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PUBLISHED EVERY ROSH HODESH

Iyar 5768 - 5/5-6/08

Zionism in America

Author Picture Yom Huledet Sameah! By Alisha Deluty
KOC Assistant Editor
JTS / Columbia University
  Every year for as long as I can remember, I have attended the Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Whether it was a rainy or sunny day, I excitedly stood across from Central Park and waved to friends, family and strangers from schools, synagogues, camps and other organizations as they marched down the street.

Author Picture Tangible Links By Yael Langer
Smith College
  When my best friend from college came to visit for spring break, our first stop was Carmel, the local Middle Eastern food store. We ignored the lure of a sunny day in Central Park or a walk along Broadway in favor of a quick cultural trip I had been excited about for a few weeks.

Author Picture Beyond the Pita, Beyond the Hummus By Bara Levitt
JTS / Columbia University
  I am a Zionist! I am also, among other things, a woman, an American, a member of the Jewish people and a student. My identity and obligations are complicated, layered and often interconnected.

Author Picture Seeing Israel through Someone Else's Eyes By Rabbi Elyse Winick
KOACH Associate Director
  It's remarkable how many things imprint themselves upon your soul forever. To this day, my heart aches a little when I think about whether or not I'm a Zionist. If I'm living here, can I really earn that appellation?

Author Picture

Culture Corner
Token Jew By Alyssa Appelman
KOC Editor
University of Missouri   By the end of high school, I was fed up with the overwhelming role Judaism and the tight-knit community played in my life. Everyone knew or was related to everyone else, and my world felt quite small. Through my own rebellion, I turned down acceptances to Brandeis and Wash. U. and instead chose Mizzou, with the great journalism school and the tiny Hillel.

Campus Update
Rutgers University / Syracuse University By Ariella Gutin / Jillian Zarem
KOACH Interns   Check out what's been happening at Rutgers University and Syracuse University!

Joke

Meat Shortage...a morality tale for anyone who's ever waited in line for falafel in Tel Aviv. (Read More...)

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Meet the Staff - Bios & Photos

Index to KOACH Humor - Jewish Jokes
 

 

2006 Winter birthright Israel

2006 KOACH Kallah
2007 Winter birthright Israel
2007 KOACH Kallah
(View more photos...)

The KOACH Faculty Program

The KOACH Faculty can enhance Jewish life on your campus with an enriching Shabbat experience. KOACH will connect your campus with a recently ordained Conservative rabbi or a senior rabbinical student.

Together we will plan a Shabbat filled with ruach (spirit), Jewish learning and exploration. The faculty can even help you with the organizational planning to energize the Conservative Jewish community on your campus. This past year campuses as diverse as UCLA, Arizona, Duke, Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Florida State and others have benefited from the KOACH Faculty program.

These visits have been a programming highlight for campuses without a strong Conservative presence. Where Conservative Jewish life is already vibrant, the KOACH Faculty is a wonderful addition to a wonderful year, helping to raise the community to the next level. (Learn more...)

Israel on Campus

KOACH is a proud member of the Israel on Campus Coalition.  www.israeloncampuscoalition.org

 

Stay Informed - Stay Entertained

Join the KOACH-ON-CAMPUS e-zine mailing list.

 

Our Mission Statement...

KOACH provides college-age students the opportunity to maintain and develop connections to Conservative Judaism.

KOACH nurtures a love of Torah, the Jewish people, Israel and God through a variety of activities, including social, religious, educational, cultural and social action programs. We seek to create a passionate Jew who is committed to the future of the Jewish people and the improvement of the world.

KOACH Shabbat

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways....Count the Jewish ways with KOACH at this year's KOACH Shabbat, November 7-8, 2008. A Seal Upon Your Heart: Love and Romance in the Jewish Tradition offers a special opportunity to explore relationships and frame them in uniquely Jewish terms. Study materials will be available...or perhaps you'd like a rabbinical student to spend Shabbat on your campus. Click here to learn more.

The MAROM Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice Academic Program

The Conservative Movement presents....a new study abroad option! A special track at Ben Gurion University in Sustainable Development, presented in cooperation with the Masorti Movement. Click here for an application and details!

Omer Counter

The liberation of Pesah is aptly framed by receiving the Torah – freedom isn't chaos, but the right to live your life guided by a more powerful Master. Count down to commandedness with our handy Omer counter, from the second night of Pesah onward. Number your days in a way that fills them with meaning.

Happy Birthday Israel!

Happy Birthday, dear Israel! Our beloved homeland is 60 years young this year. Join the party! Visit www.israelanniversary.org for program ideas, special prayers and more. Yom Huledet Sameah!

KOACH's New Two Minute Torah Podcast!

Got Two Minutes? Get some Torah! Click here for KOACH's weekly words of Torah, with guest teachers from throughout the Conservative Movement. This is your weekly parashah preview! Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes, listen right now or download the MP3 for later. One who studies Torah is as if they uphold they entire world. Midrash Mishlei (Proverbs) 9:1

Know an Incoming College Freshman?

USCJ's KOACH program and Hillel are working together to help students make the transition from high school to college.

Tell KOACH! The Center for Conservative Judaism on Campus and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life where the student is going to college and he or she will receive an invitation to an opening event at Hillel as well as information on KOACH programming and conferences: http://hillel.kintera.org/koachcollegechoice.

USCJ Stand on Darfur

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has recently voted in favor of targeted divestment in Sudan as a means of bringing pressure on the Sudanese government, in the hopes of halting the genocide there. Read the USCJ resolution here and explore ways of making a difference here or here.

Campus Conservative Minyan Leadership

Check out this new discussion group for Conservative minyan leadership on university campuses.

Jewish Job Listings

Looking for a job for next year? Your Jewish community needs you! Click here to explore our growing list of job opportunities, updated regularly.

Israel Resources

Our hearts are in the East...but in the meantime, visit our new Israel Resource page, with information on travel and study in Israel, updates on the political scene and links to other sites with helpful resources.

The KOACH Program Bank

Photos from a Pesah 2007 Chocolate Seder!

Our new program bank is up and running. Click here to access successful programs ranging from Bedouin tent night to Interfaith Shabbat to Passover Ironchef. Feel free to submit a program as well!

KOACH Educational Materials

Conflict is a point of tension for each of us, but that doesn't mean it can't yield positive results. Learn about what Jewish tradition has to say regarding conflict and conflict resolution with this month's study packet and discover creative methodologies for individuals, communities and, dare we suggest, even nations. Learn more from our newest Study Packet, by Matt Plen of the Conservative Yeshiva. Download Download Jewish Conflict Resolution

USCJ Podcasts, Audio and Video Files

You've got a computer. You've got an iPod. Now put them to good, Jewish use at USCJ's new site of a collection of podcasts. Learn more.

Choosing a College...

It's an important decision for your family. KOACH has teamed up with our partners at Hillel to help make this choice a little easier.

The Guide to Jewish Life on Campus provides you and with access to university and Hillel Web sites, the percentage of Jewish students on campus, and the rich array of extracurricular opportunities for Jewish students of all backgrounds. The guide is searchable by region, by student population size, or type of school.

No other resource provides all of this information in one place. Visit www.hillel.org/guide for more information.

MERCAZ and Aliyah News

Curious about life in Israel? Click www.linktoisrael.org to learn more. Concerned about strengthening Zionist connections? Click www.mercazusa.org to learn more.

Visit www.aliyah.org and www.israelprograms.org for exciting Israel opportunities.

Get a Job

KOACH maintains a listing of job openings in the Jewish community.

  • Students, if you're looking for a position, click here

  • Synagogues, to have a position listed, click here.

Jewish Calendars
http://www.uscj.org/images/5yrcal20062011.pdf

http://www.hebcal.com/


Shabbat on Campus

Candle-lighting times...

Torah and Haftarah Study...

Support Our Work...

KOACH needs your financial support. KOACH Tribute Cards are available to send in honor of a wedding or bar/bat mitzvah or in memory of a friend. Click here to buy a package of Tribute Cards. Your purchase includes a donation to KOACH.

Creative Grants

KOACH is designed as a partnership combining your energy, ideas, and creativity and our resources. We have established the KOACH CREATIVE GRANTS PROGRAM for campuses throughout North America and Israel, in order to help fund innovative projects developed through student initiative. (Read more...)

Reading material...

Building a basic Jewish library

Keep in Touch

We've compiled a list of Jewish contacts at campuses across North America. (Learn more...)

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