Blog Archives

May Issue: Jewish Diversity in LA

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Chabad of Los Angeles celebrates Simchat Torah on the streets of the city. Photo: ericrichardson, via Flickr

Chabad of Downtown LA celebrates Simchat Torah on the streets of the city. Eric Richardson, via Flickr

We proudly present our fourth, and final, issue this semester! This month, we bring to you a special series on Jewish diversity in Los Angeles, in which our reporters examine the variety of Jewish ethnicities and cultures (not to mention hummus types!) within our city. Don’t forget to read our school news, monthly columns and Cymbals section as well!

As always, we encourage you to comment (non-anonymously) on any of our pieces. It has been our pleasure bringing you the Casiano Magazine this semester, and we wish everyone the best of luck on finals and a terrific summer!

Yours truly, Sara Gold and the Casiano Magazine staff

In this month’s issue:

NEWS:

  1. A Few Words About the Class of 2013 - Shoshana Kozaski
  2. Casino Casiano Gala - Brittany Domb
  3. ASAJU Elections - Karen Avraham
  4. Lounge for Undergrads in Progress - Sara Gold
  5. Politics of Food Projects – Nicole Horowitz
  6. Model UN Travels to San Francisco – Shane Surrey

JEWISH DIVERSITY IN LA:

  1. AJU Journalists Discover LA’s Best Hummus (WITH VIDEO) - Alex Student and Jonathan Schwartz
  2. Independence Day Festival Showcases Israeli Culture in LA - Karin Ziv and Shoshana Kozaski
  3. Persian Immersion at AJU – Brittany Domb
  4. Russian Jews Call West Hollywood Home - Fay Milman
  5. PODCAST on Latino Jews – Alex Student and Jonathan Schwartz

COLUMNS:

  1. Save the Starving Student – Megan Miller
  2. Young Yentas

CYMBALS:

  1. Poetry – William Yeats, Yoni Toker
  2. “The Meditater’s Prison” – Nathan Sunshine

AJU Graduates Largest Group of Undergrads in Seven Years

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By Shoshana Kozaski

American Jewish University's 63rd Commencement Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 19.

American Jewish University’s 63rd Commencement Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 19.

On May 19, 2013, 37 seniors – the undergraduate college’s largest graduating class since 2006 – will be completing their undergraduate careers and taking their final steps into adulthood.

View the graduation invite, with the full list of graduates.

Although the AJU bubble will pop, what AJU has taught us has permeated our existence. This year’s graduating class is vastly characterized by spirit, ambition, leadership and, of course, a little bit of anxieties about the world to come.

The AJU eagerness, as I like to call it, stems from our desire to collaborate and communicate in hopes of creating meaningful relationships and a better world. When reflecting upon the distinctive kind of education that has shaped the way in which we live out our daily lives, I can’t help but mention that the students at AJU have a spirit truly unlike any other. Read more »

Casino Casiano Brings Fun and Games

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By Brittany Domb

Attendees pressed their luck while playing poker, black jack, and roulette. Photo: Shoshana Kozaski,

Attendees pressed their luck while playing poker, black jack and roulette. Photo: Shoshana Kozaski

On Saturday, April 27, students and guests were treated to a night of fun, courtesy of the annual ASAJU gala fundraiser for student scholarships.

Each gala in years past has had a different theme, and this year’s was Casino Casiano. (Fun fact: they have had this theme several times, at least once in the ’90s, as well as in 2007!)

ASAJU worked hard this past semester to make this eventful night happen. Treasurer Andrew Gregg stated that $3,500, a little more than one-third of the ASAJU budget, was allotted for the gala.

Tickets were originally $12 each, but the day before the event, the price was reduced to two tickets for $12.  About 80 people attended, including university president Robert Wexler. Read more »

Role Model United Nations

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From left to right: J. Dix, S. Forshner, E. Aviksis, M. Amar, K. Ziv, M. Kreymer, J. Rostovsky, Y. Aleksandrovich, C. Bloom, M. Kamenetsky, TBD, M. Miller and Professor Brian Goldberg attended the 2013 Model UN Conference in San Francisco from April 19-23. Photo courtesy of Karin Ziv.

From left to right: J. Dix, S. Forshner, E. Aviksis, M. Amar, K. Ziv, M. Kreymer, J. Rostovsky, Y. Aleksandrovich, C. Bloom, M. Kamenetsky, M. Rybnikov, M. Miller and Professor Brian Goldberg attended the 2013 Model UN Conference in San Francisco from April 19-23. Photo courtesy of Karin Ziv

By Shane Surrey

From April 19-23, AJU students participated in the Model United Nations conference in San Francisco. The conference was hosted by Model United Nations of the Far West (MUNFW), which was first founded in 1950.

The Model United Nations is an event where students step into the shoes of ambassadors from various nations and discuss global politics. Each school is assigned at least one country with a set of standardized values and issues that arise from their region. The students use this information to collaborate with allies and negotiate with enemies of their state.

These conferences can vary from just 20 students to hundreds. Real UN ambassadors even attend these conferences to learn possible new grounds of negotiation. Read more »

Jewish Diversity in LA – Stop and Smell the Hummus WITH VIDEO

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By Alex Student

On April 25, the Digital Journalism class at American Jewish University gathered at their regular meeting time to participate in a group reporting assignment. A few years ago, the newspaper staff travelled to Fairfax Avenue and provided an in-depth look at this LA neighborhood. But this year, not only did we venture out into LA, we also brought LA to us…in the form of hummus!

Hummus was brought in from three LA restaurants that are known for their hummus: Sunnin in Westwood, Haifa in West Los Angeles and Nagila, which is just a few blocks west of Haifa.

The 13 journalism students sampled the different types of hummus in a blind taste test fashion; only Professor Gordon Haber knew which ones were which.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

Read more »