Image by Hillel at UCLA / Facebook

By Alexandra Kukoff December 27, 2016

We certainly have to take steps to defend our identity against the BDS activism that percolates across many college campuses, but rather than hiding behind faces of nonchalance and indifference, our Jewish students work that much harder to connect with resources on campus to change the narrative.

As someone deaf in one ear, I was initially hesitant to explore our campus’ boisterous Hillel, but when I did, I was surprised — and pleased — to find a variety of introspective, spiritual services available to Jews of all creed and political affiliation. It’s these Jewish students who regularly get involved in community outreach events, baking challah for underprivileged Jews through Challah for Hunger, discussing the weekly Torah portion over delicious kosher cuisine through Parsha and Pizza, and spouting ruach through Chillel Coffeehouse. Plus, regular lectures with faculty in UCLA’s Israeli studies program and Holocaust survivors ensure none of our Jewish students forget what they’re here for, and Jewish Learning Fellowships are offered regularly throughout the year which concentrate more on the intellectual aspects of our rich history, artistry, and philosophy.

The influence of UCLA’s richly varied Jewish life truly made itself apparent to me at my sorority. At Theta Pi — UCLA’s chapter of the national Tri Delta (which finds its roots in Christian ideology) — I taught my sisters the story of Chanukah at our annual holiday party and found that all of them were eager to boast Dreidels and gelt in their Santafied selfies.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Even better, I connected with a girl I’d never known particularly well over our shared Judaism. I’d confided in her sheepishly that until I got involved, I’d thought I was the only Jewish girl in our sorority.

“Really?” she’d exclaimed. “Me too!”

And I never would have realized it — or all our campus’ Jewish life has to offer — had I simply accepted the public face of our university: an erroneous, inaccurate one perpetuated by the Algemeiner. To put it simply, any aspect of life is what you make of it, and Judaism is no different.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount