Aleph Autumn 2023

Ianna Rosa on being Jewish in STEM - Alex Guy Sandler on the Grand Idea Doctrine Macy Hall on visiting Israel - Eli Sassoon on Holocaust education

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Magazine of the Union of Jewish Students | Autumn 2023

The Ed-itorial: Our Family Story Edward Isaacs

The late Rabbi Sacks z’’l noted that “To be a Jew is to be a member of a family”. For me, UJS represents the family of Jewish students. All family members have their idiosyncrasies, and they don’t have to agree. I’d go further to say that it is healthy that they often do disagree! But often we mistake conformity with unity. No family conforms to one set of opinions, whether that be their opinions on gefilte fish or, dare I say, Israeli politics. Yet there is a wider unity and love within a family that binds the individual members together to form a collective greater than the sum of its individual parts, in turn creating a singular family story. This edition of Aleph not only represents the diversity of thought within the Jewish student family, but also demonstrates the underlying core commitment of Jewish students to the betterment of Jewish life, both within the UK and Ireland and further afield. While my predecessor, Joel, focused in his first Aleph editorial upon the importance of platforming Jewish student stories, I am rather focusing upon the importance of the story itself, our story, the Jewish student family story.

Jewish students studying scien-

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tific or philosophical degrees will know that truth within these fields is conceptualised through a system. The system is comprised of individual parts with the combination of certain individual parts always equalling the same total. For example, rationality will always dictate that one plus one must equal two. Yet the Jewish conceptualisation of truth is not manifested through any form of scientific system, but rather through stories. Stories depict a historical turn of events yet have contemporary relevance guiding our lives in how they are told and relived. We as Jewish people know this better than most. Each year, we gather round the seder table to recount a story of freedom, as told from the story book of the Pesach Haggadah.

Yet most importantly, we don’t just simply recount the story of our freedom from slavery in Egypt, but we relive it. We taste the bitter herbs of slavery as well as the sweetness of freedom, evidencing how the Jewish story continues to have a direct impact upon our contemporary lives.

Long before my UJS days, I was taught that a good story should have a strong beginning, middle, and end. Edinburgh JSoc attracted a lot of Jewish

My team will make Jewish student life more inclusive than it has ever been students. They all attended the Edinburgh JSoc ball and had a great time.

The Jewish students lived happily ever after. Yet when examining the Jewish story, it is apparent that it is a story without an ending. At the end of Genesis, the Israelites are left in exile in Egypt with the Promised Land seeming ever distant. In Exodus, the Jewish people are then enslaved, with Pharaoh prolonging this period of servitude. Yet even when the Jewish people escape the Pharaoh’s grasp when the sea splits and the Promised Land seems only a few days away with an ending to the story in sight, they are then destined to spend another forty

years in the desert. As we move forward throughout subsequent biblical books, we see the Jewish people reach the Promised Land, yet they do not live happily ever after with the ensuing rule of judges ending in anarchy. Evidently, the Jewish story is one without an ending. And this is true of the Jewish student family story too. When looking at UJS’ core mission, it very much is written in the present tense. UJS is ‘leading, defending, enriching, Jewish life on campus’. Clearly, our story has not ended.

Over the next year, I view my team’s mission as one of enabling Jewish students to write the next chapter of the Jewish student family story. We are in no doubt that Jewish students are facing challenges. The cost-of-living crisis, polarisation regarding Israel, reengagement with NUS, and the continual challenge of campus antisemitism. Yet with UJS’ tireless advocacy, the Jewish student family will meet these challenges and achieve much more beyond.

My team will make Jewish student life more inclusive than it has ever been. We will provide national events alongside tailored JSoc support to ensure Jewish student life remains accessible to all, despite the cost-of-living crisis. We will incorporate mental health and LGBTQ+ awareness sessions into our training for JSoc committees and we will provide free travel for small JSocs to attend regional and national events.

We will enhance Jewish student life by engaging with international Jewish student unions, creating an international Jewish student exchange as well as a Year Abroad Network. We will also bring the

Year of Student Sport project and Jewniversity challenge forward into their second year, expanding provision for more teams.

We will support students throughout their time at university to grow as future leaders. We will also enable students to develop professionally, both during their time at university and after too. We will theme our Israel engagement for 2023/’24 around Hatikvah, hope. Because it is the hope that Jewish students continually place in the Jewish people to ensure our own future that fills me with hope that the Israel we want to see in the world may soon be a reality.

Apathy for a future diaspora relationship with Israel will only be allowed to grow in strength if we fail to demonstrate our hope of an alternative reality.

When Jewish students and our JSocs have great successes, we will ensure their success is seen We will tirelessly advocate for the Jewish student family. We will ensure NUS’ future does not reflect its past. We will create educational initiatives for all students, before they reach university and while they are at university, to understand, recognise and respond to modern antisemitism in order to proactively combat modern antisem-

itism by creating campuses full of allies to Jewish students.

UJS is ‘the voice of Jewish students’ and over this year we will amplify and be led by Jewish student voices.

When Jewish students and our JSocs have great successes, we will ensure their success is seen. When Jewish students are going through challenging times, we will ensure their voices are at the forefront of responding to these challenges. And my team’s continuation of Aleph demonstrates our commitment to platforming the diversity of Jewish student voices.

In this edition, you will enjoy reading a plethora of student takes on modern Israel including discussing the future of the Two-State Solution as well as the impact of UJS’ ‘Start Up’ trip to Israel and the West Bank. You will enjoy reading about Jewish student life both in the UK, Ireland, and Italy from our friends at the Italian Union of Jewish Students and Young Professionals. But above all, you will enjoy reading about the history of the holy bagel.

The diversity of thought within the Jewish student family is of course underpinned by rigorous dialogue, debate, and disagreement. Yet unlike many other facets of society, the debate within the Jewish student family is also underpinned by a mutual love and respect for one and other, which makes it a family I’m honoured to be a part of. Being elected as the President of UJS is the greatest honour, and I look forward to visiting many of our JSocs across the next year as we collectively write the next chapter of the Jewish student story.

NEWS

FEATURES

THE LOSH

4 UJS Recap 5 What’s To Come

8 Macy Hall | The Start Of A New Perspective 12 Rhian Soulsby-Cole | Studying Abroad 14 Ianna Rosa | G-d Only Knows 16 Alex Guy Sandler | The Two State Solution Is Dead, Our Policies Should Not Be 18 Adrian Cohen | A Battle Of Theologies 20 Daniel Fiorentini | Ever Heard Of UGEI? Come To Italy And Find Out! 22 Jacob Bernstein | Slam De-Bunking

25 Meet the JSoc Presidents 26 Which Sab Are You? 27 Shlichot Would You Rather

COLUMNS 6 Noah Katz | Making Jews Count 7 Zach Smerin | Crossing The Channel 10 Agne Kniuraite | How Would The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas Narrate His Own Story?

11 Eli Sassoon | The Problem With Holocaust Education 24 Taliah Hammell | Hole-y Food

The Aleph Team Guy Dabby-Joory, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Wilks, Editor-in-Chief Edward Daniel, Design Editor

AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 3

The UJS Recap And...

UJS’ Annual Student Awards is an opportunity to recognise the fantastic contributions of Jewish students throughout the year, and this year’s event did not disappoint. Since before UJS began, JSocs have been kept running by teams of talented and dedicated volunteer students, and this cohort certainly shines among the best of them.

This year’s awards were dedicated to the memory of David Kay z’’l, who, 15 years ago, conceived the idea of UJS Student Awards. David had an enormous impact on students nationally, bringing new thinking, new initiatives and new events to UJS. Today’s students had the opportunity to hear about his successes during his time as a student and the inspirational legacy he left in his too-short life.

This year, over 200 people attended the event in Knightsbridge to cel-

ebrate Jewish student life on campus and acknowledge the achievements of Jewish students this year. Students arrived at the reception looking extremely dapper in their black-tie attire. They had a chance to mingle and natter, have a drink and some canapes, and have their photo taken by the very talented Matty, before taking their seats. The event was MCed by Sabbatical Office Grace and last year’s President Joel who had the audience laughing all night.

For each award, the nominees were announced, and then the winner came up to the stage to receive their shiny UJS award.

There was a break in the evening for students to enjoy their dinner, the highlight of which was the pancakes which were made to order in front of our eyes!

Mazal tov to all the nominees – the caliber of students could not have been higher.

Mazal Tov To This Year’s Winners!

Social Action Project of the Year Huddersfield JSoc Jewish Enrichment and Engagement Award Anna Ritschl Ebell, Cambridge JSoc Liberation/Inclusion Initiative of the Year Emma Taylor, Hertfordshire JSoc Alan Senitt z”l Outstanding contribution to Campus Life Award Emma Taylor, Hertfordshire JSoc & Jack Lubner, Cambridge JSoc Event of the Year Oxford JSoc Holocaust Memorial Day New JSoc of the Year Cork JSoc & Royal Central School of Speech and Drama JSoc Maurice

Helfgott Award for Leadership Hannah Haskel, Cambridge JSoc Interfaith Project of the Year Noah Getz, St Andrews JSoc

Israel Engagement Initiative of the Year in Partnership with UJIA Jacob Barnett, Leeds JSoc Campaign of the Year in Partnership with CST #ScotlandRemembers, Glasgow JSoc Volunteer of the Year Aaron Black, Leeds JSoc Education Project of the Year Ruby Kwartz, Birmingham JSoc JSoc of the Year Edinburgh JSoc

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What’s To Come...

Now that the new team have started, we can’t wait to tell you what’s coming up at UJS this year - which will be better and bigger than ever! After the amazing responses we had last year, Jewniversity Challenge and the Aleph journal are staying for another year (to sign up for Jewniversity Challenge use the QR code below). For those who weren’t involved last year, Jewniversity Challenge involves teams of 4 from different campuses competing in four rounds of mind-boggling questions, from picture and music rounds to questions on Judaism and Geography. There can be more than one team per campus, so get signing up!

Now that we have a dedicated officer for digital engagement, apprenticeships, and access to work, we will be launching an apprenticeships programme enabling those undertaking apprenticeships to have a JSoc experience of their own. This programme will include social events (both in-person and virtual), education programming and networking and career opportunities.

We are also very excited to launch our ‘JSoc Takes’ Campaign. JSoc Takes is designed to get your JSoc out and about and trying new things. Each month there will be a new JSoc Takes prompt of a fun activity that your JSoc can do all together. Keep your eyes

peeled as there will be prizes each month for the JSocs which get the most stuck in. From social action projects, to going to the cinema, to Challah baking, there’s something for everyone in JSoc Takes!

At UJS there’s something for everyone. Keep in touch to find new opportunities throughout the year!

During these High Holy Days, there will be some students who stay on campus during this time. Our Jewish Enrichment and Engagement Sabbatical Officer, Dora, has created a High Holy Days guide which should answer all your questions on how celebrate on campus, and how to support every student on campus that wishes to do so. Mitzvah Day and Interfaith Week are coming up in November, so keep an eye out for speaker events and panel discussions. There will also be exciting opportunities for JSocs to give

back to their communities. For more information on this and how you can get involved, speak to Alison, our Social Action and Interfaith Sabbatical Officer.

For all the avid writers out there, we have some exciting opportunities coming up. As well as being able to submit articles for the next editions of Aleph, we are also partnering with the Jewish News. Each month there will an opportunity for a student to write an op-ed that will be published in the paper.

Furthermore, Jewish Renaissance magazine are launching a programme for anyone interested in pursuing a career in journalism. Starting in November, there will be a series of masterclasses in a range of fields, from print to broadcasting to podcasts, alongside a schedule of public talks with guest speakers who are leading journalists at The Times, The Guardian, Time Out, Haaretz, Jewish News and the BBC. Following that there will be a writing competition, prizes for which include mentoring and writing opportunities with JR and beyond.

Stay tuned with updates from your Sabbatical Officer and UJS socials to hear about more of our exciting plans for the year. The date for the UJS Convention weekend dates will be announced soon, so be on the lookout for that as term starts!

Scan The QRs To Get Involved!

Subscribe To Aleph For FREE!

Register For Convention!

Enter A Team For Jewniversity Challenge!

Find Your Sabs

AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 5

Making Jews Count Noah Katz Those of us who spend a significant amount of our time thinking about modern Jewish identity can, sometimes, find that they have thought themselves into a bubble, or at least I might have. In my head, understanding the complexities and idiosyncrasies of what it means to be Jewish is obvious. I think this complexity is something that most, if not all, Jewish people know on a subconscious level. However, “trust me, it’s something that we just know” can’t be a sufficient explanation to people that aren’t members of the tribe. But I find myself becoming, possibly naively, rather frustrated that the entire world can’t just read my mind.

When I talk about Jewish identity, I talk about it in a specific yet not necessarily prescriptive framework.

My understanding of Jewish identity starts with an acknowledgement that being Jewish is complex. It’s more than believing in a religion; to even call Judaism a religion wouldn’t sufficiently encompass our identity because, in the West, to talk about ‘religion’ is to talk from a Christian hegemonic interpretation of belief systems. I prefer on a slightly philosophical basis to think of us as a tribe, or more simply perhaps as a people.

To call us an ethnicity would deny the validity and the reality of converts; a Jew is a Jew is a Jew. Why not ethnoreligion then?

Having to advocate for myself to an audience who wasn’t going to listen was quickly becoming unnecessarily damaging for me 6

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Some may say that ethnoreligious group is the right phrasing to use to describe us but that just feels too theoretical to me, and too cold. I don’t know about you, dear reader, but, of the many things people could describe their Judaism as, I don’t think cold is one of them!

Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it can be draining; but nothing worthwile is easy I’m always really careful in broaching conversations in non-Jewish spaces which I would feel comfortable having in Jewish spaces – and vice versa. I shouldn’t have to be. It shouldn’t be the case that I can’t talk about all the issues that I have lived experience of because ‘the audience isn’t ready’. I am weaker for having to dial down myself down in Jewish spaces or make my Jewishness smaller in certain spaces.

My presumption about understanding of Jewish identity can be dangerous. I walked out of a workshop on racism in Higher Education at work, because I had to correct the facilitator’s borderline antisemitic definition of white supremacy after a morning full of insinuations that only people of colour can experience racism. It was one of the most obvious examples of Jews Don’t Count that I had experienced in years. I walked out because I recognised that having to advocate for myself to an audience who wasn’t going to listen was quickly becoming unnecessarily damaging for me.

The frustrations I hold with many of the spaces that I operate in are one and the same. They both lead to the same incredibly damaging result – othering. If we don’t hold misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, or ableism to account in Jewish spaces we are no better than the non-Jewish spaces that refuse to acknowledge antisemitism as form of racism.

I never like to simply present an issue without thinking about how we couldn’t fix it at least in a small part.

There is no point us burying our heads in the sand or shouting in echo chambers to try and fix something that you’ve got to be in the room to make a change.

Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it can be draining; but nothing worthwhile is easy.

I’m not arguing that we’ve got to get our own house perfectly in order before going into the outside world to advocate for change, but showing that we’re committed to working towards change, being a light unto others as we would hope them to be unto ourselves, is enough.

We’re not doing it to win points from the non-Jewish world. Instead, when we stand up for women’s rights, we’re standing up for non-Jewish women just as much as we’re standing up for Jewish women.

Fighting for greater access to higher education for children from deprived areas doesn’t just help the children at our cheders, but the children at a madrasa too.

Making the world more equitable isn’t a competition for some to be more equal than others. We shouldn’t let reactionaries convince us that we lose out when other minorities gain equal access to something they’ve been prohibited from. If we really want to repair the world, we have to repair it for everyone, and not just ourselves.

I never like to simply present an issue without thnking about how we could fix at least a small part

Crossing The Channel Zach Smerin Two issues of Aleph ago, I highlighted the importance that greater connections between young Jews in Poland and Britain could have on relations on these two communities across the diaspora. Soon after that article was published in February, I was to gain a new insight into a community I had previously known nothing about.

The following month, I spent a few days attending a human rights seminar organised by Never Again Right Now (NARN), a campaign group formed under the auspices of the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS). Although EUJS is headquartered in Brussels, the seminar was hosted in Vienna by the Austrian UJS equivalent - the Jüdische Österreichische Hochschülerinnen (JÖH). Several locals attended, along with a few of us from abroad.

JÖH and UJS are only two of over thirty EUJS national affiliates. Apart from supporting the NARN campaign team, other EUJS initiatives include producing its own podcast (The Lowdown) and The Bridge magazine, both in English. In the summer, EUJS organises an annual weeklong retreat. Akin to UJS Convention, Summer U, which this year took place in Spain, combines decision-making procedures with seminars and social activities.

Not only do all of these initiatives offer possibilities for Jewish students from Britain and Ireland to become engaged with EUJS, but EUJS would themselves also benefit from greater involvement.

Even without international travel, cooperation is possible, educating each other in the process Having only experienced Jewish student organising through UJS and JSocs, seeing the Austrian Jewish student facilities, meeting the stu-

dents and participating in their Shabbes dinner, was a fascinating experience.

I hadn’t encountered European Jewish student activism before the seminar, despite the significant presence of students from the European Union at British universities, especially from France, as well as an increasing number of British Jews, including students, obtaining EU citizenship. Whether simply for practical travel convenience or sentimentally reaching back into their family past, personal connections between British Jewish students and their European counterparts already exist.

Jewish and universal issues in a globalised world must elicit global responses Technical difficulties, such as language barriers or distances may initially come to mind regarding such cooperation. At second glance, however, they hardly appear insurmountable. Plenty of Jewish students outside of Britain speak English (it’s EUJS’ working language) and interpreters could help out the rest. And European cities can be reached in a two or three hour flight, and train connections are plentiful via the Eurostar. Would international events be expensive? In person, maybe, but the larger the venture, the lower the costs per person should be. In the Zoom age, online events should be a bare minimum. While every community is different, a testament both to the beautiful diversity of Jewish identities and the varying conditions of different diasporic communities, there is plenty to suggest a shared language among European Jews across national boundaries, as can be seen in EUJS’ work, including their The Bridge journal.

Indeed, joining forces across borders is bound to be profitable for Jewish students. Establishing such connec-

tions would allow the development of further cultural and communal initiatives, and a greater understanding of the diversity of our history and life. Even without international travel, cooperation on artistic, literary, academic, communal and media initiatives are possible, educating each other in the process.

Just as liberal democracies do, democratically-run student unions would reinforce each other, and maybe even provide an example towards further democratising our communal institutions. Honestly, the possibilities seem endless, and chances to meet fellow Jews from across Europe should be embraced by the general British Jewish student body - especially those eager to escape the north London bubble effect.

This may all sound banal to you. Of course having friends around the world will give you more couch-surfing opportunities. If more people know about a project, they may be able to offer more assistance. However, the point deserves to be further reiterated in relevance to our European Jewish communities. If we are to work towards a liberatory future from a position of a currently marginalised minority, sometimes a very small and invisible one, we must learn from and support each other as much as we can.

But why stop in Europe? What about communities around the globe, in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Azerbaijan, or South Africa?

What about the American elephant in the room, which currently has no significant democratic Jewish student union? Whether we are talking about climate change or human rights campaigns, Jewish and universal issues in a globalised world must elicit global responses. Establishing contacts and maintaining regular relations - and not just at the leadership level - would play a crucial role towards a general greater Jewish vibrancy and optimism across the diaspora. And as with so many other processes and movements, change might just start with the youth.

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The Start Of A New Perspective Following the UJS Start Up Nation trip, Macy Hall tells us about her new perspective on Israel.

Sometime between October and December last year, I had the absolute privilege of setting up a JSoc at Bath Spa University. When I first emailed our students’ union, I had no idea how incredible of an experience the academic year was about to be – from building a relationship with a frankly amazing committee, growing our small community, and engaging with UJS, we suddenly had a litany of opportunities available to us.

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For me, one of those opportunities was the Start Up trip to Israel and the West Bank with UJS, where we were given the chance to engage in culture, politics, and our faith. As someone who had never been to Israel before, I knew that this would be an experience that would stay with me for a long time.

Even though I arrived at the airport ridiculously early, flooded with the anxiety of not knowing anyone else who was going on the trip, I knew from the very moment that I found the other students that I had made the right decision to apply.

Not only was I about to go on a trip that had been a dream of mine for a while, but I also made friends that I wouldn’t trade for the world, which came with the bonus of getting to share this experience with them.

When we arrived in Israel, our first event was the 75th Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations in Tel Aviv. Being immersed in unfiltered joy and excitement set the tone for the entire trip; from the outset we got to experience true pride for our homeland and a connection we wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere. To say that the mood filtered through into the next day

I knew from the very moment that I found the other students that I had made the right decision to apply would be an understatement, as we spent the rest of the holiday on a street art tour of Tel Aviv and then had the opportunity to get creative with our own spraypainted vinyls. After a trip to the Museum of the Jewish People, we got to watch the sun set over Israel’s 75th Independence Day from beside a pool – I personally cannot think of a better way to see out the celebrations.

Our next day came as a stark contrast to what we’d experienced so far, with a trip to the West Bank. For me, this was the hardest part of the trip, which came with an indescribable heaviness and sadness. It doesn’t seem to matter how much you read about the separation

wall – nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of walking along it. A trip to the Walled Off Hotel provided us with a further opportunity to educate ourselves from a different perspective and gain an understanding into what life is like in the West Bank. We later travelled to Ramallah to hear from Palestinian entrepreneurs and get an insight into start-up culture and the conflicts impacts on business.

We were able to see a different side of this the following day, as we took a tour of Tel Aviv and discussed the competitive environment at the heart of the proclaimed start-up nation. This allowed us to see how politics and the conflict had differing impacts on Palestinian start-ups and Israeli start-ups.

Continuing our very packed day, we visited the British Ambassador’s residence to learn about British-Israeli relations and how dialogue and cooperation works between the two countries. This was a huge learning opportunity for us as we got to gain an understanding into the duties of the British Ambassador and how the relationship is protected and developed. Moving onto Jaffa, we toured some more neighbourhoods and learnt about the history of the area and the impacts of gentrification. Here, we heard some more about Arab-Israeli citizens and intra-societal tensions and this was a really interesting account of how it has been affected by gentrification as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Being able to see the rebuilding and renovation of the area firsthand was disheartening, as you were able to see streets with rich history being left behind, all but waiting to be subjected to the same renovation as those around them.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was Shabbat. We spent our Shabbat in Jerusalem and had the opportunity to visit the Kotel. I had been told countless times that my first time seeing the wall would change everything; it’s belief reaffirming, deeply personal, and from what I had been told, like coming home after a lifetime away, but until that night, I had no concept of what that would actually be like. I thought about that moment in a movie just before a tense scene is about to play out, when the music or noise will drown out into

a blissful silence to be replaced with the steady thump of the character’s heartbeat.

It’s consuming, overwhelming, and highly unrealistic, but it was all I felt when I was at the Kotel. Although I’ve never been one to play into cliches or believe in rose-tinted realities, this was an experience that seemed to change all of that. Being stood at the wall with people I had become close to in such a short space of time, I felt more connected to my beliefs and my community than I have in a long time and that is something that I will forever be grateful for. I knew that this trip was going to have an impact on me, but I never knew exactly how much it would change me.

memories behind, but we still had time to make the most of. This started with meeting Daniel Taub, the former Israeli ambassador to the UK, and having an interesting conversation with him about his job. After this, we had free time before our flight, which most of us spent at Machane Yehuda Shuk. For me, the joy of soaking up the atmosphere of Jerusalem one last time with my friends, eating falafel and playing dress-up in one of the stores was tinged with the sadness of knowing we had to leave, though it was clear that we would be taking something valuable away with us.

Landing back in the UK was admittedly bittersweet. It was hard to say goodbye at the airport, but I had so much excitement about being able to share what I’d experienced with those at home that it was hard not to be glad to be there.

Though I hadn’t known what to expect at the start of the trip, by the end I had gained so much that I didn’t even know I had been missing, from a connection to our homeland and community to an insight into an otherwise unfathomable conflict.

Despite my lack of eagerness for our trip to come to an end, the experience for me isn’t truly over, even now, as I get to use my voice and my JSoc committee role After such an emotional night, to share what I’ve learnt and how it’s shaped we visited the Israel Museum to see the my beliefs. That, above all, is invaluable.

Dead Sea Scrolls, and then later heard from a Palestinian man about his perspective on living in East Jerusalem. He spoke about his work and life in the area and whilst it was a difficult experience for many of us, debating views that deeply opposed ours, it was a valuable insight into the reality of Palestinians living in Jerusalem and the difficulties that this can create. Our day was capped off with dinner with the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, who spoke to us about her duties, covering the role that the conflict and security plays in Jerusalem, as well as discussing the difficulties she faced as both a woman and an immigrant in politics. It’s safe to say that it was a valuable experience, both educational and deeply inspiring.

By the time that our final day came, the idea of leaving Israel was almost unbearable. It was hard to think about leaving all of these new friendships and

I get to use my voice and my JSoc committee role to share what I’ve learnt and how it’s shaped my beliefs

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How Would The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas Narrate His Own Story?

Agne Kniuraite My first exposure to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas was the movie adaptation (2008, dir. Mark Herman). I was six or seven years old and could not sleep the night after I watched it – I thought I was going to be caught and gassed too.

In my mind, the film had been a tremendous horror and immediate threat.

Turns out I was not the only one who was affected this way. Years after having watched the film, I jokingly mentioned my reaction to one of my Jewish friends. She said she had thought similarly, hiding in closets at every knock on her home’s front door. She had thought the Nazis had come to take her away.

Would Shmuel have approved of his own story being told through Bruno’s family’s (accidental) tragedy?

I watched the film again when I was fifteen in history class at my secular, Jewish-minority school. We had just come back from a grade trip to Auschwitz and my teacher decided the film would round our education out. I realised it was not as scarring as I remembered it to be; instead, I felt profound disgust. What I had not remembered from my childhood was the film’s moral: burning people is a sad and horrible thing only if the Nazi kid protagonist suffers that fate. It is, after all, a story

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written by a non-Jewish person from the perspective of Nazis – the fact that most of it takes place in the Nazi household, focusing on Nazi family drama, makes it an odd ‘representation’ of the horrors of the Shoah, to say the least. Would Shmuel have approved of his own story being told through Bruno’s family’s (accidental) tragedy? What marked me most, however, was the way some of my classmates reacted to this movie, making jokes, ‘cheering on’ the Nazis on screen, or believing it was either a true story or an insightful and educated take on the horror and trauma experienced by millions of Jews to this day.

Institutions such as Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and Holocaust Centre North, as well as Jewish authors,4discourage Boyne’s book for educational purposes, and yet, its use as an illustration of the historical tragedy to non-insider – and, more likely than not, unknowledgeable children and teenagers – persists.

This type (inaccurate, romanticised, etc.) of genocide fiction is, in my eyes, the ultimate proof of subjectivity of taste. There is a book – which can be compared to a Holocaust novel – which went viral called Between Shades of Gray (by Ruta Sepetys). It is the story of a Lithuanian teenage girl named Lina who gets exiled to a Siberian labour camp together with her family and many others. Everybody raved about it, so I read it (as a Lithuanian inevitably carrying a deep sense of national hurt). In the end – and unsurprisingly, as often is the case with ‘viral’ YA novels of trauma – I found it to be a watered-down, PG, inaccurate and sometimes downright incorrect version of the real horror of it all. The author interviewed survivours and scholars on the subject matter, which, considering the end product, could have been possibly sensationalised.

While I think anyone should be able to write stories about what they desire, it is a mockery for industry and educators to continually highlight fiction that has been critiqued by the communities it seeks to represent. Despite all criticism, the book continues to be praised and adapted into every possible medium and receives a significant monetary gain – just like John Boyne’s Shoah stories, and countless other fiction using historical horrors as settings or plot vehicles.

Stories have power, and their ramifications in the ‘real world’, can be – are – pronounced. Writing good historical fiction is a difficult job, as the genre has the power to change the way history is perceived and remembered by outsiders. I find it hard to consider how ‘valuable’ and ‘must-read’ a book might be when it is written by a non-member of a historically marginalised community narrating a tale of a child or teen who dies in the most romanticised version of a death camp, or, alternatively, manages to survive the odds through the power of love and friendship alone.

Genocide, as a theme in fiction, is compelling, and, when done right, even perception-changing. However, it often falls short, and, when it is negatively critiqued by those who the story seeks to represent, it is time to re-think the tale it really tells.

The Problem With Holocaust Education Eli Sassoon I’m sitting on a National Express coach on the way back from Luton Airport, following my flight back from Krakow, Poland. Besides the exhaustion, I’m distracted by a single question that has been playing at the back of my mind.

I’m just back from a training week with a diverse range of educators from across the UK, learning how to educate about the Holocaust to (primarily non-Jewish) school students. Amongst the group of thirty, there were only a few of us who were Jewish. I was also the youngest Jewish person by quite a margin. That wasn’t because other Jews didn’t make it through the application process, but because only very few Jews applied.

One of the leaders teaching us on the programme was a rebbetzin and, walking down the streets of Krakow, following in the footsteps of our ancestors, on the saddest day of the Jewish calendar; she and I had a question: why are there so few Jewish people teaching about the Holocaust?

There are exceptions to this of course. Survivors and the “second generation” are the main example, going into hundreds of schools to talk about their personal testimony. It’s not easy to talk about the Holocaust, let alone about your family’s history with a group of strangers. There are many survivors who travel hours away from home to share their testimony. So I’ll rephrase the question slightly, why are we not seeing many Jewish people queuing out the door to apply for jobs at some of the UK’s largest Holocaust education charities?

We as Jews should have a voice on the Holocaust

There are incredible non-Jewish activists and educators who do exceptional work to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. We as Jews don’t own the conversation on the Holocaust, but we should have a voice. I just wonder if perhaps for some reason, the Jewish community isn’t engaging, applying and choosing to work in this space as much as we should be.

I spoke to a friend a few years ago, who had just graduated from university and was about to start teaching at a deprived state school in London. He was going to teach history and mentioned that he would be teaching about the Holocaust next year - for another great thing these charities have done was to ensure the Holocaust is in the national curriculum.

My friend decided that he wasn’t going to tell his students that he was Jewish. He wanted them to see learning about the Holocaust as something that was universal and not just the responsibility of Jewish people, but of everyone. The responsibility is on us as a society. The National Holocaust Museum and Memorial Centre proudly points to their founders, who were Christians, for the same reason.

We had a small session at UJS Convention last year, where we discussed the psychological effects that the Holocaust has on young Jews today.

Someone mentioned she was taken to Yad Vashem at a very young age, and we reflected on how sometimes it is difficult to talk about our our family history (to non-Jewish friends) for various different, and often individual reasons.

When the rebbetzin asked our question to the rest of the group during the training week, our group suggested some of these answers. We also talked about how we don’t want to be tokenised. We don’t want ourselves to be considered just as the victims or as an example of ‘how bad genocide is’. We fear that our collective trau-

We don’t want ourselves to be considered just as the victims or as an example of ‘how bad genocide is’ ma will dominate over our long and rich history. The rebbetzin reminded us, thatshe “didn’t want to be here, she’d much rather that her relatives were still alive”.

Our educator lead for the programme – an incredible guy who’s been working in this for nearly 20 years – posed us the following question: If you wrote down every reason why you are educating about the Holocaust, and then crossed out each point where another example in history could be used, how many reasons do you have left? If the answer is zero, you’re doing this wrong.

Most of my paragraphs ended with many more question than I anticipated. I don’t have many answers, just questions. But the work that the incredible Holocaust education charities are doing is not only fundamental to our nation, but to the legacy of the Jewish community, in raising awareness and combatting antisemitism.

Are we (especially as young Jews) criticising them too much from the outside rather than working with them?

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Studying Abroad Rhian Soulsby-Cole shares experiences as well as tips and tricks for preparing to study abroad as a Jewish student.

When I accepted a study abroad year, everyone was buzzing about where they were going, what student finance to apply for and if they were going to remember how to ask for an extension in Polish. I had a different to-do list: simple things like where am I going to get my kosher shopping? Is where I’m going safe for Jews?

Which synagogue am I going to join?

Some of these questions are easy to answer, depending on where you’re going – if it’s Israel, then you pretty much have nothing to worry about! But it’s always a good idea to research local Jewish communities when looking for a country to study abroad in, and don’t be afraid to ask for certain alternate countries if you’re worried about attitudes in a particular country. I found heading along to large Jewish student socials and chatting to international students to be the best way to gauge where to apply for. I’ve met Jews from countries all over, including a very upbeat Australian who admitted she brought nearly a kilo of her mum’s Challah in an icebag as she didn’t know anyone who made it as good as her!

Helpful places to start asking about international communities would

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be your university’s Jewish society; you may even find students who have done study abroad years in the country you’re considering. Your local synagogue will also be a great place to ask for advice, and they can even point you in the direction of any international links they may have, and it’s a fascinating segway for members of your community to tell you about the one deli they used to always go to in that country. And lastly, your host university will often have a JSoc of their own, all you usually have to do is put in the name of your university and “Jewish” and it’ll come up.

Hillel.org is great for American universities - I was able to find out that there’s a separate canteen for Kosher food, the number of Jewish students enrolled and the type of religious services that take place.

One thing I wasn’t expecting though was being the first Jew some people had met. Through my host university, I was speaking to other fellow third years, and found that some had never even met a Jew before, and they admitted the only thing they knew about Judaism was the “funny hats” (I think a Shtreimel). People who may have been raised in a small town, or even from countries

with tiny Jewish populations will usually want to ask one or two questions, and ninety percent of the time, they’re nice and respectful. Sometimes people from these cultures may equate your faith with Israel, and sometimes they can be less than respectful, but my policy is always keep it nice. If you’re concerned about antisemitism on campus, make sure to familiarise yourself with campus security, faith leaders on campus and your fellow Jewish students. Off campus, make sure that you know the local emergency numbers, and places with large Jewish communities usually have communal security initiatives, and this can be especially helpful during festivals or holidays in your host country, as they will tend to send out security alerts about possible dangers and ways to keep yourself safe.

When you’re abroad, there’s an absolute plethora of resources where you can find a synagogue that fits with your beliefs, but also so you can find one that is close to your accommodation or university. Check with your host university or college to see if they have a list of local religious organizations, including synagogues. The international student office

or a dedicated religious affairs office may be able to provide you with contacts or resources or may be able to point you in the right direction. Several online directories, such as Chabad.org, the World Jewish Congress, or Jewish Virtual Library, maintain databases of synagogues worldwide.

Use these resources to find synagogues in your host country and their contact details.

If you can find contact information for local rabbis or Jewish community leaders, consider reaching out to them before arriving. They might offer guidance, invite you to events, or help you feel more at home in the local community. Use social media or university forums to find other Jewish students studying abroad in your host country. They may already have experience in locating synagogues and can offer valuable insights and support. I personally put out a classified advert on Hey Alma, and I’ve already found a fair few people who are attending my host university and live in the same area as where I’m looking for an apartment! Some are locals, some aren’t, and that’s even better, because, in addition to having Judaism in common, we also have the same experience of moving somewhere completely new!

Studying abroad can be a transformative experience filled with exciting opportunities for personal growth, cultural exchange, and connection to your heritage Jewish community centres are also pretty universal, and these centres, especially in the Americas, Israel and Australasia will teach you how to speak, read and write Hebrew, so if you never had the opportunity to learn here, then there’s your chance. Some universities even offer Jewish Studies, which can be either an easy pass (!) or a way to explore your Jewish-ness from an “outside” perspective.

American universities, mainly on the east

coast, will also offer Judaism and philosophy, which examines the various branches of Judaism, and modules like that can be a great method of self-discovery. If you’re in a country where English is not widely spoken, it may be worth looking into remote services. There are many American synagogues that stream for free, or you can even ask your home synagogue if they still have their Zoom password from the pandemic. Some local community centres may even offer English-language classes, which is a great way to help out with people trying to learn, and also an opportunity to encourage your fellow students to use their English skills in a Jewish setting! .

Maintaining a kosher diet seems like it would be impossible in a country where there is a small Jewish population, since it may not have been supervised by a mashgiach, but in small communities, usually your local rabbi will be the one to act as their own mashgichim! But what if you can’t find a rabbi, nor a Kosher Kingdom?! Well, before you go, have a look online. There may even be a website that’s devoted to kosher certification, and they will have a full list of kosher supermarkets and restaurants. I found a company specifically catering to Jewish students in my host city, where every Shabbat, they can deliver a full three course meal and candles.

Another top tip is to find out what the kosher certification symbol looks like in your country; while the K is pretty universal, some countries may not have an “official symbol” and the packaging will simply say “kosher” or OK. Although, in Australia, the packaging saying kosher may not mean it’s kosher, it means the food inside has been prepared with kosher salt. You can imagine my friend’s shock when she saw a packet of pork sausages proudly declaring itself kosher! It’s worth looking into what kosher translates into in your host language, and other common key terms. This will be great when you go out for dinner, as you’ll be able to ask about kosher options.

Don’t hesitate to ask your server or host for kosher options, more often than not, they’ll be able to accommodate you. When speaking to other study abroad students for this article, I was speaking to a Jewish friend who’d been to Beijing, China and was very nervous about asking for a meal to be prepared in a kosher manner, but when they brought it to their table to be prepared in front of them, they had two separate pans, one

specifically marked as being for Jews. She said it was absolutely fantastic, and when describing the ingredients and manner of preparation to her local Chabad, she found it was completely kosher, and the restaurant was well known for being able to accommodate Jewish people. Be open to trying to local dishes that are naturally kosher; you may find the religion of the country you’re in has similar dietary requirements!.Little things like that will take the stress out of keeping kosher abroad.

A last tip for keeping kosher is remember to request a kosher meal with your airline. I found I had to request a kosher meal 48 hours before my flight instead of everyone else’s 24 hours, but sometimes the standard in-flight meal is vegetarian anyway, and many of the in-flight snacks are the same. I pre-ordered a bottle of water to my seat and was pleased to see that even that had a kosher label on it!

In conclusion, studying abroad as a Jewish student can be a transformative experience filled with exciting opportunities for personal growth, cultural exchange, and connection to your heritage. While being away from familiar surroundings may present some challenges, the rewards of exploring a new country, making international friends, and experiencing diverse cultures are immeasurable.

Remember, you are not alone on this journey. Reach out to the local Jewish community, Jewish student union, and fellow Jewish students for support and camaraderie. Building connections with others who share your faith and values can create a sense of belonging and comfort, even in a foreign land. Embrace the opportunity to learn about your host country’s culture and traditions and share the richness of your own heritage with others.

By engaging in cultural exchange and being a positive ambassador for your faith, you contribute to a more interconnected and understanding global community.

Studying abroad is not only about academics; it’s an exploration of self, identity, and the world at large. Embrace the journey with enthusiasm, resilience, and an open mind, and you will undoubtedly return with cherished memories and a more profound understanding of your place in the global tapestry. Wishing you a fulfilling and enriching study abroad experience! Safe travels, and may your journey be one of discovery, growth, and meaningful connections. L’hitraot!

AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 13

G-d Only Knows Ianna Rosa The never-ending struggle to follow both religion and science

Sometimes, when I really want to create problems for my brain, I will try and imagine the Big Bang. If you’ve never tried it, this is an exercise very worthy of your time. I lie down, close my eyes, and try to feel the cold vastness of empty space.

I imagine it feels like standing still in the ocean on a cold day, feet continuously trying and failing to acclimate to a cold that makes you feel almost dead. Then, all at once, I imagine the brightest light, bursting so instantaneously that I can’t even comprehend it. The beams reach out, touching everything, searing the cold from my skin, leaving me tingly.

Every atom to ever exist is created at that moment. I am created. I open my eyes.

How, after trying to comprehend something of such Biblical proportions, can I possibly believe that G-d doesn’t exist?

As I see it, science can be seen as the endeavour to explain the world, while religion is a guide to how one should behave while existing within it 14 ALEPH | AUTUMN 2023

Two of the biggest and most contentious questions of our time are “Is there a G-d?” and “How can one believe in G-d and also in modern science?” I’m absolutely not going to be attempting to answer that first one today (find a rabbi) but as someone who is pretty frum and also going into a STEM field, I feel that I can give a solid opinion on the second question. But before we can dive into the coexistence of science and religion, we’ll have to do a little defining. One of the biggest mistakes I see people making when positing that someone cannot believe in G-d and also believe in modern science is by seeing religion exclusively as blind acceptance of unproven, outdated superstition. To think this way is to simplify religion down to a fundamentalist (and generally Christian) understanding of religion. As I see it, science can be seen as the endeavour to explain the world, while religion is a guide to how one should behave while existing within it. In my opinion, there is absolutely no reason why these concepts cannot coexist. I will be the first to admit that I am very religious.

I have been lovingly described as “embarrassingly religious” by some of my more secular friends. Like, shul-every-shabbat and brachot-before-meals frum. I am also about to begin a Masters of Science in Forensic Anthropology at Liverpool John Moores University this autumn (go fighting… Liver Birds? I don’t think we have

a mascot.) The field involves the study of human remains based on their skeletal system. I am very aware that I will be a religious minority among a majority secular crowd (absolutely fair enough.) I will, however, be keeping a collapsable negel vasser in my backpack so I can become ritually pure again after handling human remains. I will be saying small prayers in my heart for the people that once inhabited the bodies. Academia is generally seen as a secular area, with no space for religious thought, but here I am anyways, existing religiously, and it does not make me a bad scientist. So, how is it that I actually marry these two sides of my brain?

Two of the biggest and most contentious questions of our time are “Is there a G-d?” and “How can one believe in G-d and also in modern science?”

For one, I don’t personally interpret the Torah literally. I think it is a collection of histories, metaphors, lessons, and poetry that grows with us over time.

For me, in interpreting Torah, we are first meant to identify what the text means in its own time, and secondly how our modern viewpoints can change that meaning to bring modern lessons. Because of this way in which I interpret the Torah, my takeaway from the Creation story has less to do with a literal “Adam and Eve” and more with the questions being asked of us about responsibility, humanity, and our role in the universe. Even Maimonides argued that if science disproved the Creation story, he would reinterpret passages of the Torah to work with new discoveries.

I’m simply complying with a long-standing line of reasoning. There is a quote by mathematician John Allen Paulos, “Uncertainty is the only certainty there is,” that reminds me of the Yiddish expression “If I knew G-d, I’d be G-d.” It is actually quite frightening the amount that we don’t truly know about how the world works.

Did you know that there isn’t a real, concrete answer for why the galaxy doesn’t pull itself apart? Physicists have named whatever force that is keeping the galaxy from ripping itself to shreds “dark matter.”

What is dark matter? G-d only knows. This question remains answerless, and yet, the Milky Way stays firmly in place, and our world continues to turn.

This is all to say that I think the nature of G-d is like that of dark matter- unknowable except through the experience of its effect. I may not be able to see Hashem directly, but I experience Them every day through the beauty of nature and the love shared through my friends and family (hokey, I know, let me have this).

In the case of Judaism, being religious does not require blind faith Given what I’m about to be studying, it should come as no surprise that I love the TV crime drama Bones. It is an incredibly silly show, with hit-or-miss scientific accuracy, but it is absolutely what got me interested in the field to begin with. There’s an episode in the early seasons where an intern is constantly being treated as unintelligent, pushed aside, and

talked down to because he is a practising Muslim. His coworkers ask him invasive questions about how he can “balance an archaic religious belief with a life devoted to science,” a question I have also been asked. He responds, “There’s no conflict between Allah and science. Allah created the mystery of the world, and science struggles, and mostly fails, to explain it.

But the search for truth is honourable, and I honour Allah through the search for truth.” This moment of empathy is something I really haven’t seen much in any exploration of a religious character in media; that they (we) too can be smart, and rational, and see the world through both scientific and spiritual lenses.

natural world is simply another avenue of knowing G-d. I will hazard a guess that most readers will know the phrase “tzadek, tzadek tirdof,” in English, “justice, justice you shall pursue.” This confirms to me that the search for truth is a holy endeavour, one that I will never stop engaging with. I cannot wait to learn more.

The pursuit of knowledge of the natural world is simply and other avenue of knowing G-d This brings me to my last point, which is, the tendency to assume all devoutly religious people are less intelligent in academic circles. I can imagine this belief comes from the loudness of fundamentalists who deny things such as climate change, evolution, or the human rights of others as against their religious beliefs. I think it is important to remember that all groups, including the non-religious, have members who believe these things. To lump all religious people with those who fall farthest to the right is unfair, especially in the case of Judaism, where being religious does not require blind faith, questioning and exploration are encouraged, and many of our best and brightest have gone on to create huge strides in the sciences. It is frustrating that this is an issue I face in spaces where I hope to be very radically accepted, and as a person who is active in social justice spaces, I am hopeful that this is a bias that can be readdressed by many of my secular peers. I am a religious Jew. This is something I am very proud of. My relationship to Hashem is very important to me, and informs much of how I walk through the world in my everyday life.

For me, the pursuit of knowledge of the AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 15

The Two-State Solution Is Dead, Our Policies Should Not Be Alex Guy Sandler on the Grand Idea Doctrine

World leaders and election hopefuls have continued to present their thoughts on mitigating the rising number of attacks, deaths and riots in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. Their language is often meaningless, consisting of vague statements about praying for victims or a blanket condemnation of extremism on all sides.

Very rarely does anyone engage in the field of Middle Eastern policymaking with the intent to make policy. When charismatic statesmen and political upstarts do approach that dangerous territory, they flock to the 1993 Oslo Accords that lay the groundwork for a final Two State Solution. Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Joe Biden and Donald Trump all have endorsed this in some form. There is the mundane original 1993 model which has changed with negotiations over time. There is also the infamous Trump ‘Plan for Peace’ using tunnels and islands to carve out something loosely resembling a Palestinian State. Beyond the realm of direct decision makers, many NGOs and student groups remain committed to the Two State Solution, including our own Union of Jewish Students. This is understandable, Oslo is a time we associate with hope, the final understanding made sense, and prior to

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We are not in 1993 anymore. subsequent assassinations, withdrawals and takeovers, it presented a pathway to a utopia. It is apparent that we feel we have been knocked off course, and with a just a little bit of effort, we can return to it.

We are not in 1993 anymore.

The unending urge to harken back to a grand Two-State Solution no longer makes you a sensible voice of reason.

It is an excuse to grow lazy and turgid in an area of the world that is continuously developing and reacting.

The early 90s were a time when the biggest threat to Israel was Saddam Hussein, when Gaza was a coastal city that all Israelis, Jews and Palestinians entered and exited. This was a time where Fatah’s Palestinian Authority could accurately be described as the leaders of a Palestinian people. As of now, the divide between supporters of Fatah and Hamas grows ever larger, with as many as 33% in 2022 choosing to support Hamas in any potential Palestinian Authority elections (Center for Palestinian Policy and Survey Research).

Since the withdrawal from Gaza and the ascension of Hamas, the Strip exists as an island, with minimal flow of vital resources, shortages of water, power, medicine and food. In one the most densely populated areas on earth, Gaza City also possesses one of the worst qualities of life.

It is an ideal environment to create extremist factions, hence the large variety of these factions, ranging from left-wing revolutionaries to a plethora of Islamist militias. As of now in Gaza, civilians don’t need passports; they need basic supplies to survive, they need an end to exchanging rocket and missile barrages that kill hundreds, they need stability. Any State to form from or with Gaza that contains this level of serious inequality is destined for serious crippling development. This lack of infrastructure, capital and economic opportunity will likely lead to war and corruption that will further collapse Palestinian society. Before any decisions on a state can be made there must be a sustainable foundation to build from. Instead, the people of Gaza have no resources, minimal support and a lack of opportunities to even begin construction to reach a parity with a partner society in the West Bank.

In comparison, the Palestinian

territories in the West Bank while poorly performing in economic and social development exist in a completely different reality. There are borders, access to plane travel, a relatively steady flow of resources and vitally, interaction with Israeli society, both positive and negative. No successful state can exist in the West Bank territories, there isn’t enough economic opportunity, experience with governing, education or acceptable living conditions. Also, there is an increasing number of young Palestinians in the West Bank who see a greater desire to rise up against Israeli forces, instead of cooperating with them.

It is impossible to determine what type of long-term solution could exist in the West Bank, never mind the grounding for a sustainable independent Palestinian State.

These two territories (Gaza and the West Bank) have civilians with completely different requirements, at different levels of desperation and aspiration. It is a reason why the recent rocket attacks in Jenin (July 2023) were surprising; such an extreme form of hostile action in the West Bank is not usual. Palestinians are impacted by separate policies of their ideologically contrasting governments and the Israeli;, there is no universal discussion as these are societies that exist in a large imbalance, and so there can be no all-encompassing grand solution.

Israel is clearly not the same country that it was in 1993. It is significantly more right-wing post Second Intifada, combined with increasing apathy for the peace process. With more frequent rocket attacks, and an increasing number of settlements by both idealogues and those looking for cheaper living in the West Bank, the potential size of a Palestinian State has diminished significantly. However, it is not these reasons that primarily make the Two State Solution, and by extension any Grand Doctrine, outdated and unlikely. In reality, policymakers have moved on from Oslo. Since The Second Intifada, Israeli lawmakers do little to work with the PA other than lip service and an agreed upon annual budget, with no meaningful development

in peace talks since the Clinton Parameters almost thirty years ago. The death of Rabin and the demise of Peres and Arafat saw the end of any real growth. Abbas’ reiteration of an impossible demand for Right to Return is treated as an excuse for both parties to claim an attempt for a peace process. Great voices for Palestinians in the Arab World, have cast their eyes to a greater threat in Iran, and the Abraham Accords completely excluded Palestinians from the major bargaining chip of Israel’s regional integration.

Meanwhile, millions suffer in Gaza, rocket attacks persist in Sderot and blood stains the streets of the Old City.

Successive failures of grand solution doctrine mean that more innocent civilians die, there is more indoctrination, more attacks and more aggressive retaliation.

That is not to say the West doesn’t care about the deaths and damnations, it is a consistent issue raised, but it fails to accomplish more than supporting thirtyyear-old peace plans and abstract theory.

Having a positive impact is more than just dialogue that leads to nothing changed.

It is hard to admit that a true peace no longer exists on the horizon How does this slump get broken?

Losing Grand Doctrine means working without a clear road map, it is easy to be overwhelmed by choice of policy. In simple terms, an abandonment of Grand Idea Doctrine, whether a commitment to a binational state, Two-State Solution, Federal System or annexation, means a reverting to more simplistic questions. Which policies contribute to economic development? What will reduce violent exchanges in the territories? Which actions can Israeli policy makers take to better guard a future Israeli society from destructive dogma and long-running wounds? It entails a re-examination of the Oslo accords,

a greater utilisation of shared start-ups, more Hebrew language schools in the territories and (likely though mediating bodies) short term agreements between Gazan and Israeli administrations.

On every level, NGOs and activists have to break from the comfort of pedantic theoretical dialogue. Any organisation that is devoting resources should develop policy outcomes beyond just fostering communication for grand reconciliation. Long term (and unlikely) solutions do nothing for civilians in bomb shelters or on hospital beds. National campaigns to provide education to Western masses without providing an outlet for positive action is little more than an intellectual exercise. NGOs must provide goals, pathways to reaching them. Not everyone can be the analyst.

Most serious problems, whether demographic shifts, Arab-Iranian posturing or mass political upheaval (in Israel and the West Bank) cannot be solved with planned solutions. It remains to be seen how the world and the region will react when these events rapidly come to pass.

A wealth of options do exist to improve the lives of those who suffer. There is regional cooperation in the Middle East in a manner that has never existed at such scale and openness. There is rapid economic advancement, raising whole areas in Israel proper out of decline, and these techniques can be outsourced. There are a greater number of Israelis from all factions looking to engage with Palestinians for mutual benefit, and they are finding willing and eager partners, but they need funding and support from actors around the world. It is hard to admit that a true peace no longer exists on the horizon, but if politicians and activists are to engage in Israel-Palestine, it is not their job to theorize, it is their job to seize opportunities to support policymakers in creating a better landscape now. To be useful, it is time to relinquish the hold on the hope of the 90s, and partake in the undignified reality of the twenty-first century.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not represent the position of UJS, which remains committed to a two-state solution, as per UJ7 (2020) and many other UJS policies passed by students at UJS Conference.

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A Battle Of Theologies Adrian Cohen was Chairperson of UJS 1985-86. He holds a number of communal positions, including lay chair of Labour Friends of Israel. He is a member of the advisory board of the LSE Faith Centre.

He writes this article in a personal capacity.

I spent my undergraduate years at LSE and went on to teach there. Upon graduation I became the national chairperson of UJS. Unlike many other colleges or universities, LSE didn’t teach religion or theology.

However, it now has an active faith centre under the leadership of Professor James Walters and I am privileged to sit on his advisory board. The centre has many functions including promoting religious literacy, interfaith leadership and a better understanding of religion-related conflict among LSE’s diverse student body, in government and among wider global publics.

This is a definition of religious literacy from a definition on the Harvard University website: ‘Re18 ALEPH | AUTUMN 2023

ligious literacy entails the ability to discern and analyze the fundamental intersections of religion and social/political/cultural life through multiple lenses.’

Often those who comment on developments in Israel do so through a fundamentally secular perspective, without this religious literacy. That is not to say they aren’t aware of religious actors (indeed they are painfully so) or the role of religion. But it is quickly othered and compartmentalised, so it is identified and labelled as ‘fundamentalist’, ‘extreme’ or ‘reactionary’ without actually understanding the theology and its implications in terms of trajectory. Some, for example, even blame the limitations of the Oslo peace

process in the 1990s on the failure on all sides (who were largely secular) to engage with people of faith and to attempt to meet or anticipate their theological imperatives.

The current situation in Israel provides another example of this.

It isn’t just a case of moderate-centre-centre left versus religious-nationalist right. The coalition government is an amalgam of the socially conservative and the self defined religious, giving way to two very differing theologies: religious Zionism and Haredism.

As a caveat, I am painting with a broad brush in order to explain what is happening on a macro level, but one shouldn’t assume a higher degree of ho-

mogeneity of thought than is actually the case. There are nuances and differences across the board. All camps have their own dissenters too, some quite pronounced. I define myself by the tenents of religious Zionism but I have (as have others) always shied away from a too deterministic view of our future. Also, we shouldn’t lose sight of the other factors at play - the role of religion is only one.

Religious Zionism sees the creation of the State of Israel as a part of a messianic process. As per the writings of Rav Kook, who perhaps did more than anyone to build the foundations of religious Zionism, secular Zionists were unwittingly doing the redemptive work of the Messiah by settling the land and building the infrastructure of the state. In his famous speech in 1904 ‘The Lamentation in Jerusalem’ upon the death of Theodore Herzl, when he was the newly installed rabbi of Jaffa, Rav Kook referred to the two elements of the Israelite nation: that of Joseph or his son Ephraim on the one side, and Judah or his descendant David on the other. The two are sometimes in harmony, but there is a tension between them going back to the story of Joseph and his brothers, recounted at considerable length in the book of Genesis. Joseph, who spends his adult life in Egypt and goes on to become Grand Vizier, represents the worldly, universalistic and practical; meanwhile Judah, who famously rescues Joseph from the pit where he had been thrown by his brothers and then much later subsequently challenges him over the threat to imprison Benjamin, represents the particularistic and the spiritual. Historically, the two sides were best represented by the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, when the ten tribes split from Judah and Benjamin after the establishment of the first temple at the instigation of Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, in response to the imposition of the temple taxes.

It is no coincidence that modern Zionism chose Israel and not Judah or Judea as the name of its state, or that the lands of the modern day West Bank were not central to their original settlement efforts. It was left to the religious Zionist movement to settle in the Gush which, along with the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, was surrendered in 1948, and it was predominantly the religious Zionist movement who then sought to resettle the Gush, the Old City, and later East Jerusalem and wider afield in the West Bank

following the Six Day War - with little regard for the presence of the large Palestinian population in those areas, and implications for any peace settlement which seeks to accommodate their aspirations.

Dialogue between secular and liberal society with its Haredi counter part has been in short supply Rav Kook referred to the two Messiahs in Jewish thought: Mashiach Ben Yoseph and Mashiach Ben David.

The former is the messiah of war, and the latter will emerge through the redemptive process. Israel is at its best when the two forces combine to produce a synthesis through a dialectic process. But ultimately, the Davidic line predominates. Indeed, the Rabbis say Mashiach Ben Yoseph dies in battle. The religious nationalist movement feels this process being played out.

What they are experiencing is the transition from the dominance of Joseph to David. This isn’t religious Jews despising secular Jews. This is religious Jews seeing it as their holy duty now to take the baton as part of a divinely ordained process. In a twist, many secular Israelis see the process in similar but inverted terms, with increasing calls for Israel to ‘separate’ from Judea (with notions of cantonisation becoming popular) with resonances of the two historic kingdoms. Although not divine, this shows how secular Zionism is imbued with biblical history as part of its own foundation myth. Meanwhile, the religious Zionist movement looks to break free from the constraints of the international order most represented by the United States, which is identified with the classical Roman Empire, which in turn was identified with the ancient nation of Edom.

Haredism (itself a post emancipation movement) rejected Zionism in all its forms as a heresy, but after the Shoah, the majority of Haredi authorities reached an accommodation with the new state, if not its ideology, through the famous agreement between then Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and the Chazon Ish (leader of the Haredim in Israel). The

Haredi parties have largely employed a pragmatic approach to Israeli politics and would until recently sit in Labour (Mapai/Avoda) led governments, but they have increasingly aligned with the right. But they have not adopted the messianism of the religious nationalist bloc. This is because the diasporic theology of some two thousand years still predominates, built on the memory of the colossal failures of the Judean revolts against the Romans in 70 CE and 130 CE, leading to the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Beitar. With it came a fear of militant extremists - the Zealots and the Biryonim and the false messianism that went with it. The alignment of the Haredi bloc is more to do with protecting and arguably augmenting its privileges and a generally conservative outlook, and less to do with messianism.

However, having said that, there is evidence that young Haredi voters may be coming under the influence of the latter.

This suggests that for those who wish to thwart this government’s more extreme objectives, the best way (beyond short term tactical advantages) is on the one hand to reach out to those members of the Government and their supporters who are secular or traditional in orientation (even if in other respects right wing) and the Haredi bloc on the other to identify the threat common to both of unrestrained messianism including its huge potential economic and security cost. This is easier said than done given the difficulty many secular Israelis have with the wider societal impact of the Haredi way of life. My sense, however, is that dialogue between secular and liberal society with its Haredi counter part has been in short supply in the last decade or so. And there is some evidence that the Haredi parties are now beginning to pivot away from the extremism of the current government.

But then the one constant is that nothing has ever been simple in the Holy Land.

Diaspora communities are of course not unaffected by what goes on in Israel, given our close familial and other ties with Israel. It is important that UJS continues to provide thought as well as practical leadership and guidance, and this of course includes a grasp of the causes of the current situation, which can be best understood through religious literacy.

AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 19

Ever Heard of UGEI? Come To Italy And Find Out! President of UGEI (Italian Union of Jewish Students and Young Professionals) since 2022, David Fiorentini is a sixth year medical student at Humanitas University in Milan. Born and raised in Siena, David comes from a tiny Jewish community, but has slowly reached the exciting panorama of national and international Jewish life and activism.

Reminiscent of the hilarious meeting with former President Joel Rosen and incoming President Edward Isaacs last June in Tel Aviv when I had the lovely opportunity to further explore the British Jewish world, I am now more than glad to return the favour and tell you about UGEI- Unione Giovani Ebrei d’Italia.

Basically the tricolour version of UJS, UGEI is the Italian Union of Jewish Students and Young Professionals. As you can tell from our name, our target audience don’t spend most of their days and nights on campus, but rather we also represent young professionals, which is one of the main differences between British and Italian activism. Instead of being campus-based with local chapters within universities and colleges, our structure

20 ALEPH | AUTUMN 2023

is community-oriented, with members coming from various occupational backgrounds.

On the one hand, we might have fewer local chapters. But these chapters are more heterogeneous both in terms of age, spacing from 18 to 35 years old, and social, cultural and political backgrounds.

Our main strongholds are based in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Turin, reflecting the main Jewish communities in Italy. However, Italian Jewry has a very peculiar composition of over twenty Jewish communities scattered all around the

Italian Jews live varied Jewish lives.

“Belpaese”, therefore extending our work from Naples all the way to Trieste.

Just to give you a taste of our monthly routine, whilst one day we might hold a Purim party in Rome with over four hundred young Jews through REWiBE (our Parties and Events Department), the following week we could be hosting a Shabbaton in my hometown of Siena. Siena is a Jewish community of only forty people with no Torah, or kosher restaurants whatsoever and only a small, yet beautiful, synagogue.

As you can see, Italian Jews live varied Jewish lives. There are those who are more observant who also enjoy greater access to Jewish education, events, and kosher food. There are also those more attached to local minhagim, as well as

those who strongly advocate for Zionism and Aliyah, and those who feel a strong connection to Italy. It is also important to note that most Italian Jews are neither Ashkenazi nor Sephardi, they are proud and vibrant Bnei Romì, following the over two-thousand-year-old tradition established by the first Jews who arrived in Rome in 200 BC. Surely, given the immense diversity within the Italian Jewish community, maintaining unity amongst this mosaic of cultures would be a huge challenge? I would describe Italian Jewry as strongly integrated, but not assimilated. The communities are always trying to be as engaging as possible to keep their members close and united, and I believe that Italian Jews have found a very interesting balance in order to become fully part of the national social fabric, all without losing their millenary Jewish identity.

Throughout Italian history, whenever emancipated, Jews played an important role in the development of cities and regions, becoming Mayors and Prime Ministers. Did you know that in the conquest of Rome during the unification process that led to the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, the first soldier to lead the entrance to the soon-to-be capital was Jewish?

Nevertheless, as you could probably already imagine, antisemitism continues to challenge Jewish life in Italy. If you ever get the chance to travel to Southern Italy, you will notice how Jewish presence is close to non- existent in most regions. This is still related to the aftermath of the Spanish Inquisition of 1492, when Jews were either sentenced or expelled from Spanish territories, including Sardinia, Sicily, and the rest of Southern Italy. The first ever ghetto was opened in Venice in 1516 and after centuries of hardships, mostly led by the Catholic Church, Jews obtained full citizenship only in 1861 with the Unification of Italy. Yet come the early 1920s, the fascist movement gained power and Mussolini became Prime Minister, continuing to challenge Italian Jewry.

During this dark chapter, many fascists cooperated with the Nazi regime, leading to the death of over 7,500 Jews.

However, the over seven hundred “Righteous among Nations” that saved hun-

dreds lives, as well as legendary figures like Rabbi Elio Toaff z”l, enabled Jewish life to survive after the war and partially healed the wounds of Italian society.

Nowadays, as across Europe, antisemitism is again on the rise, with numerous conceptualisations, from far-right conspiracy theories and neo-Nazi ideologies, to far-left and radical Islamist anti-Zionism. Sure, the atmosphere on the streets and in campuses is way less tense than elsewhere in Europe, but vigilance is still paramount. Currently, together with the National Coordinator for Fighting Antisemitism Giuseppe Pecoraro, our strategy is ‘prevention, education and surveillance’.

UGEI is a unique reality that shaped the past and will continue to shape the future of Italian Jewry Through our educational campaigns, we try to tackle the issue of antisemitism at its root. Two prime examples are Restore the Remembrance, which consists of cleaning the Stolpersteine placed in various cities and reading out loud the stories of those commemorated by the stones, and Voices of Remembrance, a series of seminars and events in the Sapienza University of Rome together with the Roma community.

The main factor affecting the spread of prejudice and discrimination is ignorance. Most Italians have probably

never even met a Jewish person in their life, so they might be prone to believing conspiracy theories spread across social media. By exposing young students, even in high school and middle school, to Jewish culture and Israel engagement we might be able to instil those few drops of knowledge that one day will broaden minds and create a more tolerant society.

In particular, apart from meeting with classes and schools all across the country, we recently launched a TikTok account called Ask A Jew, where in small videos of 30 to 60 seconds, we explain basic Jewish trivia. It became viral, way beyond our expectations, with some videos reaching 300K views and the account now having over 10K followers! Moreover, since 1949, we also have HaTikwa, the media outlet for young Jews in Italy. Nowadays mostly operating online, HaTikwa produces a vast range of contents including articles, exclusive interviews, the first ever Italian Jewish podcast “The Jews that made History”, breaking news, geopolitics seminars, and its English-speaking desk “HaTikwa International”.

With Jewish aggregation, institutional representation, educational programs, news coverage, and much more.

UGEI is a unique reality that shaped the past and will continue to shape the future of Italian Jewry. All of this is particularly thanks to the 20 plus volunteers who every day decide to dedicate their precious time to the greater Jewish cause, and are all looking forward to welcoming you to Italy!

So what are you waiting for?

Come visit us!

AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 21

Slam De-Bunking Jacob Bernstein debunks the stereotypes of Jews being ‘bad’ at sports Historically, Jews have a reputation for being bad at sports. Take the famous scene from the movie, Airplane. There is a scene where a passenger on board asks for some light reading and the stewardess hands her a leaflet entitled “Famous Jewish Sports Legends”. But this hasn’t always been the case. One only has to take a quick look at the history of Jews in sport to debunk this myth.

The origins of the stereotype that Jews and sports do not mix are deeply rooted in the antisemitic racialisation of Jews as being physically inferior. In late 19th and early 20th century Europe, Jewish men’s and women’s sport across Europe was thriving. This is exemplified in Yad Vashem’s virtual exhibition titled Jews in Sport, where one can learn all about pre-Holocaust Jewish involvement in sports as varied as diving, field hockey, fencing and boxing. “Throughout Europe, Jews participated in and competed in many different types of sports activities, some even reaching the Olympic Games.

Many of the individuals in these photos were murdered during the Holocaust”, reads the introduction. Additionally, a recent article in the Jewish Chronicle titled ‘The triumphs and tragedies of Vienna’s Jewish football clubs’ details the Jewish history of two Vienna football clubs.

However, by the time of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Jews were banned from the German team as Hitler implemented his racial ideologies against Jews and by the end of the Holocaust, Jewish athletes had been dec-

22 ALEPH | AUTUMN 2023

imated in the ghettos and the camps, as well as the teams and clubs they had lovingly run.

In total, thirty Jewish Olympians were murdered in the Holocaust including boxer Victor Perez and skier Bronislaw Czech.

To this day, antisemitism continues to find its way into sport Even before the Holocaust, Jewish athletes did experience antisemitism, for example in 1890, when Canadian figure skater Louis Rubenstein wasn’t allowed to participate because he was Jewish. He ended up competing due to the intervention of the British Foreign Office and he won! In the United States in the 1880’s, there was an increase of European Jews and Jews were banned by the upper class from the most prestigious sports organisations.

Post-Holocaust, the now infamous 1972 Olympic Games in Munich was seen as an opportunity to showcase the new, liberal, democratic West Germany to the world. This dream was shattered when eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September, along with

a West German police officer. The surviving Israeli athletes immediately returned home. Mark Spitz, a Jewish swimmer representing the USA, also returned home early, fearing for his own life. Before he fled the games, he won seven gold medals.

To this day, antisemitism continues to find its way into sport. In football, both Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax have historical Jewish links, and both clubs face antisemitic chants from opposing teams’ fans, including chants referencing the Holocaust. In basketball last year, Kyrie Irving was suspended for five games after promoting an antisemitic documentary on social media. Encouragingly, sporting institutions do sometimes act against antisemitism, such as Adidas dropping Kanye West and the Italian FA banning the number 88 on players’ shirts due to its use by some neo-Nazis as a dog whistle.

So maybe it isn’t that Jews are bad at sports, maybe it’s that they have had a lot of obstacles in their way.

Success stories of Jews in Sports In the USA, Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax are two of the most successful Jewish baseball players. Greenberg played for the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1930s and 1940s and was famously involved in deciding to sit out games to observe Yom Kippur. He became the first Jewish inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1954 and had a successful managerial career after retiring from playing. Koufax also decided to sit out of

a game because it occurred on Yom Kippur and he proudly proclaimed his Jewishness. He played for the Dodgers for 12 years and won 4 World Series in that time and then became the youngest inductee into the Hall of Fame at 36 in 1972.

Mark Spitz and Dara Torres are two successful Jewish swimmers. Spitz was a highlight of the tragic 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Until it was broken in 2008, Spitz held the world record for the most gold medals in men’s swimming.

Torres competed in 5 Olympic Games and won 12 medals during a 24-year period.

Agnes Keleti was a Jewish gymnast, who is the oldest living Olympic champion. She won 10 Olympic medals and is one of the most successful Jewish athletes of all time. In 2017, she was announced laureate of the Israel Prize for sports. Linoy Ashram also gained success in gymnastics and became the first ever Israeli woman to win a gold medal, beating her competitor by a narrow score of 0.15.

Sue Bird is a recently retired Jewish basketball player who played for Seattle Storm. She was drafted first overall in the 2002 WNBA Draft and is widely recognised as one of the greatest to ever play WNBA. She is a 4x WNBA Champion.

Personal Perspective As a young Jewish man, sport is a big part of my life – I’m a keen runner and footballer, and find that

both enrich my life in different ways.

I started running during lockdown and it has become something that I cannot live without. I was heavily involved in the running club at the University of Birmingham and was on the committee in final year. My involvement added a big social element to a solo sport! Now, running is an escape for me – it helps me destress and makes me really happy. I ended up running my first half marathon in May 2023.

It makes me proud to watch it knowing there has been strong participation from Jewish athletes.

As a lifelong Spurs fan, I was overjoyed when Tottenham recently signed Manor Solomon, an Israeli and Jewish winger. It makes me extremely happy to know that Solomon will be playing for the club that I support next year. Since Yossi Benayoun and Tal Ben Haim, there have been very few Israeli players in the Premier League and having watched Solomon at Fulham last year, I’m looking forward to his trickery on the wing as well as watching him

for Israel in the Euro 2024 Qualifiers.

Meanwhile, in the WWE, there have been a number of Jewish professional wrestlers. There have been big names in WWE recently that have been Jewish such as Goldberg, Paul Heyman and Randy Savage. It makes me proud to watch it knowing there has been strong participation from Jewish athletes.

UJS and Sports In April 2022, I played in the Birmingham v Leeds JSoc match. All of the players involved headed down to Leeds by coach and it was a fantastic day out. We ended up winning 2-1 in a tight and well-contested matchup and I felt a lot of pride playing at right back for a large portion of the game.

Representing my JSoc and University at the same time felt like a lot of responsibility, which is why the game was so competitive.

Over the 22/23 academic year, there were other fixtures across universities as Birmingham hosted both Leeds and Nottingham for football matches. As well as this, Birmingham and Nottingham competed in a netball match, which resulted in £1117 being raised for The Oli Leigh Trust.

Everyone should feel welcome and included in sport, but historically this hasn’t always been the case for Jews. Therefore, I’m looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for the 23/24 academic year in terms of sports, as UJS looks to go bigger and better in terms of student involvement.

AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 23

Hole-y Food Taliah Hammell How did the bagel go from being a niche Jewish delicacy to becoming a staple of every hipster brunch restaurant and the star of the packed lunch? The doughy and soft interior contrasts with the chewy exterior, making the bagel stand out from your average supermarket bread roll. Often found served underneath a healthy dollop of cream cheese, fresh smoked salmon and dill the impact of the bagel on modern culinary culture is significant.

While this baked good has become mainstream, the bagel’s interesting, contested and significant history is lesser known.

There’s a (w)hole lot under the surface.

What is a Bagel?

A bagel is a type of bread that is boiled before it is baked and fashioned into a ring shape, normally by hand, with a hole in the middle. The unique way of cooking this bread is what gives it the special texture and what differentiates it from other breads and baked goods. To make a bagel, you will need fast action dried yeast, strong white flour, light brown soft sugar, oil, bicarbonate of soda, egg whites and optional seeds. Alternatively, you can purchase a bag of bagels for a few quid in Grodz or any competitors in Golders Green.

Jewish Connection Through Food It is no secret that food is an important part of Jewish life. Many Jews of all denominations use food to connect with their Judaism religiously as well as with their Jewish identity culturally. It’s customary to use certain foods at different chagim (festivals) to symbolise messages of learning. On Rosh Hashanah (New Year) we eat apple and honey to represent our hope for a sweet, healthy and prosperous new year. During Passover, many families eat bitter herbs and hard-boiled eggs in salt water at the Seder to symbolise the hard work and tears of our ancestors who were enslaved in Egypt. Many also do not eat leavened bread during this time.

It’s also customary to eat latkes, donuts 24 ALEPH | AUTUMN 2023

and other food fried in oil on Chanukah to symbolise the oil in the temple that miraculously burned for longer than it should.

Culturally, Jews might eat different foods to their non-Jewish friends and co-workers. At the first sign of a sore throat or cold, matriarchs will often make homemade chicken soup nicknamed ‘Jewish penicillin’, which is perceived to heal all and any illness. Many Jews will follow the laws of kashrut in their daily lives, bringing an assortment from the local kosher deli for lunch with some potentially smelly gefilte fish. More observant Jews will bless all the food they eat. Eating is a key way in which Jews can be Jews.

With this in mind, let’s take a dive into the Jewish history of the bagel, a seemingly inconspicuous food with a rich history…

The History Food historian Maria Balinska’s book ‘The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread’, fascinatingly explores the history of the bagel. In it she discusses the different theories of the bagel’s origin. One theory is that bagels originated in 1683 when a Viennese baker crafted a pastry in a similar shape to the bagel we know today in honour of King Jan Sobieski of Poland. The king was rumoured to have loved horses so, the pastry was named after the German word for a stirrup, beugel.

Balinska considers theories that trace the bagel’s origins further back to the fourteenth century and a type of soft pretzel brought to Poland by Jewish German immigrants. This theory sees the soft pretzel morph into the popular ovwarzanek. She also discusses an even older theory which traces bagels back to medieval Europe where church officials and local nobles often forbade Jews from baking the holy bread used for the eucharist. The bagel was the Jews’ alternative.

While origins of the bagel are disputed, they were and continue to be an important aspect of Jewish life and cuisine.

Bagels in the Mainstream Bagels remained a staple in Poland for generations, yet they were considered a niche delicacy until they were popularised in America by Polish immigrants in the nineteenth century. The prevalence of the bagel in modern pop culture is testament to the increasing popularity of the bagel. National Bagel Day marked on 15th of January each year is a chance for restaurants dedicated to the art of the bagel to thrive. Evening Standard reported in 2017 that on National Bagel Day, London boasted the UK’s first bagel burger at London Bagel Co.’s food truck. You can even do a BuzzFeed quiz to find out what type of bagel you are!

Conclusion The global recognition of the bagel as a staple food is a feat that the early Jewish bakers couldn’t have imagined. The seemingly everyday bagel, or what Josh Barrie liked to call ‘a culinary icon of Jewish delis’ has a long history not only in its origins but also in the way Jews use food to connect with their Judaism. Something to think about next time you take a bite of your smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel.

The Losh Meet the JSoc Presidents

Highlighting just a few of our brilliant volunteers from across the country at JSocs big and small - they can’t wait to meet you soon!

Joel Herman, Leeds Course: History and Spanish

Jason Gardner, Liverpool

Best JSoc memory: JSoc Ball 2023

Course: Physics with Astophysics

What are you most looking forward to this year?: Meeting all the new freshers and having lots of new events, specifically interfaith and Israel events!

Best JSoc memory: Listening to a rabbi give a lecture about self driving cars and the relevance of Halacha (honestly fascinating, I recommend!)

When you’re not at JSoc where can you be found?: Brotherton Library

When you’re not at JSoc where can you be found?: Getting a drink at The Black Cat or in the social centre playing DND

Favourite sandwich and why: Salt Beef sandwich with mustard, lettuce and pickles (sometimes with a cheeky splash of Mild Perinaise). Jewish heritage!

Yaara Sagi, Brunel

Favourite sandwich and why: Chicken salad sandwich with some prawn cocktail crisps thrown on.

Ainsley Kay-Rucker, Cork

Course: Medicine

Course: MA Philosophy

Best JSoc memory: The community

Best JSoc memory: Meeting new friends!

What are you most looking forward to this year?: Getting to know everyone better!

What are you most looking forward to this year?: Freshers’ Shabbat - I can’t wait to see all the new faces and meet some new folks in the community

When you’re not at JSoc where can you be found?: Chilling with friends and travelling Favourite sandwich and why: Challah (toasted) with lots of hummus and Israeli pickles. A perfect combination that reminds me of childhood.

Zak Bond, Surrey

When you’re not at JSoc where can you be found?: The library or a cafe Favourite sandwich and why: Falafel - it reminds me of travelling with my mum. We always try to find the best one in every city we go to!

Rheannon Platman, Belfast

Course: Veterinary Medicine

Course: Anthropology and History

Best JSoc memory: First night Pesach at the Rabbi’s house

Best JSoc memory: Meeting everyone at the first ever FND I organised!

What are you most looking forward to this year?: Meeting new people and having a close-knit community

What are you most looking forward to this year?: Collaborating with the Irish JSocs

When you’re not at JSoc where can you be found?: Out on a walk with Max, the dog I met at university

When you’re not at JSoc where can you be found?: The tropical ravine at Belfast Botanical Gardens

Favourite sandwich and why: Not a big sandwich guy, but I’d go with a roast beef baguette

Favourite sandwich and why: Probably a leftover roast chicken baguette

AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 25

Which Sab Are You?

Take Our 100% FoolProof Quiz To Determine Which Sab You Are

At the weekend I can mostly be found... a) On the couch watching TV b) Exploring new places c) Hanging at the gym/enjoying a trip to the theatre d) Cycling and enjoying a pint at the local public house e) Having brunch with friends f) At the lido g) Out to brunch or at the gym h) Scrolling through Tik Tok i) Watching Spurs and checking my fantasy football

Mostly i, you’re Jacob

26 ALEPH | AUTUMN 2023

What’s your favourite random fact ? a) The Eiffel Tower gets taller in the summer b) According to a quick Google search of the best random facts, apparently Canadians say “sorry” so much that a law was passed in 2009 declaring that an apology can’t be used as evidence of admission to guilt c) Roses are red, violets are blue, my name is ____, and I am a Jew. d) You can’t face backwards on a flight of stairs e) Guy googled his random fact f) World Biryani Day is on June 26th g) Uruguay was the first country to win the world cup h) Some people say pizza was invented

by Jews! i) There is a 50% chance the world will end right now. It either is, or it isn’t.

Mostly f, you’re Dora Mostly g, you’re Emi Mostly h, you’re Guy

What’s your go-to karaoke song? a) Just Got Paid b) Anything Avril Lavigne c) Before He Cheats d) Keep On Movin’ e) Gotta Go My Own Way f) Sky Full Of Stars g) Barbie Girl or Sk8er Boy h) Cruel Summer i) I Want It That Way

The best Jewish experience I have ever had is... a) Israel Tour b) A tisch whilst living on Kibbutz Lavi in year 9, singing with my friends and hearing the stories of others. c) Riding a camel on Israel tour, although I felt bad for the camel d) Eating my first cholent and kugel kiddish at shul e) Israel tour f) The Shabbat morning service at UJS Convention g) Teaching all of my non-Jewish friends the dance to ‘Moshiach’ and then all doing it together at a party h) UJS Convention, obvs i) When I led RSY summer camp in 2019

Favourite thing about your time in university ? a) Jewish life b) Spending long days and late nights at the library with my friends and living with some of my best friends. c) Gym fwends. d) Going out for coffee with a side of library e) Making up for not going out after 2 years of covid uni f) Wild swimming in the Peak District g) Living with my friends h) When covid restrictions ended i) A running club trip to the Peak Distict - I also hosted a pub quiz for 40 people on it afterwards!

Find and Follow your Sab on Instagram!

If you got: Mostly c, you’re Taliah Mostly a, you’re Matty Mostly d, you’re Ed Mostly b, you’re Alison Mostly e, you’re Sarah

You get home after a long day how do you unwind ? a) Watch TV, anything from F1, The Traitors, Eurovision or I’m A Celeb b) Listening to Harry Styles c) Sing in the shower d) Watching the cricket with a nature valley bar e) Greys Anatomy and peppermint teayes I am a grandma f) Watch the West Wing g) Depending on the day I will either go to the gym or simply flop on the sofa h) Sit i) Immediately go for a run

Would You Rather... with Adi and Linoy, the UJS Shlichot!

Travel forward or back in time?

Adi: Travel back in time Linoy: Travel back in time - there are so many cool events I would want to witness myself Be the funniest or cleverest in the room?

Adi: Funniest Linoy: Funniest Only ever be hot or cold?

Adi: Be cold - Even thought I’m Israeli, we’re so accustomed to having either the air conditioning or the beach that not having one is a problem for us Linoy: Only ever be hot Give up swearing or ice cream for 12 years?

Adi: Swearing??? I don’t know how it’s possible to live without ice cream.

Linoy: Give up swearing. Ice cream is too good.

Only go outside during the day or the night?

Adi: During the day - even though one of my favourite things in the world is to take a walk in Jerusalem at night.

Linoy: During the day - I love the sun!

Always be 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late?

Adi: Always early. I hate to be late.

Linoy: Early better than late Toes for fingers or fingers for toes?

Adi: I don’t like this question... fingers for toes..

Linoy: Fingers for toes so I could still open doors.

Fight 100 horse sized ducks or 1 duck sized horse?

Adi: Horse sized ducks. I feel like a duck sized horse would be too cute, and I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Linoy: One duck sized horse

Follow them on instagram (or instush) @ujs.shlichot

Walk to work in heels or drive in reverse?

Adi: Walk to work in heels Linoy: Drive in reverse Live in a cave or a treehouse?

Adi: A treehouse. It was my dream as a child.

Linoy: Treehouse for the view Always be over-dressed or under-dressed?

Adi: Overdressed for sure Linoy: I think overdressed? So I could take it off if I am hot?

Scan the QR code below to acces our digital Israel Portal AUTUMN 2023 | ALEPH 27

The Aleph Crossword Anna Ritschl Ebell DOWN 1 New students joining us on campus this year (8) 2 Hebrew __ hotdogs, found at every MLB game (8) 3 Chocolate pastry delicacy (8) 4 Blessing (7) 7 Miraculous food in the desert (5) 8 Fried potato deliciousness savoured during 9 across (5) 12 Fruit traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashana (11) 13 Jewish American director of ET (9) 14 Weekly portion (8) 16 The set of laws defining what we eat (7) 18 Customary head coverings (6)

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ACROSS 1 The highlight of every Jewish student’s week (6,5,6) | 5 Citron seen on Sukkot (5) | 6 An end and a beginning, with a lot of celebration (7,5) | 9 A miracle, and a chance to enjoy fried foods (8) | 10 Rest at the end of the week (7) | 11 __, bet, gimmel (5) | 13 A long, arduous journey (6) | 15 UJS supports over 70 of them across the country (4) | 17 Jewish scientist, Rosalind __ (8) | 19 Biblical shepherd with the preferred sacrifice (4) | 20 Medieval French Rabbi (5) | 21 Murderous farmer, twin of 19 across (4)

With thanks to the contributors: Adi Peled | UJS Senior Shlicha Adrian Cohen | UJS President 1985-86 Alison Renton | UJS Interfaith and Social Action Officer Anna Ritschl Ebell | Cambridge JSoc Agne Kniuraite | Dublin JSoc Ainsley Kay-Rucker | Cork JSoc Alex Guy Sandler | LSE JSoc David Fiorentini | UGEI President Dora Hirsh | UJS Jewish Enrichment & Engagement and Inclusion Officer

Edward Isaacs | UJS President Eli Sassoon | Nottingham JSoc Emi Sinclair | UJS Campaigns Officer Guy Dabby-Joory | UJS Head of Campaigns Ianna Rosa | Cork JSoc Jacob Bernstein | UJS Membership Engagement Officer Jason Gardner | Liverpool JSoc Joel Herman | Leeds JSoc Linoy Barokas | UJS Shlicha

Macy Hall | Bath Spa JSoc Matty Fisher | Digital Engagement Officer Noah Katz | Lancaster JSoc Rhian Soulsby-Cole | City JSoc Rheannon Platman | Belfast JSoc Sarah Wilks | UJS Head of Programming Taliah Hammell | UJS Mental Health Awareness Officer Yara Sagi | Brunel JSoc Zach Smerin | Oxford JSoc Zak Bond | Surrey JSoc

All views expressed in this publication represent those of the contributors and are not those of the Union of Jewish Students.