Student Representatives
Undergraduate Departmental Representatives
The Undergraduate Departmental Representatives serve as a resource and representative for fellow majors and minors and potential majors and minors, and bring student concerns and/or ideas to the program faculty. They also provide feedback to the program chair, undergraduate advising head and faculty regarding scheduling problems, course offerings, etc. and help organize events for majors, minors, and other interested students.
NEJS
Elisha is a sophomore from Philadelphia; he came to Brandeis after speeding 2 years studying in Israel. Aside from NEJS, Elisha is a linguistics minor and is leader in the Hillel community. He also serves on Student Union as a member of the Allocations Board. He’s a big Phillies fan, and an avid seeker of new Trader Joe’s s snacks. Elisha is excited to work with Aviva Weinstein to help promote the department.
Aviva Weinstein, originally from Philadelphia, is a senior majoring in NEJS and Anthropology and minoring in Business. Outside of the classroom, she is a member of the Brandeis Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Team (BANSHEE), and has been a leader on the Hillel student board, the Shira Chadasha partnership minyan board, and B’yachad, as well as a Chatter in the Brandeis Student Admissions office. She also spent time abroad last semester at the University of Edinburgh would be happy to talk about her experience! In her spare time, Aviva enjoys going on hikes, watching cheesy rom-coms, and eating anything involving chocolate and peanut butter. She can’t wait to show other students how awesome the NEJS department is this year!
Arabic
MJ is a senior dual majoring in HSSP (Health: Science, Society, and Policy) and Biology with a minor in Arabic. To keep where he's from long-story short: He's a dual citizen of Iraq and Russia, born in Libya, raised in Malaysia, and moved to Orlando, FL just over seven years ago. In addition to being a UDR for the Arabic Department, his involvements include being a Diversity Coordinator at Admissions, an advisory board member of the MLK Fellowship, an Undergraduate Research Peer Mentor, and the Vice President of the Network of Arab Students In his spare time, he loves to watch Netflix specials, hanging out with friends, going out for tea, and self care nights! He's super excited for more Arab Cooking Nights, Game Nights, or even just chatting about Nancy Ajram's new album!
Ben is a Sophomore majoring in Computer Science and Linguistics with a minor in Arabic from Nashua, NH. Perhaps unsurprisingly as a Linguistics major, he loves studying languages, and has studied German, Latin, and Arabic in the classroom, and has studied many more outside the classroom. He also loves hiking and building things (from computer programs to porches), as well as playing board games, quadball, and tennis. In addition to playing sports and being a UDR, Benis a Waltham Group Coordinator for Service Without Borders. Of all his responsibilities as a UDR for the Arabic Language, Literature and Culture Program, he's most excited to practice Arabic and play Arabic language card games and board games with new learners!
Hebrew
Miriam Fisch is a sophomore at Brandeis, originally from Teaneck, NJ but with roots dating back to Newton and the wonderful chain of JP Licks. She is majoring in Biology, with minors in Hebrew and NEJS, and can also be found teaching Krav Maga, learning Talmud or planning mental wellness events through Hillel. In fact, this combination of her Judaism, passion for new languages and love of supporting others through leaving their comfort zone inspired her to become a UDR. The stellar shakshukah she had in Israel didn't hurt, though. She is so excited to talk with you about finding the right Hebrew class (everything from theater games to understanding deeply-rooted trauma in Israeli culture) and her obsession with Hatikvah 6!
Yiddish
Meirit is a senior double majoring in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Psychology, and minoring in Yiddish and Eastern European Studies. A Boston native, Meirit loves sharing her hometown favorites with her friends. Wandering around the MFA looking for Jewish art is one of her favorite pastimes. A proud library student employee, you can find her hiding out in the stacks looking for more books that she definitely does not need. Meirit is so excited to be a UDR for the Yiddish department this year and she can’t wait to meet all of the new Yiddish students!
Graduate Student Representative
Graduate Student Representatives are resources for fellow and potential graduate students. They can assist students with learning about the program from an experienced student's perspective, give advice on housing and getting around town or navigating campus, share questions or concerns about being a graduate student, and suggest ideas for promoting social connections with fellow students. They represent NEJS graduate students at the monthly departmental faculty meetings and can share your suggestions or areas of concern.
Tamar Aizenberg is a PhD student in Jewish Studies. Tamar’s research focuses on the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and the grandchildren of perpetrators. She examines how these sets of grandchildren have been taught to talk about and remember this history by their families and how they do so themselves as they grow older. In particular, Tamar analyzes how this memory was transmitted, compares the methods of transmission between the sets of grandchildren, and assesses the significance of the similarities and differences in the transmission. She holds a BA in History and Jewish Studies from Williams College.