May 2010

Palestinians will be disappointed by hope U.S. or Arab League can deliver Israeli concessions

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The wet dream of the Palestinians is that someone else will solve their problems by forcing Israel to do what is right. They are told time and again by their leaders that it is only they who have suffered, and only they whose claims are just. To their own harm, much of […]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA

San Diego County’s Historic Places: California Surf Museum

  By Donald H. Harrison   OCEANSIDE, California – Surf historian Jane Schmauss vividly recalls the day she waited expectantly as the telephone rang at the home of Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, a legendary figure in the development of surfing as a popular sport. “Hello?” responded the voice on the other end. “Hello,” said Schmauss. “Is this

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Donald H. Harrison

San Diego’s Historic Places: San Diego Automotive Museum

  By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—There are many automotive museums around the world, interpreting their missions in a variety of fashions. Some collect, wanting to obtain representative automobiles of every make, nationality, or year. Others love to show the marriages of art and technology, form and function, and marketing and self-perceptions all shaping people’s

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USA

Mideast proximity peace talks to start up again

  By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Here we go again. Maybe. The stage is set for the beginning of indirect talks between Israel and the abbreviated Palestine National Authority (West Bank without Gaza). The Arab League has provided its endorsement. Palestinian leaders carried that decision on the basis of “assurances” received from the Americans. They are warning

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA

Jewish overreactions to accidental or intended slurs detract from more important issues

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA–New York City lost a talented, generous citizen when Ronan Tynan moved to Boston where he can patronize their businesses and pay their taxes instead. Adding the ultimate insult to injury, the Irish tenor donned a Red Sox jersey when he sang at a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in his new

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Middle East

Another paradigm for historians: Jewish life on the West Coast

By Joellyn Zollman Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community on America’s Edge. Ellen Eisenberg, Ava F. Kahn, and William Toll. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009, 309pp. SAN DIEGO–The New York Jewish experience has long served as the template for understanding American Jewish history. In Jews of the Pacific Coast, historians Ellen Eisenberg, Ava

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Jewish History

Two Wrongs make a right smart play

By Cynthia Citron HOLLYWOOD, California — If comedy consists of hilarious dialogue delivered with earnest sincerity and exquisite timing, then Scott Caan’s new play Two Wrongs is the pluperfect example of the genre.  A beautiful blonde nut job and a darkly handsome neurotic “meet cute” in the waiting room of their psychotherapist’s office.  With their therapist’s “inappropriate and unethical” complicity, they get together, explore their

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Travel and Food

From the mountain to the valley: 200 km of heart-pumping effort

  By Ulla Hadar TIMRAT, Israel–Several weeks ago I attended a lecture performed by a man that had gone through several difficulties in his life but nevertheless had decided to participate in an Ironman competition, which involves a 180 kilometer bike ride, 42 kilometer run and 3.8 kilometer swim. He was sharing his experiences with

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Middle East

San Diego’s Historic Places: Veterans Memorial Museum hosts exhibit on Japanese-American members of the Armed Forces

  By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—Probably no event has seared into the consciousness of the Japanese-American community more painfully than their forced relocation from their homes on the West Coast of the United States to internment camps in the interior of the country during World War II.   This is the central portion of

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USA

Illegal immigration is a global problem

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–You want to look at a conundrum? (a problem without a solution) Immigration reform is a good example. A NYT article describes efforts at producing some kind of amnesty along with “tougher enforcement.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/us/politics/01immig.html?hp Can any country control its borders, and also preserve its morality? Tougher enforcement will mean random deportations while

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Middle East, USA