Lawyer, author, Harvard law school professor, and much-famed defender of Israel Alan Dershowtiz is coming to speak at Penn March 14. The lecture, entitled, “Global Terrorism: The New World War,” will take place at the Annenberg Center of Performing Arts at 7:00 p.m.
Alan Dershowitz will discuss the threat of radical Islam around the world, especially in Israel and the Middle East. The event is hosted by Aish and the Penn Israel Coalition, with an opening address by Malcolm Hoenlein, Vice Chairman of the Congress of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. The event is receiving much publicity and is already generating a lot of excitement and anticipation in affiliated Jewish circles.
Student tickets are $5.00 ($15.00 at door), and can be purchased and picked up at the Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center. Box Office Phone: 215-898-3900.

Questions? E-mail:
Max - maxw@wharton.upenn.edu
Rinat - rinatb@pobox.upenn.edu

More information:
http://upenn.facebook.com/event.php?eid=2231348600

“Yachad is finally here and we are so pumped to have them!” wrote Shalhevet Roth, Co-Chair of the Orthodox Community at Penn, in her most recent weekly e-mail sent out to the OCP listserv. Yachad is a program of the Orthodox Union that “provides unique social, educational and recreational ‘mainstreamed’ programs for individuals (ages 8-40) with developmental disabilities,” according to its Website.
This weekend, 12 Yachad members and 16 advisors came to Penn and stayed in Rodin College House, the on-campus High Rise where most of the Orthodox Jewish students reside in, or with students off-campus. They arrived on Friday, joined the Jewish community for a festive Tu B’shvat-themed dinner at Hillel, and afterwards had a “Yachad Oneg” in which all students were invited to participate. On Saturday morning they learned the Torah portion with several members of the community, and after lunch spent the afternoon taking a tour around Penn’s campus, playing Taboo, or just hanging out with members of Penn’s Jewish student body. After each meal, the male students would dance and sing with the Yachad members around the tables, which is rarely done on an average Shabbat.
“That is basically the whole point of the shabbaton, [for Penn students] to mingle with
Yachad members,” said Julia Klein, one of the Penn students who coordinated the Shabbaton.

A world-renowned scholar, our university president, and 12 pots of cholent were the highlights of Shabbat at Penn this weekend. Scholar-in-residence Lawrence Schiffman delivered a lively lecture on Friday night, University President Amy Gutmann attended Friday night dinner at Hillel, and 12 students created their tastiest crock-pot concoctions for “Cholympics” at Saturday Kiddush.
Over 100 students heard Schiffman, chairman of the Judaic studies department at NYU and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, discuss “Who Was a Jew? Controversies Over Jewish Identity from Ancient to Modern Times.”
“We spend over $6 million doing surveys, and we still don’t know how many Jews there are in America,” he said, addressing the issue of how one defines a Jew in contemporary society. When the lecture ended at 10 p.m., some students stayed late to ask him questions. On Saturday afternoon Schiffman discussed “Who Wrote the Bible? Orthodoxy and Biblical Criticism.”
Students found Schiffman’s manner engaging.
“He is so charismatic!” noted Judah Greenberg, a med student at Penn.
Amy Gutmann’s participation in Friday night services caused much excitement in the student body. The Jewish university president sat with Hillel student leaders and members of the Muslim Student Association, moving around around the table to converse with different students.
“It was very casual. We were just schmoozing,” said Hillel’s Finance Chair Tina Yaniv.
The weekend was topped off by the annual cholent competition, or “Cholympics.” Twelve students prepared their secret recipes, including such special ingredients as Jack Daniel’s, for the students to consume and critique. A panel of four students, unaware of who made what cholent, sampled the creations, and in their deliberations referred to the number posted on the pots. In the face of stiff competition, Elie Gittler was pronounced the unanimous winner. Panelist Neta Tenenhaus noted that one cholent tasted “like kugel, and another one tasted like barbecue sauce.”
Needless to say, neither of these two cholents belonged to Gittler.

Over 110 Jewish Penn students paid $25 to support NATAL — a non-partisan organization that aids Israeli victims of terror — chug alcohol at an open bar, feast on Oreos and Twizzlers and grind to Shakira last Thursday night.
The annual Hillel Formal was transformed into the Hillel Charity Ball, allowing students to justify splurging on a dance through the fact that it represented a good cause. The Charity Ball ran from 10:30-2:00 at the chic club Positano Coast in downtown Philadelphia, and raised more than $1,000 enough to cover expenses and still donate a substantial amount to the charity, according to a Social Committee official. The precise amount of the surplus has not yet been determined.
The range of Judaic affiliation of those present spanned the gamut, from Orthodox to Reconstructionist to non-affiliated. Most of the students present were those who play a visible role in the Penn Hillel, but a considerable amount were Jewish students who just went to have a good time. Penn’s Conservative Rabbi Michael Uram attended the beginning of the ball.
Although some students expressed reservations about the political character of the charity involved, the majority seemed wholly supportive of it.
The first few hours primarily consisted of taking advantage of the open bar — the Social Committee covered the first $400 worth of drinks — and schmoozing. The dancing picked up at around midnight and didn’t wane until the club closed at 2:00, at which point the partiers picked up their shoes and headed out for an early breakfast at Lorrenzo’s, a nearby pizza shop.

“Faith & Leadership” was the topic of discussion as Rabbi Avi Weiss, founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, spoke Wednesday night at Hillel. Weiss discussed his concept of “Open Judaism,” which he a strain of Orthodoxy that he explained embraces six ideas: the rejection of the approach of daat torah, or reliance on leading rabbis for instruction in most areas of life, in favor of more Jewish learning combined with secular studies, and rabbis and individuals making their own decisions; concern for all Jews; open support for the modern State of Israel; greater roles for women; Pluralism; public political protest and activism.