Hillel president shuns J Street conference due to attendance of Saeb Erekat

From JPost.com

“My desire to attend the conference was based on my wish to speak at a student-only session directly with the students."

Eric Fingerhut, the president of Hillel International, is withdrawing from speaking at J Street’s annual conference because of the presence of Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

“My desire to attend the conference was based on my wish to speak at a student-only session directly with the students who will be in attendance, to thank those who have joined in the fight against BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] and anti-Semitism on college campuses, and to urge everyone to take up this crucial cause,” Fingerhut said on Monday.

J Street U, the group’s campus affiliate, has been active in opposing BDS, and the national group has a policy of opposing the practice.

“However, after reviewing the full list of speakers, I now realize that any benefit that might come from this opportunity would be overshadowed by concerns regarding my participation among other speakers who have made highly inflammatory statements against the Jewish state.”

Asked by JTA what speaker at the March 21 to March 24 conference triggered the pullout, Hillel’s chief administrative officer David Eden named Erekat, noting his inflammatory statements in the past.

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In U.C.L.A. Debate Over Jewish Student, Echoes on Campus of Old Biases

By Adam Nagourney for the New York Times

LOS ANGELES — It seemed like routine business for the student council at the University of California, Los Angeles: confirming the nomination of Rachel Beyda, a second-year economics major who wants to be a lawyer someday, to the council’s Judicial Board.

Until it came time for questions.

“Given that you are a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish community,” Fabienne Roth, a member of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, began, looking at Ms. Beyda at the other end of the room, “how do you see yourself being able to maintain an unbiased view?”

For the next 40 minutes, after Ms. Beyda was dispatched from the room, the council tangled in a debate about whether her faith and affiliation with Jewish organizations, including her sorority and Hillel, a popular student group, meant she would be biased in dealing with sensitive governance questions that come before the board, which is the campus equivalent of the Supreme Court.

The discussion, recorded in written minutes and captured on video, seemed to echo the kind of questions, prejudices and tropes — particularly about divided loyalties — that have plagued Jews across the globe for centuries, students and Jewish leaders said.

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Does Israel Need Diaspora Jewry?

Taking the high road

By Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror for israelhayom.com

When the highest Israeli echelons encouraged the Jews of France to immigrate to Israel after the terror attacks in Paris, they were criticized for several reasons. Sufficient time has passed since then to discuss the topic with no personal or political connection.

Some said it was inappropriate to call on people to move to Israel only because living in a foreign country was dangerous. They believe that the meaning of true Zionism is that all Jews must return to the country of their ancestors, the sole and historical homeland of the Jewish people, whether life in the Diaspora is good or not. They said that drawing a connection between aliyah and the recent terror attacks in France falls short of the goal of true Zionism.

Others called it anachronistic to call upon Jews to move to Israel, and that the State of Israel had an interest in Jews remaining in the Diaspora and supporting it from without. That is true in a general sense and certainly true regarding the United States, whose support of Israel depends on the influence of the Jews who live there, and without which it would be difficult for Israel to exist.

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Why We Love Mayim Bialik and Why You Should Too

I'm a 'product of federation,' Mayim Bialik tells UJA closing event  

by Jodie Shupac, Staff Reporter, The Canadian Jewish News

TORONTO — In nearly every sense, Mayim Bialik is an atypical Hollywood star.

It would be difficult to come away with a different impression of the accomplished actress, writer, scholar and observant Jew after listening to her keynote speech at the Feb. 2 UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s annual campaign 2015 closing event.

Held at downtown event space The Carlu and attended by 800 campaign donors, the evening featured speeches and a dessert reception, all to celebrate the $53.1 million – the product of about 16,000 gifts – raised so far to support UJA projects in the 2015 fiscal year (donations are expected to roll in until the fiscal year begins in July).

Funds from the campaign, which launched in September, will go toward Jewish social service delivery in the GTA, as well as community building, education, strengthening bonds with UJA’s partner agencies in Israel and advocacy through the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

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THE TOP 50 COLLEGES WITH ACTIVE JEWISH COMMUNITIES

From BestColleges.com


Jewish students are a unique minority in the collegiate world. Their identities, while grounded in a living faith, also revolve around an ancient cultural heritage with historical and geopolitical considerations that remain relevant. Perhaps the overriding attribute of Jewish identity is the emphasis on supporting their community, regardless of the scale. For many incoming Jewish freshmen, the presence of a Jewish student body on-campus is as crucial as the general academic and social merits of the institution. Such communities offer a unique source of support, providing a place to worship, Kosher meals and faith-backed extracurriculars.

Students who identify more as cultural Jews, and less as worshippers of the faith, may also care about these sorts of community efforts. The Jewish-student experience found at a school will of course vary student to student. Some may seek out Jewish Greek life, while others immerse themselves in a school’s Hillel chapter. Some students pursue Jewish studies as a major or minor, while others spend their college years parallel to a school’s Jewish community, but nonetheless appreciative of its presence.

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Islamic State executing ‘educated women,’ UN says

Civilians slain for banditry, homosexuality, adultery and various acts of ‘disloyalty’

By AFP for The Times of Israel

GENEVA — The UN on Tuesday decried numerous executions of civilians in Iraq by the Islamic State group, warning that educated women appeared to be especially at risk.

The jihadist group is showing a “monstrous disregard for human life” in the areas it controls in Iraq, the UN human rights office said.

The group, which controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and in neighboring war-ravaged Syria, last week published pictures of the “crucifixions” of two men accused of being bandits, and of a woman being stoned to death, allegedly for adultery.

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Israel’s chief rabbi schools Californian Jewish students

David Lau fields questions on terrorism, ultra-Orthodox in the IDF and Israel’s fragmented society

BY KELLY HARTOG for Times of Israel

Rabbi David Lau is accustomed to being a pioneer. The youngest candidate ever elected to the post of Israeli chief rabbi, he also was the first to harness the power of the Internet for answering questions on Jewish law. Additionally, Lau is a reserves major in the IDF’s intelligence corps

This week he participated in an unprecedented meeting, sitting down for a frank question-and-answer session Sunday with 40 Jewish student leaders of different denominations from a slew of Southern California campuses.

While the student leaders were initially deferential and somewhat awed, they soon settled in and grilled the rabbi with probing questions.

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