Donald H. Harrison

An excellent book about Maimonides

Maimonides composed his landmark philosophical work, The Guide for the Perplexed (Moreh Nevukhim in Hebrew), in Judeo-Arabic, written in Fustat (Old Cairo), Egypt. The treatise aimed to reconcile Jewish theology with Aristotelian philosophy and was addressed to his student, Rabbi Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

I’ve seen this before: When old hatreds find new voices

I was not born carrying hatred; it was placed gently in my hands, like an heirloom no one thinks to question. As a child in Morocco, I inherited stories about Jews long before I ever met one. They were shadows in conversations, warnings disguised as wisdom, conclusions handed to me without evidence. I accepted them the way a child accepts the horizon, distant, unquestioned, and always there. [Mustapha Ezzarghani]

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Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

August Wilson’s ‘Fences’: A tear-jerking masterpiece

Troy and Rose tell the story of how they met and the audience gives Rose a big spontaneous round of applause after Troy says that he told her when they first met that he wasn’t the marrying kind, and she responded that she told him if he wasn’t the marrying kind, he better step out of the way so he doesn’t block the view for the man that is the marrying kind. [Sandi Masori]

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Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

AI utilized to mass-produce online antisemitic messages

“Generative AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to producing and distributing antisemitic content,” said CyberWell Founder & CEO Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor. “What once required coordination, creativity, basic technical skills and time can now be created instantly and shared at scale. …” [Press Release]

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Antisemitism, International, Israel, Middle East, News Media, Press Release, USA

Shiite Islam practices taqiyya (deception) when dealing with non-believers

“Let not the believers take the disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Whoever does so will have no relationship with Allah – unless you take precautions against them”. (Quran 3:28; 2:173; 2:185; 4:29; 22:78; 40:28.) [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Israel, Lifestyles, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Suggestion for preserving Holocaust memory

What is the solution to safeguard Holocaust memory? The Shoah must be incorporated into religious ritual. It should be part of the Haggadah, the machzor, High Holiday and other Jewish holidays. [Rabbi Dr. Bernhard H. Rosenberg]

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Antisemitism, Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Buchenwald liberation marks 81st anniversary amid controversy

At 10 a.m on the 11th, the Nazi commander ordered all 1,200 S.S. to retreat from the Camp. The Americans were coming. At 10:30 a.m,. the International Committee rose in revolt, captured 76 S.S. stragglers and their weapons. They took possession of Buchenwald. Throughout the day, heavy fighting continued as American armed forces secured the area. Not until late in the afternoon did advance units of the XX Corps enter Buchenwald. [Jerry Klinger]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Former Congressman Eliot Engel dies at 79

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Eliot Engel, a devoted public servant to his constituents in Westchester and the Bronx, a tireless advocate for democracy and global security, and a steadfast champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship. As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he was a fierce leader who advanced American interests and promoted peace and security. [Press Release]

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Israel, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, Press Release, USA

Two diplomats who defied Hitler to be spotlighted at Sunday’s Yom HaShoah commemoration

Jason Abranches, great-grandson of Portuguese Consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes, and Arturo Levin, whose mother and grandmother were saved by Japanese Consul Chiune Sugihara, will share how ordinary diplomats risked everything to become extraordinary rescuers. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

A suburban tale during the 49 days of counting the Omer

This is not a religious tract, although kabalistic suggestions for counting the omer are thrown in.  I must confess I didn’t find the nexus between what is essentially a story of suburban life and those suggestions for meditations on each day of the 49 between the second day of Passover and the arrival of Shavuot.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Distrust for Netanyahu-led government sours some Israelis’ outlook

Bad decisions, miscalculations and hubris have caused Israel’s current government to lead the country along a path that seems to bring only more death and destruction. No attempt ever seems to be made to seek peace by negotiation or any diplomatic means of settling disputes. Admittedly, countries that openly proclaim their desire to eradicate Israel and all Jews everywhere should be regarded as a threat, but Israelis should be given an alternative to living by the sword alone. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors