economics major, is mainly involved in USAC. When not WASPing it up on the golf course or sailing, he enjoys reading about Judaism and the Torah.

Someone who is “Jew-ishly involved” is casually involved in the Jewish community. He/ she may have one or two involvements, usually cultural or academic, that connect him/her to the community, though spottings at Jewish programs are inconsistent, or even rare. Reasons for this range from general apathy to high involvement in alternative campus activities. Jew-ishly involved students connect to their Judaism as they see fit, but don’t expect them to show up to that Jewish event you’re going to next week.

Photos by Talia Kamdjou

Sarah Maissy, 3rd year Psychology major, is a member of Gamma Beta Phi sorority and served as a Rho Gamma during this year’s fall sorority recruitment. Sarah is the social chair of Bruins for Israel, and was a Hillel Campus Engagement Intern last year.

Yael Glouberman, 2nd year Communications Studies major, is a member of Hillel’s Executive Leadership Team. She loves meeting new people, planning and attending social events, cheesy pick up lines, and talking about anything television related.

Sasha Kichayeva, 4th year Economics major, is co-president of Chabad Student Board. She teaches friends and family halacha (Jewish law) and the power of the mitzvot (commandments), and learns regularly with friends and rebbetzins.

Jared Rechnitz, 4th year Mechanical Engineering major, is the president of AEPi, and was last year’s external social chair. He spends his Friday nights at the Shabbat table of JAM’s Rabbi Rupp, and went to on JAM’s Israel trip last summer.

Edwin Eshaghzadeh, 4th year Psychobiology major, is the external president of ImpactLA and an avid player in Jewish life on campus. He loves talking and meeting people, and thoroughly enjoys knowing people on a much deeper level.

Tzvi Wolf, 4th year Computer Science Engineering major, is the Gabbai (Sexton) of JLIC, and has dabbled in modern halachic (pertaining to Jewish law) positions such as the permissibility of opening plastic bottle caps on Shabbat.

The name speaks for itself; this Jew is all about that Greek life. Greek Jews find a beautiful balance between the Jewish and the Hellenistic (proximity-to-Chanukah pun intended). You may find an AEPi bro sitting on a beer can throne while preparing for a big party on Thursday night, and then sitting around Rabbi Rupp’s Shabbat table less than 24 hours later. Similarly, a Jewish sorority girl may attend a date party Tuesday, and then Challah for Hunger or Challah Baking on Wednesday.

A Macher (of Yiddish origin) is a big shot, or someone who is very involved in the community. A macher probably holds a leadership position in a Jewish organization, can be found at most Jewish events, and takes half an hour to leave because he/she needs to say bye to everyone he/she knows, which inexplicably seems to be the entire room.

A Talmid Torah, or a student of Torah, well, likes to learn Torah. These students are consistent patrons of such programming as Parsha and Pizza, Gourmet and Gemara, Noosha Joon, Sushi and Study... the list goes on. A Talmid Torah can often be found learning with one of the many rabbis or rebbetzins on campus, and often puts his/her learning into practice (or is learning more in-depth about a mitzvah he/she already keeps).

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? ALL MODELS ARE SINGLE! E-mail your results to HaAmYente@gmail.com to receive a free Ha’Am pen.

Page 9

[Campus News]

Fall 2013

Are Jews a race?

Schuette and university admissions

Devorah Friedman Managing Editor

Trudging up or down Bruin Walk, one sees students advertising events or organizations, hawking wares, or simply skirting gaggles of visitors to UCLA. However, those passersby on Oct. 15 and 17 witnessed a campus-wide march to protest California’s Proposition 206, which in part prohibits affirmative action, in light of the upcoming United States Supreme Court case Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Michigan’s law of similar language. Thirty-five years ago, the Supreme Court ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke ended a furor across the United States, especially among college-age students. The Supreme Court upheld the legality of affirmative action while prohibiting race quotas, regardless of whether such quotas were to ensure diversity or supremacy. In 1996, Proposition 206 was passed in California, banning the consideration of race in public schools’ admission decisions, and today, racially influenced personal circumstances are one component in the University of California’s “holistic” admissions system. Most recently, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (Proposal 2) was passed in Michigan in 2006. The proposal amended the state’s constitution to “prohibit the University of Michigan and other state universities, the state, and all other state entities from discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.” In effect, it prohibits affirmative action, since the practice involves the favorable consideration of candidates who identify as ethnic minorities over the consideration of those who do not. The proposal’s legality was challenged in federal court and ruled constitutional in 2008. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals (Sixth Circuit) overturned it in 2011 under the ruling that it “place[s] special burdens on minority interests.” The state’s attorney general, Bill Schuette, appealed the Supreme Court’s verdict later in the year but the decision was upheld in 2012. Schuette then appealed the verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court and it is currently pending. The oral argument began Oct. 15 and the Supreme Court’s decision is to be announced by the end of the current term — May, June or possibly July. The verdict would not seem to affect admissions to the UC, since the aforementioned Prop 209 is already in effect, and race is simply a factor in the overall decision. California also guarantees the top four percent of every accredited high school in the state admission to at least one UC campus, as a way of ensuring that at least some students from minority neighborhoods

are matriculated. However, organizations such as the LosAngeles chapter of the NationalAssociation for the Advancement of Colored People are calling for the proposition’s repeal. In 2011, a UC Berkely-based coalition of student groups from UC Berkeley, UCLA and other schools, along with the UC Berkeley chancellor, publicly advocated for the same. An amendment to the proposition is currently in the judicial works and could be on the voting ballot in a few years. The Supreme Court’s verdict on Schuette will undoubtedly have significant repercussions on affirmative action and racial discrimination laws, no matter how it rules. If Proposal 2 and Proposition 206 are overturned, the status of those considered to be white (or not members of ethnic minorities) will likely be affected by Schuette’s outcome. As most Jews today are considered to be racially white, the future of Jewish admissions to UCLA might be affected as well. Jews of European, Middle Eastern and/or North African descent have not always been considered racially white. In How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says About Race in America, Karen Brodkin of UCLA’s Anthropology department explains that Jews were originally considered to be a separate, inferior race outside of other races. “White” was a broad category that was subdivided by national origin as well as skin color. However, by the

1940 U.S. Census, one’s country of origin was no longer taken into account for the racial definition of whiteness, as pertaining to Europeans and those of European descent. Increased prosperity and upward social mobility due to GI Bill benefits (for whites) also allowed more Jews to join the United States’ growing middle class. Until late in the 20th century, “Jewish quotas,” or restrictions on the number of Jews to be admitted to institutions of higher learning, were in place in many prominent universities such as the Ivy Leagues and other elite schools like the University of Chicago. Jews were viewed as a distinctive group alongside African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and, for a number of years, women. As Alan Dershowitz of Harvard University’s School of Law describes in his 1991 book Chutzpah: “In 1926, Clarence Mendell, the new dean of Yale College, was told by Harvard’s admissions chairman Pennypacker that Harvard was ‘going to reduce their 25% Hebrew total to 15% or less by simply rejecting without detailed explanation.’” In 1935, Milton Charles Winternitz, the dean of Yale Medical School gave the admissions committee precise instructions to “[n]ever admit more than five Jews, take only two Italian Catholics, and no blacks at all.” Dershowitz alleges that quotas were in place, albeit less openly, until about 1971, when he and other Harvard faculty members confronted the newly-promoted head

of the law school about faculty appointments based on religion. As successfully as Jews have integrated into much of middle-class America, David Myers of UCLA’s History Department and Center for Jewish Studies describes a two-sided approach in that very integration. “...Jews are considered by many in American society to be white. At the same time,” Myers says, “Jews continue to harbor the memory of of their forebears’ persecution and travails, which inculcates in them a sensitivity to the plight of others.” This cultural memory, he explains, contributes toward the overall Jewish trend of endorsing more liberal governments and stronger protection of minority rights. It may also be an argument against Jewish inclusion among those who have historically enjoyed white privilege, or societal privileges at the expense of others. “Race,” as Brodkin explained in an interview with Ha’Am, “is a social construct.” While programs such as affirmative action may help those with a history of underprivilege, it does not take into account those do not fit neatly into one category or another. However one views oneself — as AfricanAmerican, Caucasian or Oompa-Loompa — for many Americans, race continues to be an integral part of self-identity. It now remains to be seen what the Supreme Court will have to say on the subject.

“Never admit more than five Jews!”

70 CE

Destruction of 2nd Temple and expulsion from Judea

1096-1303 1478-1874 1938-1945 1800s-1900s Crusades

Inquisitions

Holocaust

Check your white priviledge!

Jewish Quota

Illustration by David J. Chernobylsky

Page 10 Fall 2013

[Opinion]

The Jewish spark at the Western Wall

David J. Chernobylsky Staff Writer/Illustrator

Some say that the Jewish spark is the indescribable feeling that comes from the combined understanding of the existence of a common Jewish history, the value placed on family unity, and the “messianic” Jewish-harbored drive to change the world. Yet, as I lay in my bed in Jerusalem on the morning of my Bar Mitzvah, I had no idea that such a spark even existed. “Why did you bring me here, Dad?” I thought to myself. I was not happy in Israel, this strange new place without any of my friends. Yet looking back, Jerusalem would play host to the biggest revelation of my life as a Jew. Jerusalem would witness the day my Jewish spark ignited. Arriving at the Kotel (Western Wall), I met the rabbi who was to lead me into my Bar Mitzvah. He introduced himself as Rabbi Aaron, then silently wrapped tefillin (phylacteries) around my arm and on my head. I stared blankly during the process. “Repeat after me…Baruch Atah...” said Rabbi

Aaron. I repeated after him. As I uttered the foreign Hebrew words, I paid more attention to Rabbi Aaron. I noticed his tallit (prayer shawl) covering his head. His hands were shaking as he touched the Torah scroll and then the Western Wall. Then it hit me. I realized that I shared a common bond with Rabbi Aaron — a historical bond. We shared a common history, starting from the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The common history and hardship endured by our ancestors created this unspoken bond between us. I turned to Rabbi Aaron, and I saw his face. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he sang the prayers. I saw in him both utter pain and joy. My own tears began to flow and my hands shook. I felt the pain of thousands of years of hate and malice. I felt the joy of us standing there that day, alive and having survived thousands of years of

torture. Although some argue that calling the Kotel the Wailing Wall perpetuates the negative image of Jews crying their hearts out to an inanimate wall (an image largely promoted by non-Jews), for me, the Western Wall is a place where Jews can come to shed our sorrows and fears, and be free to hope for and believe in what we want. As such, it will forever be the Wailing Wall — at least to me. That day, I finally saw myself as a member of the Jewish people, sharing in their immortal strength. As Mark Twain wrote, “All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” The secret of such Jewish immortality lies in the Fifth Commandment: “honor your mother and father.” Jewish culture places an emphasis on the family unit, which in turn helps to preserve the essence of what it means to be Jewish. The importance of the family unit, coupled with teaching and instilling the values of the Jewish tradition to our children, has kept our people alive, safe and connected, and is in turn what has allowed the cycle of such Jewish family life to continue. It was at that moment, standing at the Kotel, that I realized the value of what my father sought to teach me by bringing me to this holy and foreign city. During the ceremony, having suddenly

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this “motivating, stimulating” force to which Rabbi Steinsaltz refers had taken hold of me. I felt a new, deeply powerful connection to the Jewish people, and the pieces of Judaism that connect us all — the existence of a common Jewish history, the Jewish value of family unity, and the “messianic” Jewishharbored drive to change the world. My Jewish spark had ignited at last. I turned around to see my dad standing behind me, and realized that he had been watching me the entire time. I ran up to him and hugged him with all my might, saying the only words I could, “Thank you.” While this experience was my own, it is not unique. I had always possessed a Jewish identity, albeit underemphasized, as well as a theoretical sense of modern Zionism. However, to support the Jewish state and to experience the power of partaking in Jewish tradition at Israel’s holy cites are two very different things. Every year, numerous organizations allow Jewish students to embark on a journey to Israel — their ancestral homeland. Birthright, MASA, March of the Living ... the list goes on. All these trips to Israel serve the same purposes: to allow Jewish students the opportunity to experience Israel, to connect to their history and their people, and, most importantly, to kindle their Jewish spark.

[...] every Jew harbors in some way a spark of the Messiah […] as the means of changing and reforming the entire world […]” - Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz in We Jews

Photo courtesy of David Chernobylsky

AT THE KOTEL: Every year, people travel to the Western Wall for the first time in their lives. It can be a deeply meaningful experience in a Jew's life.

tapped into the rich yet painful history of my Jewish ancestors, I was also overcome by a deep desire to change this world for the better. In the book We Jews, the internationally-regarded Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz writes that “every Jew harbors in some way a spark of the Messiah […] as the means of changing and reforming the entire world […] It is a motivating, stimulating force, and it serves as a means to create things or to persist in doing them.” Certainly, by the time the ceremony ended,

This is the third installment of “Jews United,” a 3-part series identifying and expressing the concepts of Jewish identity, the Jewish spark, and how they relate to the importance and survival of Israel and the Zionism behind it. Check out Parts 1 and 2 online at www.haam.org

Generation Progress funds, trains, and mentors students running a diverse and growing group of progressive campus media organizations. For more, visit GenProgress. org/about/journalism-network/jn-overview/

Nicole Rudolph

App Manager/Copy Editor/Layout Editor Christmahanukwanzukah. Christmukah. Kwanzukah. You will not hear any of these terms this year because Chanukah does not fall on Christmas or Kwanza, but on an entirely different holiday. For the first time in many years, the second night of Chanukah coincides with Thanksgiving, creating a new celebration many have dubbed Thanksgivukah, a portmanteau of the two holiday names. Thanksgivukah is an event that, according to most sources, will never happen again in our lifetimes, and as such, is a holiday that you definitely should not miss. Jews everywhere are excitedly preparing ideas to merge traditions from the two holidays. The Internet is buzzing with ways to help celebrators embrace this unique experience. Many blogs and websites, such as Pinterest and BuzzFeed, are full of ideas about fun and cute ways to celebrate. Suggestions range from recipes to clothing to nail art. Nine-year-old Asher Weintraub also got into the holiday spirit with his idea to create a menorah in the shape of a turkey. He conceived, designed and named the Menurkey. The Menurkey was originally sold on crowdfunding website Kickstarter, but can now be purchased at Menurkey.com.

Decorations Obviously, while reading this article, you took out your smartphone and purchased your very own Menurkey. However, there is a lot more you can do to prepare your home for a great Thanksgivukah meal.

CORNUCOPIA OF GELT Fill a cornucopia with gelt instead of fruits and vegetables and place it on your table.

The Jewish calendar, which determines the dates of Chanukah and other Jewish holidays, is lunar, while the Gregorian calendar, which determines the date of Thanksgiving, is solar. There is also a leap year in the Jewish calendar that occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle, during which a month is added. For the aforementioned reasons, Chanukah and other Jewish holidays are early this year. Thanksgiving is still the fourth Thursday of November and the second night of Chanukah is still the 26th of Kislev, but this year they are the same date. Jewish dates and American dates only align every nineteen years, which would seem to tell us that Thanksgiving and Chanukah should coincide every nineteen years, but it is even more complicated. Chanukah was declared a Jewish holiday 2,178 years ago, while Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. However, in 1939 Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided to make Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November instead of the last, a change only noticeable during a year with five Thursdays in November. It took a while for this to take effect and for all the states to adopt the change. In fact, Texas was still celebrating Thanks-

giving a week later than the rest of the country until around 1956. Although a formal Thanksgivukah may not have been celebrated throughout the country, most sources confirm that a national Thanksgiving coincided with the first night of Chanukah in 1888 and the fifth night in 1899. However, some Texan Jewish families probably celebrated Thanksgivukah in 1945 and 1956 as well. Whether or not Thanksgivukah will occur again is dependent on many factors, since there are several uncertainties that arise when calculating past and future Thanksgivukahs. Therefore, it is unknown exactly when or if we can break out that Menurkey ever again. If we assume that Thanksgiving will be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and both the Gregorian and Jewish calendars continue on their current trajectories, then it is possible that there will be more Thanksgivukah celebrations in the distant future. However, both calendars are slowly drifting, but at different rates; the Jewish calendar is slowly getting out of sync with the solar calendar at a rate of 4 days per 1000 years. According to some sources, without modification, they will have shifted so dramatically that by 2165, Chanukah

Recipes

Putting together a Thanksgivukah meal may prove surprisingly difficult. My family, for example, did not love the idea of simply deepfrying a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Additionally, the oily foods of the Chanukah meal combined with Thanksgiving’s heavy turkey and starches may not necessarily make for the healthiest PILGRIM KIPPAH or most digestible meal. However, the recipes on the next page Adorn your favorite kippah combine aspects of the harvest holwith a belt buckle. iday with aspects of the festival of Illustration by Nicole Rudolph

will never again fall in November. Many theorize that Thanksgivukah will not happen again until the entire cycle of the calendars loop back in the year 79811. Some, however, would like to stay positive about the possibilities of Thanksgivukah in 2070 and 2165, and I hope that if it happens, this article will reach the candle-lighting turkey-eaters of the future. In the meantime, we can enjoy the unique holiday blend this year. For those of you who are planning your Thanksgivukah, here are some ideas to help you celebrate this unique holiday.

Photo courtesy of menurkey.com

lights in order to get you in the holiday spirit without the indigestion. These recipes combine some of the traditional Thanksgiving foods, such as cranberries, sweet potatoes and gravy, with some of the beloved Chanukah favorites like sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), latkes and applesauce. Also, for any Jews who don’t formally celebrate Thanksgiving, you can try out these recipes at your weekly Friday night of “Thanksgiving,” Shabbat.

Birtu Belete Staff Writer

In honor of the rare occasion of Thanksgivukah, I adapted my traditional latke recipe to incorporate the flavors of Thanksgiving. These latkes are made from a mixture of potatoes and sweet potatoes and are light, fluffy and crisped to perfection. The addition of cinnamon, sweet potatoes and caramelized shallots give a touch of seasonal freshness and depth of flavor. Take advantage of grocery-store pumpkin sales for a delicious autumnal side dish and top latkes with cranberry applesauce for the perfect combination of tartness and sweetness.

Rosemary Roasted Pumpkin Yield: about three servings Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: about 35 minutes Ingredients: ½ medium pumpkin Salt and pepper to taste 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1-teaspoon rosemary Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove skin from pumpkin and cut into ½ inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Place on parchmentlined cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, turning pumpkin every 10 minutes.

Sweet Potato Latkes Yield: about three servings Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 24 minutes Parve Ingredients: 1 shallot caramelized in olive oil 1 cup grated russet potato (about one large potato) 1-½ cups grated sweet potato ¼ medium yellow onion, finely chopped 2 large eggs 1 egg white 1-teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 pinches cinnamon 2-½ tablespoons flour ½ small yellow onion Oil for frying Cranberry Applesauce (recipe below)

Photo by Birtu Belete

Illustration by David J. Chernobylsky

chop the onion. Lightly squeeze the potatoes to remove the moisture then transfer onion, shallot and potatoes into a large mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop several spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil taking caution not to crowd the skillet (this will make the latkes soggy). Fry 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden around the edges. Repeat until all the batter has been used. You can keep the finished latkes warm on a cookie sheet in the oven. Blot excess oil with paper towels. Serve hot with cranberry-applesauce.

Cranberry Applesauce

Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce is just as wrong as latkes without applesauce. Kill two birds with one stone with this delicious and easy hybrid. Ingredients: ¾ cup kosher canned whole berry cranberry sauce ½ cup kosher chunky applesauce ½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger Prep time: 3 minutes

Directions: Slice shallot and caramelize in olive oil. While you let the Directions: shallots cool to room temperature, grate both types of po- Finely grate peeled ginger root. In medium-sized bowl comtatoes with a handheld grater or in a food processor. Finely bine cranberry sauce and applesauce; stir in ginger and serve.