Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is a self-described group of “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation and Judaism beyond Zionism.” The organization has chapters in major cities across the country as well as on a host of college campuses, including NYU, George Washington University, and Columbia University. On April 10, JVP...
Farha: Deceit as Art
Columbia University recently hosted a screening of the film Farha, following the recent trend of a host of other universities. Since its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in 2021, the film has received significant backlash from the international Jewish community. It portrays the experience of a 14-year-old Palestinian girl...
The Importance of Wonder Woman
I am not a comic-book kind of a girl and the number of superhero movies I’ve watched can easily be counted on one hand. However, I’ve been anticipating the Wonder Woman movie for months. For me the ideas of feminism, the belief in and promotion of gender equality across all...
From 9/11 to Today: Countering Terror Online
Extremism is reaching people across the world through social media. Terrorists can sift through a population using social media and reach people susceptible to ideas of extremism. Luring people to their cause, extremists spread their ideas from the ease of their desktop and as quickly as their internet bandwidth will allow. To say the...
Remembering Operation Protective Edge and the Miracle of the IDF
Two years ago this week, Operation Protective Edge had just ended. Operation Protective Edge was a war in Gaza instigated by constant rockets fired into Israel and the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli boys. IDF troops were sent into Gaza to close up terror tunnels infiltrating into Israel and...
Mekonen: An Ethiopian’s Journey to becoming an IDF officer
Originally featured in JerusalemU‘s Beneath the Helmet, a film revealing the stories of a handful of soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Mekonen, an Ethiopian Israeli, had just drafted into the Paratroopers Unit. The film Mekonen was recently released, and focuses on the rest of his incredible journey after basic training. In the...
PTSD in Israel: A Subculture of the Masses
Israelis are known for having resilient personalities — for their chutzpah, being outspoken, and, with an obligatory draft at age 18, being tough individuals. As a state created by Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees from Arab countries, Israel was forced to be resilient — this still rings true today. Between rockets...
Budrus
Budrus is a documentary that was released in 2009. The film focuses on the anti-Security Fence movement growing in the village of Budrus, located in the West Bank. The anti-Security Fence movement is a series of protests which often start as nonviolent demonstrations but often end with throwing rocks. These...