By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — While Americans are working to understand the latest affront to their security, Israelis are passing through the annual cycle of three days marking the tragedies associated with the Holocaust and Israel’s security, and the nation’s successes since Independence. Claims of exploiting the Holocaust for political gain are prominent on the […]
Tisha b’Av, Yom Hashaoh, Yom HaZikaron Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion
By Donald H. Harrison LA MESA, California — After seven years of being dark, Lamplighters Community Theatre will again live up to its name by turning on the electricity. However it will be in a new 90-seat venue in a small shopping center at 5915 Severin Drive, where the theatre group will present a staged
Lamplighters Community Theatre to make a comeback Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBalfour Declaration to visit Israel (JNS.org) The historic Balfour Declaration will, for the first time, leave Britain and be presented to the Israeli public, Israel Hayom reported. Lord Arthur James Balfour’s declaration, made in November 1917, was the Zionist movement’s watershed diplomatic achievement, marking the first time that the idea of the need for a national home
JNS news briefs: April 15, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Anav Silverman The Israeli beer industry includes a wide range of brewmasters from native Israelis to North American immigrants whose microbreweries can be found across the country from the Golan, Western Galilee and Jezreel Valley, to Ein Hod, Emek Hefer and the Negev. In the hills of Judea, Gush Etzion also has its very
International foursome brews beers in Gush Etzion Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Anav Silverman It is often overlooked that Yiddish, the language spoken by millions of Ashkenazi Jews for nearly 1,000 years across Europe, played an important role in the formation of Israeli culture. For Professor Chava Turniansky from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, that point is very clear. The 75-year-old professor will be awarded the
Israel Prize goes to Hebrew U Yiddish professor Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — It’s a big world out there and it’s getting smaller all the time, thanks to the internet and free websites. I often surf the net not looking for anything in particular but always on the look-out for something that tickles my fancy and puts my waking brain into
Judaism, not just a religion but a family tradition Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM –The Central Bureau of Statistics, in its traditional Yom Ha’atzmaut statistical report about the citizens of Israel, stated that Israel has now 8.018 million residents, almost ten times more the 806,000 citizens in its establishment. The Jewish population stands at 6.042 million (75.3% of the entire population). Israel’s Arab citizens constitute
Israel’s population now 8.018 million Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — A hundred meters from these fingers is a border between civilizations. To the east of that border is the “village,” “suburb,” or “neighborhood” of Isaweea. With more than 20,000 residents, the label “village” is misleading, but that’s the term many use. “Suburb” suggests something outside of Jerusalem, but it is
In Israel, it’s us and them and them Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Odette’s Secrets by Maryann Macdonald, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, (c) 2013, 978-1-5990-750-5; 225 pages, $16.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Although classified as “fiction,” Odette’s Secrets cannot be so easily pigeonholed. Author Maryann Macdonald found a copy of the real memoirs of the late Odette Meyers, who as a child in Nazi-occupied France had posed
The Holocaust in terms a child can understand Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Eva Trieger ENCINITAS, California — From the instant the dialogue began, I was riveted by the hallmark Mamet staccato, terse exchanges. The principals in this case were a young college professor (Francis Gercke) attempting to understand a distraught, frustrated coed (Rachael Van Wormer). The Intrepid Shakespeare Company, directed by Christy Yael and Sean Cox,
‘Oleanna,’ an allegory for self-conflicted Jews? Read More »
Eva TriegerSAN DIEGO (Press Release) – Hillel of San Diego, a local non-profit organization that provides opportunities for college students to participate in Jewish community, will break ground on Sunday, April 28,on a new LEED certified building to serve as the center for Jewish life at San Diego State University (SDSU). The Melvin Garb Hillel Center,
Hillel to break ground April 28 for SDSU center Read More »
San Diego CountyBy Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — The fifth season of “Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices” concluded last month at the Astor Judaica Library in the Lawrence Family JCC. During its first five seasons, the series featured local poets and song writers expressing themselves not only in English, but also in Yiddish, Hebrew, Ladino, Russian, Spanish and
A potpourri of Jewish poetry Read More »
Eileen WingardBEER-SHEVA, Israel (Press Release)–Combining video feeds from unmanned ground and aerial vehicles in a single screen will aid soldiers with orientation and identification tasks, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers funded by the United States Army. Dismounted operational tactics in urban areas are often aided by information
Video feeds from air & ground aid infantry Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Evelyn Gordon This past February, the New York Times reported on a love affair gone sour. For months, Algeria had courted an Islamist warlord in Mali. The Algerians knew, as the Times put it, that he was “the leader of one of the militant Islamist groups holding northern Mali captive,” but they thought he
Events prove danger of cozying up to terrorists Read More »
Middle East