Bulgur Chickpea Salad 8-10 Servings  Ingredients  5/8 cup, medium bulgur1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil1/2 cup lemon juicesalt and pepper1 bunch spring onions, chopped20-ounce can chickpeas, drained5 to 6 ounces carrots, grated1 bunch parsley, finely chopped Steps Soak the bulgur wheat according to the package instructions, drain, and squeeze well to get rid of excess moisture. Beat the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix into the bulgur. Put in the bottom of a glass serving bowl. Layer ingredients in this order, bottom to top, spring onions, chickpeas, parsley and carrots. Cover and refrigerate. Toss before serving!  Almond Stuffed Chocolate Covered Dates  2 Dozen  Ingredients  1 pound dried dates3/4 cup blanched (skinless) almonds 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces3/4 cup heavy cream  Steps  Split date lengthwise 3/4ths of the way through, remove the pit, stuff each date with an almond. Press the seams together to close the date. Melt chocolate in a bowl, heat to 113°F. Remove from heat, set a warm pan over a bowl of cool water, bring the temp down to 88°F. Line the counter with wax paper, and place a cooling rack on top of the paper. Use tongs and dip each date into chocolate. Place chocolate covered dates on the cooling rack. Cool for 1 to 2 hours, or until chocolate is set. Transfer dates to a serving platter and store in the refrigerator until ready to use!

we met you in red writing, miss you in each stroller, love you in every balloon. who gets to be the poster children  of callous collateral; an unthinkable plucking of kumquats, unripe orchids  lean to you, Boys. a smile  beams through concave of baby teeth and gums that don’t know sweetness, tangerines and calcite eyes, and a promise, those marigold-colored glasses  never broke.  save us at street corners, spit in the hands of evil, teach us the color of hope. there is no heaven or hell, but i know i know i know you are raised in sunrise and cradled in sunset, Boys,  in mural and mirage,  in video and valor,  in gingerly kisses of life, may your memory be a blessing. may your memory be brought to every home.

There are some novels that sit on your bookshelf for ages without you ever understanding why. These books beg to be read, yet instead collect dust for years until one day you finally decide to flip through their pages.  The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak was one of these novels – and I desperately wish I had given it a chance sooner. Every page is beautifully woven with prose, providing both sorrow and hope in a story that will stay with me for the rest of my life.    Set during World War II, we follow the adolescent years of foster girl Liesel Meminger as she grapples with existence in Nazi Germany. Though Liesel’s specific narrative is historical fiction, this book feels as gut-punching and haunting as real life during the Holocaust. Liesel herself is not Jewish, but her circumstances soon intersect with 1940s Jewish reality when her foster family decides to hide Max Vanderburg in her basement.   Max Vanderburg is twenty-four years old when he’s forced to sacrifice everything, leaving his home and the people he loves in an attempt to survive. His Jewish identity makes every action dangerous – even walking outside could mean the end of his existence. When Liesel and her foster family hide Max, we witness a striking narrative of love and loss.   Death himself acts as the narrator of this novel, taking us through each scene and giving us a solemn glimpse of the world he has seen. Yet in this tale, Death is not some malevolent creature. Instead, he is someone who wishes the pain of humanity could subside, yet is helpless in the face of war’s horrors. In spite of his anguish, he is forced to complete his job of carrying souls away from this realm.  Zusak expertly balances the tough subject matter with shining moments of hope. With characters you root for and scenes that make the heart warm, this book affirms that there will always be kind people, even when forces of evil try to drown them out. Though I sobbed more times than I could count, I left this book finding faith in the goodness of human nature.  A key part of this book focuses on the power of literature. Liesel transforms into the titular Book Thief, stealing books that Nazi Germany has outlawed to nourish her soul. With book bannings once again on the rise, Liesel reminds us that combating bigotry starts with gaining knowledge and empathy, two key traits that can be cultivated through reading a story.  For both Jewish and non-Jewish individuals alike, The Book Thief  should be at the top of your reading list. It will make you feel through soaring prose and engaging characters. It will help you understand the past so that such atrocities will never be repeated in the future. And it will offer you a story that will nestle close to your heart and transform your world.        Don’t make the same mistake as I did and let this suggestion collect dust: read The Book Thief as soon as you can. It may just change your life forever.

A few months ago, I had the honor of interviewing George Rusznak. George is many things: husband, father, businessman, and he’s also a holocaust survivor. Throughout our interview, three main themes emerged: fear, hate, and hope. In this three-part mini essay series, I plan to explore each of these through the lens of George’s story in contrast with what we as a Jewish community are facing today, continuing in part two with hate. Hate is an interesting emotion to grapple with. I think sometimes people use the word “hate” when they’re experiencing big and strong negative emotions that they don’t necessarily have a word for at the moment. Hate is one of those words that rolls off the tongue so easily, but we don’t always take the time to really process what it means. The interesting thing about hate is it’s much more damaging to the person feeling it than whatever it’s directed at. This is one of the many lessons I took away from my conversation with George. After the war came to a close, many Jewish families tried to return to the homes they previously owned. However, when George and his family tried to go back to their apartment, they found a Hungarian couple who were given their home because of their membership in the Arrow Cross Party, the Hungarian equivalent of the German Nazi Party. It’s important to note that the members of the Arrow Cross were the willing instruments of the Nazis in the implementation of the Final Solution in Hungary. Of course, this living arrangement was extremely tense and uncomfortable.  This would be a lot for anyone to process, let alone a little boy. Imagine the one place you’re supposed to be the safest, and having to share it with people who played a role in a mass genocide of your people.   I asked George if he hated having these people in his home. If he hated the presence of anyone who could’ve even played a slight role in what happened to the Jewish people. He told me one day, frustrated by their presence in his home, he was talking to his mother about it and he said “Mom I just hate them”. George was only six years old at the time, so he has little memory of this conversation with his mom. However, years later as a teenager, the two discussed it again and George’s mom reminded him of what she said.  She told him that hate will slowly kill you. Having hatred inside you we’ll eat away at you until there’s nothing left. Hate is what will destroy you faster than any other person can. For you’re only hurting yourself by hating them.  George noted that his “own ideas about hate and how to process that emotion came much later in life when I was trying to learn and comprehend what made human beings inhumane toward others”.  This aspect of my conversation with George made me think a lot about hate and the role it plays in my life. I think hate is such an easy but destructive emotion to let ourselves fall into. It’s so natural to want to hate the people who have hurt us, to hate the fact that our history is filled with bloodshed and tragedy. It makes so much sense that hate would come so naturally, but it’s the strength that’s required to push back against hate that makes us who we are.  For us today at UCSB, I see so much hate seeping into the cracks of our Jewish community. Hatred for what happened last year on campus, hatred for the discrimination we have to face from our peers, and hatred for watching so much of the world slowly turn against us once again. But as George’s mother said, harboring hate does damage to no one but yourself.  Immensely easier said than done, but we as a community and as a people have overcome time and time again throughout our entire history. Something as futile as hate will not be what destroys us and it’s within our power to not let it control who we are.

Here are a few simple and yummy comfort foods and desserts to make for a chilly week of classes or a fun night of baking with roommates lovingly brought to you by my grandma all the way in New Jersey!   Blintze Souffle 16-24 frozen blintzes ½ lb. butter or margarine, melted 8 eggs, slightly beaten ½ C sugar 2 tsp. Vanilla  ½ tsp. Salt 1 C orange juice 1 pint sour cream Put blintzes in 9” x 13” dish and pour mixture of remaining ingredients over them. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve plain or with fruit. Apple Cake (parve) 2-3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp cinnamon  3 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder  2 cups sugar  1 cup oil ¼ cup orange or pineapple juice 4 eggs Mix apples, sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Mix all other ingredients to make batter using spoon. Pour into greased tube or bundt pan, alternating batter, apple mixture. Bake at 350 for 1 ½ hours.

What is Mishelanu? They’re the regulars you always see at the AEPi chapter house. They’re the Hebrew speakers at Chabad, who not even Rabbi Gershon can keep up with. They’re the Jewish community’s version of the Plastics. But, a long long time ago, Mishelanu was open and available to any schmuck with Stein in their last name, regardless of ethnicity or country of origin. Now, Mishelanu has become the – possibly – most exclusive club on campus, spurring other groups to try their hand at cultural unity. Thus, the Schmoozers, a newly created in-club for any and all Ashkenazim, was born. But first, what led to Mishelanu’s sudden exclusivity? The story goes that past president Eman Bareket returned from a Mishelanu camping trip, stating “Man, f*** this s***! Someone got mad at me for speaking Hebrew yesterday. Mishelanu is all Israeli now.” This sentiment was carried on by current co-presidents Corelle Gabay and Ilai Tamari. “If I had a dollar for every time someone has approached me to say that Mishelanu is a cult, I’d have free Yetz’ Bagels till graduation,” says Corelle. The feeling was NOT shared by many Ashkenazim, such as Max Cohn, who believes that “Mishelanu admission should not be judged by the strength of [one’s] love for shawarma, but by [one’s] love for their grandmother.” In response to this public outcry, Morgan Guttman and David Bogdonavic created Shmoozers: a Mishelanu ‘equivalent’ for the oppressed white minority in the Jewish community. Best known for being the first female to win Mr. NJB, Morgan “wanted to have a space for Ashkenazi Jews to socialize and feel like they belong.” This is certainly not the case when two individuals at Hillel start smack-talking you to your face in Hebrew. Her dismay was shared by co-founder David Bogdonavic, a self-identified believer that if you “follow every girl named Sarah from the valley on Instagram… all it takes is one.” From this passion sparked the ever-growing Schmoozers. How do these clubs differ from one another? It starts in the admission process. Instead of needing to speak Hebrew, like in Mishelanu, the Schmoozers require you to recite every Shabbat prayer with a poorly pronounced ר. No more silly need to have Israeli descent either! All you need to do is name five mutual connections you have with every member through Jewish sleepaway camp. “I always thought ‘Israeli’ was an adjective given to the overly tough counselor who loves to flirt with everyone. Had no idea it was an actual place,” remarked David. Finally, the Schmoozers abandoned the preliminary stipulation of needing to chain-smoke cigarettes, opting for stoners instead… but not actual stoners cause they can quit anytime they want and marijuana is actually so much better for you than nicotine and alcohol so really everyone should start smoking weed and get off their back already! “With regards to the stoner requirement, I make no official statement” - Morgan. Besides their one-shared love for organization-sponsored coffee chats, events also differ greatly between the two clubs. Whereas Mishelanu uses their study nights at Hillel as another means to socialize, the Schmoozers set strict ‘work hours’, interrupting them only to kvetch about how cold it is in the room or leave for constant bathroom visits. Instead of hosting physically active game nights, where members are wrapped like mummies and smacked by dodgeballs, the Schmoozers have a different approach. As David put it, unprompted, “[they] treat the search for the Afikomen like it’s [they’re] Super Bowl.” Our team of correspondents believes they might actively search for matzah to eat, even when it isn’t Passover. Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention the infamous Israeli  vs. Persian cook-off, which the Ashkenazim will also enter into. “I’m not worried about the Schmoozers. I just hope we have enough salt for whatever dish they’re preparing - Ilai.” Neither club would be complete without their kickbacks! When attending Mishelanu’s parties, you can expect to hear the same, recycled Omer Adam, Eyal Golan, and Dana International songs, while Corelle and Ilai scream at each other over the music. “Ilai and I yell at each other like an old Israeli aunt and uncle,” claims Corelle. This sentiment is shared by active member Yael Pasternak, who stated “I don’t think half of the people who want to join Mishelanu are ready to see Ilai try and round up 20 Israelis, only to complete an elementary school level activity.” Add in a wide selection of 20 different Bamba flavors, chased with Arak and Tubi, and you understand the vibe that Mishelanu is going for. On the other hand, the Schmoozers prefer the rhythmic stylings of the Maccabeats, perfectly harmonized Miami Boys Choir, and infamous Jewish singer/songwriter Dan Nichols! In addition to serving their cracker of origin – the Lays Chip – they offer Manischewitz, almost entirely watered down with Kedem Grape Juice for sensitive stomachs. According to Morgan, “most of [them] are lactose intolerant… also vegan, gluten-free, and food free.” Notice she didn’t mention kosher. The Schmoozers excitedly took a stab at their very own version of the Mishelanu camping trip: an annual vacation that has spurred drama in the Jewish community for years. Instead of partaking in pretend Mossad trainings, like Mishelanu, they played pickup ultimate frisbee games, stopping every five minutes for water breaks. Mishelanu also loves to put their Tzofim experience to good use by hand-making fires, hunting and gathering, and tying knots of various sizes, or as they call it, P.O.W. practice! The Schmoozers used this time to practice their talents for the newly degendered NJB competition. And they don’t waste their time with regrettable, one-and-done hookups like Mishelanu. What they engaged in could only be properly described as an orgy. Author’s Note: Those youth group cultists are freaks in the sheets. The need for the Schmoozers is still widely controversial, with alumni like Tom Hirshfeld weighing in on the issue: “It isn’t that Mishelanu members can’t be Ashkenazi, it’s that these dumbf*** American Jews can’t be Israeli. That’s not how ethnicity works.” Still, membership is booming, with 20 active participants, and 100 different sorority girls each time who mistook it for a community service event. The Schmoozers have asked us to relay the following mission statements on a wide variety of issues… Official Statement on Mishelanu “We have absolutely no problems with Mishelanu! They’re, how do you say, Achim and… what the hell is sister in Hebrew?” Official Statement on the Middle East “We just want everyone to get along, stop being so violent, and be themselves!”   Official Statement on the IDF “It’s such a great thing for young people! Every country, that we don’t live in, should have their own IDF!” Official Statement on Keeping Kosher and Shabbat (Still heavily debated between the Modern Orthodox, the New-Age Reform, and the Uncaring Conservatives) Official Statement on the Persians We love the Persians! We still keep in touch with all of our friends from Beverly Hills! Official Statement FROM the Persians We have no clue who half these people are. They all blend together. If you’re interested in joining the Schmoozers, you can catch most of their members at Eman and Ilai’s weekly Hebrew class, in a last-ditch effort to join Mishelanu!

Prologue  Joy is not an individual feat, but rather, something inherited from the people around us. It is only fitting that Rabbi Gershon, one of the most joyous voices in our community, was raised by parents even more energetic and exuberant than himself (if you can imagine that)! His mother gained a plethora of worldly experiences, as she was born in Morocco and later moved to France for seminary. His father was a total hippie who explored places like Southeast Asia and San Francisco in the early 60s. He knows tall tales of his father, such as that time he paid $99 for a Greyhound Ticket that would take him anywhere across the U.S. for 99 days… or that time he won a game of Hollywood Stars and bought a car with the prize money. His parents met in Antwerp, Belgium and the rest is history!  Chapter 1 - Conker Ball  Gershon was born and raised in Manchester, England along with four siblings. He was the star soccer player at school, which brought him great popularity. He was also an avid reader and could fly through a 500 page book in a day. All of this reading would later make him a phenomenal storyteller, as we all know from his weekly emails. A core memory from Gershon’s childhood was the thrilling game of Conker Ball! Around his neighborhood, European horse-chestnuts (also known as conker trees) would drop seeds surrounded by a spiky shell. The objective of this game was to hide in neighbors’ gardens and chuck these sharp objects at your friends. Gershon describes Conker Ball as “not a very safe game.”  Chapter 2 - Little English Boy Comes to America  Gershon attended school in Manchester until his early teenage years. Half the day was spent on Jewish studies, and the other on secular subjects. He loved learning history and literature and continues to study these topics today. He did very well in all of his classes except for design technology. This is not apparent in his weekly emails, as they are fantastic and user-friendly. At age 15, Gershon studied in Chicago for a year. He experienced an enormous culture shock when comparing British and American ways of thinking. He admired how open-minded Americans are and was astonished by how well they could improvise and problem-solve. Meanwhile, his frustration grew with the overly cautious British attitude that he grew up with. Those British blokes never rock the bloody boat! What rubbish, innit? Total load of tosh! Surrounded by Americans, Gershon felt encouraged to try new things and go with the flow.  Chapter 3 - The Wandering Jew  In his late teenage years, Gershon was constantly on the move. After completing his program in Chicago, he attended Yeshiva in London for a year. He then spent two years back at home in Manchester, and then a year in Israel. This was a time of soul-searching and self-discovery for Gershon. He lived in the small town of Kiryat Gat, which he describes as “the armpit of Israel.” He simply could not romanticize the apartment towers, hospital, and strip mall surrounded by nothing but dirt. Though he slightly despised Kiryat Gat, Gershon enjoyed visits to Jerusalem and Chevron throughout that year. Following this, he moved to Morristown, New Jersey, and became a rabbi there. From the armpit of one nation to the armpit of another, I guess. Chapter 4 - Big Love in the Big Apple  Rabbi Gershon decided he was done living in armpits, so he moved to New York City. During this time, he was part of a program that paired up Yeshiva students with Jewish children from around the world over the phone. Gershon was a mentor for a boy who lived in San Diego. The child experienced a lot of difficulties and Gershon was able to become a brother-like figure for him. His mother was very appreciative of Gershon and set him up with a Jewish woman she knew of living in New York. On December 16th, 2016, Gershon picked Miri up in an Uber for their first date. He remembers being very nervous and letting Miri do most of the talking. Gershon liked Miri a lot and wanted to see how long this could go… and it has been going ever since! After ten dates, they got engaged and then married shortly after.  Chapter 5 - The American Riviera Gershon’s brother-in-law was the previous Chabad rabbi in Isla Vista. Due to circumstances, he moved away and needed to replace himself with someone that could look over the UCSB community. Naturally, Gershon and Miri filled this spot, and have been providing care, education, and joy for students ever since. When they first moved to Isla Vista, Chabad was very small. They lived in the Tahitian apartments on El Collegio until 2020. The family would host Shabbat dinners in their tiny living room. Now they fill an entire backyard every Friday night! Word of Miri’s delectable baked goods must have gotten out.  Chapter 6 - Raising Children in a Party Town  Gershon and Miri are the parents of three young girls. Of course raising children in Isla Vista, infamous for its enormous consumption of alcohol and affinity for dangers, is an adventure in itself. Gershon has noticed that children become resilient and aware of who they are when surrounded by a culture that is not necessarily their own. Their oldest, Muska (age 5 ½) will ask interesting questions from time to time, but has become very confident in her identity while seeing her life side-by-side with those of college students. This environment has also made Mushka socially intelligent and wanting to help others. Gershon emphasizes how important it is to prioritize family over all else. He says this is an important lesson for all of us when we write the future chapters of our lives. “No matter how busy and involved you are, your loved ones come first.” Chapter 7 - The Man, The Myth, The Legend  What is a day in the life of Rabbi Gershon? Around 6:00 am, he wakes up with the kids and enjoys breakfast with them. He gets Mushka to online school and then discusses the day with Miri. After this, he likes to meet with various students individually. Later, he typically goes to a coffee shop to get work done, such as accounting, fundraising, and writing those excellent weekly emails. When he gets back, he spends time with the kids before event planning and prep, as there is something happening at Chabad practically every night! After clean up, he likes to pop over to students’ houses in the evenings to learn and shmooze. He finds joy in every day because he spends it with the right people.  Epilogue Joy is not an individual feat, but rather, something inspired by the people around us. When we are put in a positive environment with genuine people, we absorb and share that energy. That’s why Rabbi Gershon loves fostering friendships at Chabad–he knows the connections we make will have a lasting impact on both our day-to-day and future stories. That’s why he tells us to “keep smiling,”-- so we can give someone else a reason to smile too.

January 27th was the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, marking Holocaust Remembrance Day.  Auschwitz-Birkenau was one of the most horrific camps during the Holocaust, located in Poland. Auschwitz-Birkenau had over 40 sub-camps which included forced-labor camps, concentration camps, and extermination camps. In the five years of its existence, over one million Jews from were murdered at Auschwitz, along with thousands of prisoners of war and other minorities. Masses of Jews were taken to Auschwitz via train daily where they would be victims of slavery, gruesome punishments, medical experiments, execution, among countless other cruelties. The overwhelming majority of Jews who arrived in Auschwitz would die there. Those who survived the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of the train to Auschwitz-Birkenau were separated by gender and age upon arrival. Nazi commanders would pick those who they deemed physically weaker than others and separated them, sending them to the gas chambers to die. Those who remained alive had their heads shaved, given numbered tattoos, then publicly stripped and dressed in striped uniforms. Prisoners were assigned to specific camps and barracks, and all of the belongings were taken from them upon arrival. The SS guards took every possible measure to dehumanize their prisoners and break their spirit.  Image: Prisoner Identification photos of child inmates at Auschwitz-Birkenau Source: De Agostini Editorial / Getty Images Overwork, starvation, dehydration, and sickness killed prisoners in Auschwitz-Birkenau on a daily basis. SS guards beat and tortured anybody who collapsed during labor, those who lagged during their strict daily schedules, or whoever was unfortunate to get their attention on any given day. Pregnant women were killed immediately, along with anybody who was deemed unfit to work at the camps. The Nazi’s knew that if knowledge of what they were doing at these camps was publicized, there would be international outrage. The only public knowledge of these camps came from spies or prisoners that had escaped, and the magnitude of the evil of the Nazis was not widely known until these camps were liberated and survivors were freed.  During the summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army and Allied powers achieved multiple military accomplishments, which would change the course of World War II. As Soviet soldiers came closer to camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, concentration camp commanders were ordered to evacuate their prisoners. The Nazis were frightened of their prisoners falling into enemy hands and revealing the atrocities that had been committed against them. They also hoped that their prisoners could be used as hostages to exchange for terms that would leave them in power. Adolf Hitler ordered the evacuations of all camps in January of 1945, and commanded that no prisoner be left alive in Allied Forces hands. Multiple crematories, storage spaces, and gas chambers were destroyed in an attempt by the Nazis to conceal their crimes, but they did not have enough time to destroy everything, or murder everybody left behind.  The forced evacuations from concentration camps were called the Death Marches, because anybody who was unable to keep marching would be killed on the spot, their bodies leaving behind a trail of the marches.  Tens of thousands were murdered during the marches. Those at Auschwitz who were too weak or sick to evacuate were left behind.  On January 27, 1945 the Red Army soldiers of 322 rifle division arrived in Auschwitz as they advanced through Nazi-occupied Poland. After a battle nearby in the local towns, the soldiers were able to enter Auschwitz and liberate it.  Image: Soviet soldiers interacting with prisoners of Auschwitz concentration camp, January 1944.  Source: Public Domain Soviet soldiers were shocked by what they saw at Auschwitz. General Vassily Petrenko was a Red Army general, commander of the 107th Infantry Division during World War II stated : “I who saw people dying every day was shocked by the Nazi’s indescribable hatred toward the inmates who had turned into living skeletons. I read about the Nazis’ treatment of Jews in various leaflets, but there was nothing about the Nazi’s treatment of women, children, and old men. It was at Auschwitz that I found out about the fate of the Jews.” Auschwitz-Birkenau had been the place of the death for over 1 million Jews and over 100,000 other victims deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime. Less than 7,000 people were found alive when the Red Army arrived to liberate it. Holocaust Remembrance Day is an important day to remember and honor the victims of the single largest genocide in history. It is considered a miracle by many that there were any survivors at all of the Holocaust, and survivors of these terrible atrocities should be listened to and valued as incredibly important witnesses to one of history’s darkest chapters. A few activities that can be done on this day to honor the victims of the Holocaust include visiting museums, reading books, watching documentaries, sharing survivor testimonies, attending remembrance ceremonies, promoting tolerance and education, or even something as simple as lighting a candle of remembrance.  Especially for the Jewish community, Holocaust Remembrance Day can be very emotional and traumatic. Many in our community know victims of the Holocaust, or descend from them. I urge everybody to honor this day in methods they deem best fit for their personal mental health. While it can be difficult to discuss and learn about the terrible atrocities committed during the Holocaust, the current state of the world has proven that education regarding the treatment of Jews and other minorities during the Holocaust is not only important, but essential. Educators must ensure that the Holocaust is properly taught in schools before we raise generations that can easily be doomed to repeat the past. The Institute for Historical Review (IHR) is a Holocaust denial movement created in 1978 by Willis Carto and David McCalden. In 2009, the IHR decided to switch focus from Holocaust denial (due to what they claimed was an ‘outdated’ topic) to opposing ‘Jewish-Zionist Power’. The IHR is based out of California and continues to fuel antisemitic tropes to this day. While those reading this article will be incredibly unlikely to deny the existence of the Holocaust in history, it is highly likely that you have encountered people in your day to day life who are Holocaust deniers. The spread of antisemitic tropes and Holocaust denial has only grown in the past two decades, as the internet and social media becomes the primary platform for historical and political debate. Antisemitic groups (like the IHR, KKK, the National Front, Hamas, etc.) have found countless opportunities to spread antisemitism through social media. It is common for these groups to influence politics and education through donations and financial support via front groups, individual benefactors, or disguised funds, in hopes of promoting ideological objectives - and if they can reach governments and universities, they can reach the phone or computer screens of almost anybody on earth. According to a poll conducted by The Economist  in December of 2023, 1 in 5 Americans between the ages of 18-29 believe the Holocaust is was a myth. Following the October 2023 Hamas terror attacks against civilians in Israel, an ADL survey  conducted this month found that nearly half of the world’s adult population hold antisemitic beliefs (46%). This global antisemitic attitude is close to that of Nazi Germany and Eastern Europe prior to the Holocaust, which is estimated by historians to have been around 40-60% of the population. As the world embraces the digital age, social media is a tool that can easily be used to gain power and spread hate. The fact that Holocaust denial is so rampant in modern day while there are still Holocaust survivors alive is a deeply concerning trend, and in order to promise a better future it must be a worldwide priority to prevent hate and misinformation campaigns from gaining popularity and power online and elsewhere. History has proven time and time again that when those full of hate gain power, tragedy follows.

A few months ago, I had the honor of interviewing George Rusznak. George is many things: husband, father, businessman, and he’s also a Holocaust survivor. Throughout our interview, three main themes emerged: fear, hate, and hope. In this three-part mini-essay series, I plan to explore each of these through the lens of George’s story in contrast with what we as a Jewish community are facing today, beginning with fear. One of the first things George told me is when he was growing up he remembers three things above all else. He was “cold, scared, and hungry”. He remembers feeling these things all the time and having such fear ingrained in you from such a young age, yet he survived and created a life worth living. I hope the stories of George's that I’ll share can be a reminder to persevere even in the harshest conditions.   One piece of George’s story that has stuck with me since our interview was a specific moment about his mother. When he was six years old, George became very ill and needed medicine, but of course, resources were quite slim in those times. His neighbor, who would help look after George and his sister, said that he needed medicine or he would die. She tried to force a homemade brew down his throat to ease his symptoms, but George couldn't keep it down. George's mother courageously went out when she wasn’t supposed to, in areas she wasn’t supposed to to try to find medicine for George.  She was caught and arrested the first time she attempted this, but she managed to escape. The next night she tried again, also to be caught. However, she managed to escape for the second time and returned with the medicine for George. He shared that he “probably would have died without that [the medicine]”. Throughout all of George’s stories, one theme seems to ring true, which is his mother‘s bravery and determination to keep her children alive during the holocaust. I feel this is a testament to what a mother’s love is and how it knows no bounds. George shared: “While I never learned the details of how she did it, I clearly understand the extraordinary courage, determination and resourcefulness it must have taken. I am certain that not many had tried, or succeeded, and I am also certain that having done it twice made it a unique, maybe singular, achievement.”  After George recounted this tale for me, I asked him if he thought his mother was scared. I asked if he thought she was fearful when she did this, and George told me “Of course she was scared, but she did it anyway”.  This reminded me of one of my favorite quotes: “Courage isn’t the absence of fear, rather the realization that something else is more important than fear”. We all have our fears right now, and many of us are scared to show up in spaces the way we used to. But George’s mother was a true testament to Jewish courage and showed us that we can have fear and still do hard things. We can be scared and still be courageous. We can feel this generational fear of persecution and continue to show up and prove that we belong wherever we want to be.  Being Jewish is beautiful and wonderful and full of so many blessings, and it can also be scary.  It’s normal to have fear when you know some people exist in the world that don’t want us here. But when we allow fear to stop us from being courageous, they win. George grew up and in what could be considered the harshest of conditions, he experienced true fear and still went on to do incredible things with a beautiful family. He went on to lead a remarkable life of freedom and joy; a true testament to the Jewish spirit. We can’t let fear keep us from living the lives we deserve. Be scared, but do it anyway.  -Lily Karofsky

It wouldn’t be Shabbat in Isla Vista without warmth radiating from the Klein backyard and home. While Rabbi Gershon and his wife Miri dedicate hours to cooking, hosting, and compiling words of wisdom, their three daughters actually run the show, simply by being very cute. Everyone wants to be friends with the cool kids in town, that being five-year-old Mushka, two-and-a-half-year-old Mina, and five-month-old Chana. Want an in? Luckily for you, I had the privilege to sit down with Miri for an exclusive interview about the lives of her children, and even snagged a celebrity encounter at the end!  Miri and I agree that Chana is indubitably the most adorable baby in all of Santa Barbara. With big brown eyes and chubby cheeks, one cannot help but give Chana a cuddle. Chana has recently begun eating mashed broccoli as her first solid food, and seems to enjoy it very much. We can anticipate her soon trying avocado, bananas, and applesauce, entering a whole new world of culinary delight. Lately, Chana’s favorite song is “Raisins and Almonds,” a piece sung in both Yiddish and Russian. “Raisins and Almonds” depicts a Jewish mother talking to her baby. She explains that the most interesting thing a goat can do at the dinner table is play with raisins and almonds, but as a Jewish child, the baby will have the ability to learn and grow. Clearly, Chana has already developed a distinguished musical taste. I asked Miri to describe her youngest’s emerging personality. Miri immediately pointed out Chana’s curiosity. She is deeply consumed in the process of figuring out what everything is, playing with every object she can get her hands on, and often putting items in her mouth. Miri also described Chana as a sweet and tranquil soul. “She’s a chiller,”  Miri remarked, “she’s the vibe of the town.”  Mina is so lovable in her tiny dresses and soft-spoken voice. One can often find her wandering the living room and enjoying the presence of guests on a Friday night. Miri informed me of some of her favorite things. Her most-loved toys are her menchies and playdough. Menchies are Jewish character figurines, smaller than the typical doll. She and Mushka love to give them “houses” with transparent magnetic tiles that build 3D shapes. Mina is especially drawn to the pink magnets and likes to hold them up to her eyes to see the world in a pink hue. While Shabbats are a great time for the Chabad kids and students alike, Mina has a holiday she especially looks forward to each year–Shavuot! Mina may discuss the importance of receiving Torah, but deep down, she just really   likes cheesecake. Mina has also been absorbed in picture books lately, her favorite being “I Kiss My Mezuzah.” Even at two-and-a-half, she seems to be able to recognize how blessed her home is. We students can agree that Chabad is truly a special space.  Now you’re in for a treat! I was invited to have a playdate with   the Mushka Klein and ask her a few questions. Firstly, I asked her what it’s like being a local celebrity, and she replied, “Nothing.”  It is astonishing how humble and down-to-earth she is, refusing to let the fame get to her head. I asked her how she felt about students coming over, and she admitted  “I do like it.” Life for Mushka is a constant playdate, what’s not to like? Speaking of playdates, Mushka told me that her proudest building creation thus far is an enormous train made out of Legos. I inquired how long it took to accomplish this feat. She answered, “Like, a teeny weeny bit of a night, not  a day, a weeny bit of a night to make a big train. That was on Yom Kippur! And then I ran and then I fell!” Along with building, Mushka loves to play board games, make jewelry, and help out in the kitchen. She assists with chopping vegetables, and proudly told me,  “I like to cut scallions!”  Mushka is also known for her professional jumping skills, prioritizing practice on her mattress every day. I asked her record number of jumps in a single day. She casually shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Ten hundred.” With all that she does, Mushka is undeniably a well-rounded and dedicated individual. UCSB students love to be at Chabad for Shabbat, and Mushka loves to have us here. She even confessed that “having guests”  is her favorite part of Shabbat, even more than her beloved “grape juice and pickles”  on a Friday night. Though tough on the outside, Mushka has the biggest heart. We discussed our favorite parts of being Jewish, and she said that hers was “ mivtzoyim ,” or encouraging other people to do mitzvot. Her parents recalled Mushka helping Jewish students on campus shake the lulav and etrog this past Sukkot. I concluded our interview by asking Mushka if there was anything else she’d like UCSB students to know about her. She responded with a blunt, “Nothing.” Miri asked that she try to answer the question again, to which she persisted, “Haha, nothing.”  If you want to know about the secret world of Mushka, you might have to sit down and have a playdate with her yourself. I can confirm that the rumors are true–Mushka does have a top ten. What those rankings look like are extremely classified information that I cannot disclose (I signed an NDA). You won’t be able to pry her favorite color out of me either.  As I thanked the family for their time, Miri remembered a wholesome story of attending her brother-in-law’s Shabbat during break with her two oldest children. She recalled, “Mushka turns around, she goes ‘when are the students gonna start coming?” With a smile on her face, Miri summed it up beautifully. “And for her, that was Shabbos, she couldn’t wrap her brain around students not being there, it was very sweet. It’s kind of like our kids’ whole existence and their whole life. And they really really, I think, at least hope, they really really love it.” The Klein family is such a light in our community, and their three children completely embody the Chabad experience. Mushka, Mina, and Chana are so loved by this community and never fail to warm our hearts. We are so lucky to be learning and growing with them here in Isla Vista. -Maya Kaye

Background Hillel Executive Director Josh Levine grew up in the San Fernando Valley of LA. He then went on to study political science at Brown University in Rhode Island. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he served for a year as a Coro Fellow. This is a nine-month fellowship in public affairs and policy that lines participants up with a different internship every few weeks in a different sector of public life. He completed his fellowship in New York City, gaining experience in governmental agencies, non-profits, political campaigns, labor unions, media companies, and more. After this post-college learning program, he attended law school at UC Berkeley for three years. From there, he clerked for two federal judges in Boston and Detroit and then practiced law in Los Angeles. After a while, he switched gears and became the camp director at Alonim, a Jewish sleep-away camp in LA. Ten years into this position, he moved to become the camp director at Camp Herzl in Twin Cities, Minnesota. During this time, he realized that he really liked working with people in college, “ who are making major decisions about their own lives, as well as how they want to show up for one another and build community, and create opportunities for Jewish community.” He then sought out jobs where he could work with people at this age. While interviewing for Santa Barbara Hillel, Josh remembers thinking to himself , “I’ve found that great creative, chill, driven kind of energy. This place seems like a good fit.” He recalls, “Especially when I met the students on the search committee, I thought, yeah, I really want to spend time with these people, and dream with them, and create with them.” Another bonus of this position was its ability to accommodate Josh’s desired wardrobe. “While Minnesota is an awesome place to live, Santa Barbara in January is just a little more livable. I like wearing a T-shirt and jeans. And I want to do that for more months of the year.” Josh Levine couldn’t sit still if he tried. In his eyes, there is always something that can be worked on and improved for the benefit of the community. He developed this mentality while working at Jewish sleep-away camps, and carried it over to Santa Barbara Hillel. Josh finds purpose in thinking creatively and problem solving. His favorite aspect of our Hille is getting to use these skills in collaboration with its students. Josh describes, “One thing about this Hillel is that it has a number of strengths, and there is clearly a desire by a lot of people for it to be even better at what it does well, as well as it to do better at things it can do better at doing. I like that we don’t have it all figured out. That there’s a lot of work to do, to make it as great as it can be. Personally, I like coming to places…that are looking to recreate, build on what’s working but also throw out what isn’t working, and make things awesome!”  Interview Questions Describe a time in college when you had to get out of a sticky situation.  “I just remember, I always wrote my papers to the last minute. Even if I started them early, which I oftentimes didn’t, I would always finish at the last minute…I was lucky I had a printer in my dorm room. I would print them, and I’d literally be running to drop them off before the building closed, sometimes with a stapler in my back pocket, because, you know, I was in such a rush. I had to get inside the building before 4:59 and 59 seconds.”  Would you rather fight 1000 mouse-sized elephants or one elephant-sized mouse? “One elephant sized mouse…having only one target, there’s no way around it. There’s also a focus. The focus presents itself, so it will force me to focus, and then I am pretty confident in my abilities to do something to shake it up–and also, it's an elephant that is a mouse! And I’m an integrated human! So, I think I’ll be okay, ultimately…I’ll just dodge and weave around, something to take that mouse, which is not used to being so tall, off balance. Because once I get that mouse to fall, I’m littler, so I can take that to my advantage.” What fruit would you be in a fruit salad?  “Avocado. I am a big believer in a couple bucks more for some avocado. You only live once, it's really good for you, and no one ever says ‘I wish I had less avocado.’” Chanukah Questions Do you have any Chanukah traditions? “I love Chanukah music. Just having the music playing, spinning a dreidel–I can get very competitive with dreidel spinning. I don’t have very many dreidel party tricks, but I have a good sense of what’s coming up. Yeah, eating latkes, happy to help. Any time someone’s making latkes, I am happy to help them.” What’s your favorite Chanukah song? “A number of them jog specific memories for me. I have a clip somewhere on my computer of my little brother, when he was younger, singing ‘Chanukah Oh Chanukah’ with his little voice. So that’s why I hear a certain song and they bring back certain memories.” “‘Mi Yimalel’ is such a beautiful…its such a positive Chanukah song that I think holds its own in the December Chanukah/Christmas season.” What’s the best sufgania filling? “I don’t like them. I’m not a filled pastries kind of person. Do I like regular donuts? Yeah, simple, glazed, hot off the presses from Krispy Kreme.” What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever received? “Sometimes my parents want me to expand my wardrobe so they will get me some really weird shirts. I think lately my mom sees an Instagram ad and it's like oh, thank you, so much, for this towel shirt that you think would be a cool shirt to wear. It all comes from a very genuine place, but yeah. It was like…a quilt! It was a quilt shirt. With the kind of material of quilt, kind of the look of quilt, like I was wearing a blue-ish quilt. And it was very… quilty. It had that quilty quality. It was a quilty pleasure. But it wasn’t such a pleasure. I returned it. I found the receipt and returned it. I appreciate the effort, but I’m gonna stick to my lane.”   How are you celebrating Chanukah this year? “With family. Well, one way I’m celebrating is with Hillel! Even though it isn’t during Chanukah technically, last year Chanukah was one of our biggest Shabbat dinners, when it was Chanukah themed, so I just like that we get to do it together here. That’s going to be great. And then, also lighting the candles. The Chanukah blessings are so beautiful, and there’s so many intentional aspects of Chanukah. Just the ritual of lighting the candles–you have to have the order in which you light them, and all the blessings every night. So lighting the candles is how I’ll be celebrating, ultimately.

Background Rabbi Maddy grew up in northwest Indiana. She lived there from childhood up until college, when she moved two hours away to the University of Indianapolis. This was a very small private university of only 5,000 students. Due to the nature of her hometown and the size of her school, Maddy had only experienced Jewish community in an intimate setting. One of the highlights of Maddy’s undergraduate education was a two-week international studies program that brought her to Ghana. There, she studied microfinancing, but also fell in love with volunteer work at a local school. Maddy recalled, “ that’s where I really started my love for service work, that went beyond the Jewish values my parents and my religious school education instilled in me. I already had that Tikkun Olam built into my psyche, but I think doing this trip was the first big thing I chose to do on my own.” From there, she decided that she wanted to use her business degree for nonprofits. This led her to work with Habitat for Humanity for a year, and then house building and administrative jobs with Americorps after that. Unfortunately, only making $1000 a month was not sustainable, but Maddy was able to find a marketing and communications job at a reform synagogue in Indianapolis. While she learned a lot in this position, she felt trapped behind a desk. She voiced her concerns about what to do next with her friend/director of this synagogue. When her friend pulled a Hebrew Union College folder off the shelf and said, “Maddy, I think you’re supposed to be a rabbi,” Maddy responded with a “whaaat, you’re crazy!” On one hand, Maddy vowed she would never go to school again, because quote, “school’s hard.” On the other, the more Maddy read through this folder, the more she realized that she did, in fact, want to be a rabbi. After a week of deliberation, Maddy applied to Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, Ohio, for a masters in rabbinic ordination. Maddy described, ”I really didn’t think I’d go to grad school, but once I started thinking about this job, I already felt so passionate about doing a job I cared about, and not just doing a job. As much as it takes to be a rabbi and really give a lot of your life over to your work and your community, I don’t know if I would want it any other way. I like that my work is part of me and my life and not something that is over there on the side.” Maddy stayed in Cincinnati for rabbinical school so she could have a relationship with her baby nephew (she’s his favorite Tanta). She knew that after receiving her degree, she could end up anywhere with this career. She was ready to leave her home state as she “felt pretty mid about the state of Indiana in general.” She also knew that pulpit leadership was not what she was looking for. So, she applied to Hillels all over the country, as well as some ADL and JCRC jobs. Maddy chose the position at UCSB because, “ who wouldn’t want to come to Santa Barbara?”  She further delineated, “ as crazy as it sounds, I knew that the antisemitism on this campus was a problem, and I wanted to go somewhere where I can help work on that problem. Obviously I had no clue what I was in for the second year of my career… [Santa Barbara Hillel] had the things in the job that I was looking for, including the combating antisemitism piece. And I was in the right place at the right time to serve in a community where I was needed, and had at least some of the skills to be both supportive to students and strategic when it comes to what’s happening on campus.” Beyond this, Rabbi Maddy has expressed tremendous love for the Santa Barbara student Jewish community. She emphasizes diversity as one of her favorite aspects of our Hillel, as she had never experienced a community with this many Jews from all sorts of backgrounds. She also recognizes student grit and character, praising how “ we have such strong leaders and such great communicators. It’s just really cool to know that people from this community are going to be all over the place, which means this energy is going to be all over the place.” Rabbi Maddy has loved working with college-aged students who embody the work hard play hard mentality that UCSB fosters. She sees it as a time for self-exploration, but also a time to dedicate oneself to their values. She deeply appreciates student contributions of time, effort, and passion in Santa Barbara’s Jewish life. She added a final note that, “the love and energy for Judaism and Jewish community here, I hope it's something you get to take with you and find in the next part of your life too.” Interview Questions What’s something you have an unpopular opinion or hot take about?  “ There is a strong debate about whether matzah balls should be dense or soft and fluffy. I really believe strongly in a dense matzah ball. I think if our plastic spoons here at Hillel break on a matzah ball, I probably want to high-five [chef] David Medina, and tell him how great he did that week. I’ll eat a fluffy matzah ball, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll be a little disappointed. A fluffy matzah ball feels more like wet bread to me, and a dense matzah ball feels more like a proper dumpling.” What’s your spirit animal? “ I did feel like Chase was my spirit animal, my last dog. He was a Chiuaua terrier mix and who knows what else. Like Malka he came from Kreigslist in Indianapolis. Chase was itchy. I have psoriasis, so I’m itchy, and I felt like we had that in common. Chase had anxiety and I have anxiety, so I feel like we had that in common. And he really liked to sleep, as do I, so like, truly, not just dogs, but Chase, my first dog that was like, my dog.” What’s the last thing you did for the first time?  “ That’s a hard question. But I wish I could say laundry. Like I’ll never have to do laundry again. Those are just dreams.” Chanukah Questions Do you have any Chanukah traditions? ” My favorite is so silly. If I’m on my own, because, you know, through school and things like that I’ve lived alone quite a bit, and so sometimes I’m not with a group of people every night of Chanukah. So if I’m not with a group of people I still light candles by myself and I always hold the dog which, until this last Chanukah, was Chase. I make the dog do prayers with me and then we take a picture. You can find pictures of me and Chase on Chanukah on my instagram @rabbimaddy.” Tell us about your homemade potato latkes recipe! “So, first of all, the story behind it is that my dad was like, the chef in the family. My dad wanted to cook, it was part of his passion in life. He didn’t make us suffer through hand shredding potatoes or anything, we would use the food processor. But shredded for sure, and usually matzah meal instead of flour because you have to do something with all the matzah meal that’s left before it expires and you get to the next Pesach. So Chanukah is when we’d use up the end of the matzah meal. And then just the basics like eggs, salt, pepper. Can I give you amounts off the top of my head? No, I’m pretty sure I just do it by feel. My brother and I usually do it together if I’m home. We’ll fight about whether or not its at the right consistency for a while, and then eventually we’ll start cooking them. He really likes to be the one on the oil, but that’s because he went to culinary school for a while and so he thinks he should be in charge of the kitchen. But yeah, my favorite part is eating them because they just taste like childhood and remind me of my dad, and they remind everyone of my dad. So they’re not just for us but for everyone.” What is the weirdest gift you’ve ever given? “Its weird, but also, kind of purposeful weird and silly. My best friend and I growing up, his name is Kevin, he and I used to get each other birthday presents from the dollar store. It was kind of a competition to see who would get a better grouping of random stuff from the Dollar store that would actually make you smile. Everything from childhood stuff like capsules to put in the bathtub that would turn into dinosaur sponges to, like, a horse head on a stick that you’d run around with as a child. And also, our favorite candy and stuff like that. And all the way through high school and maybe even college we did this. And then like, socks for Chanukah every year. It’s literally a tradition.” How are you celebrating Chanukah this year?  “I’m going home, and I’m going to be with my family for most of it. So I’m sure we’ll be making the latkes. We’ll definitely be doing a gift exchange, but you know, adults usually have one to four gifts and I’m an adult now, that’s kind of a bummer. Then like, Tovy, the only child, my ten-year-old nephew will have a mountain of gifts. Sometimes even the dogs get more gifts than the people because everyone brings something for every dog. Because we’re dog people. Shocking, I know.”