by Tani Prell | May 23, 2024 | Identity, Teens
I am Syrian, Hawaiian, Colombian, Korean, Israeli, Persian, Mexican, Native American, white, Cambodian, and Indian…or at least that’s what I’ve been told. I come from an Israeli American mother with a head of big, black curls and glowing olive skin, which I’ve...
by Tani Prell | May 23, 2024 | Identity, Teens
Listen to an excerpt of Naomi and Rona’s conversation: Have you ever felt empowered by Judaism? Have you felt that you weren’t heard because of Judaism? Naomi: I feel very empowered by my Judaism, rooted in my knowledge of the Jewish people’s history. I went to Jewish...
by Tani Prell | May 23, 2024 | Identity, Jewish Ritual, Teens
At the time of my bat mitzvah, my party felt like a collision of all the different parts of my identity. It did not feel like a celebration or a coming of age. I was too young to take a step back and appreciate the beauty of the supernova. I was intoxicated by the...
by Tani Prell | May 23, 2024 | Identity, Teens
There are countless words that have slipped through the cracks of translation, found the underground tunnels of a language, like water to its palm, always running through the ridges but never getting stuck. Words that don’t exist or simply don’t make sense in English...
by Tani Prell | May 23, 2024 | Arts & Culture, Identity, Teens
I have a vision in my head of antisemitism. What I thought it was: Barbed wire fences and crazed soldiers, yellow stars blinking against the dark hue of a winter coat, the looming choice of a baptism or execution. Swastikas, stabbings, shootings, news headlines...
by Tani Prell | May 23, 2024 | Identity, Teens
When you learn something new in school, have you ever asked yourself, “When are we ever going to use this in real life?” I know I have. Many times (especially in calculus). This past year I took AP European History. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning about history,...
