Hanukka and the 'Sylvester'

Hanukka was in the air. Here in Israel, the bakeries were filled with donuts, the supermarkets strategically placed chocolate coins in every checkout lane, and I heard latkes sizzling in my dorm's kitchen. Bar-Ilan, where I study, stopped classes early every day to let students go home and light the menorah. There were events on campus every night, and when I stayed late at work in the Student Union, the bookkeeper lit candles in his office. It was the Hanukka I always dreamed of; I celebrated with the whole country.

And yet, something was missing.

As I wrote this blog post on December 25, I was filled with Jewish guilt. Less than a month after I wrote about being proud of living a country with holidays and a heritage I feel personally connected to, I find myself debating that exact topic.

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The truth is inconvenient in Israel too

Growing up, I was always taught to care about the environment. Going green is definitely a part of American popular culture. As a child, I watched "Captain Planet," a television show about a superhero who foiled the plots of polluters. "Litterbug" was the last thing you wanted to be called on the playground. The local government required that families separate paper, plastic and glass when they took out the trash. Everyone knows what the "recycle" symbol looks like, because they went to Earth Day assemblies in school.

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Thanksgiving is not my holiday

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving in America. I started thinking about what Thanksgiving is all about while I was working at my part-time job, rather than having the weekend off. Growing up, the fourth Thursday in November meant two things to me: waking up early to watch the parade on TV, and getting ready to bargain-shop the next day.

Some years, my sister and I would go to see the latest blockbuster movie. If I was celebrating with my mother's side of the family, we'd get together in the evening for dinner at our favorite deli in Manhattan. If I was celebrating with my father's side, we'd go to my grandmother's house to eat a more traditional Thanksgiving meal in the early afternoon - that was catered by our favorite deli in New Jersey.

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The constant threat of uni strikes

For the past three years, university students in Israel have not been able to complete their degrees uninterrupted.

In 2006, there was the Second Lebanon War, in which many students, who also serve as reserve soldiers, fought. In October of that year, the Ministry of Education and the Treasury formed the Shochat Committee, which was meant to find a cure for Israeli higher education's numerous ailments. When the Committee recommended that tuition be raised in 2007, the National Union of Israeli Students called a strike. Students around the country blockaded the entrances to university campuses, and even those who opposed the strike were not able to get to class. Last year, senior professors did not teach until February, demanding a raise in their salaries and better working conditions. Israeli students had three semesters: one in which only junior professors taught, one for classes taught by senior professors, and one with both. The third semester ended in August, cutting into students' summer vacation.

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Yes we can (stop talking about Obama)

Two weeks have passed since the elections in the United States, but here on campus, it seems like they were only yesterday. Yes, Obamania has hit Bar-Ilan University with a vengeance.

Granted, the president-elect's policies will affect Israel, but Israelis seem to have a fascination with American politics that transcends their own national interests. It seemed that people cared more about Obama-McCain than the municipal elections that took place in Israel a week later. Even if Israel proclaims itself to be the fifty-first state, this is a bit much.

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Deciding on a college path

Flashback to eleventh grade: All around me, my classmates panicked, going on college visits around the country, while I stuck with the few that were close to home (Penn, Princeton, Columbia and Rutgers). In twelfth grade, while my friends wrote essay after essay on "Why I want to study at [insert school-name here]," I applied to four schools (see list above), all of which, even the Ivy Leagues, I considered back-up plans. My college advisor didn't know what to do with me; how could such a dedicated student be so lazy when it came to applying to college?