By Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — When all strands of Palestinian political society came together in a deadly incitement based on religion radiating out from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem it left many dead on both sides of the religious divide – Jewish Israelis who were the prime target of Islam-motivated Palestinians. Although the Islamic Movement
Jordan’s delicate, pivotal role on the Temple Mount Read More »
Barry Shaw, Middle EastBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — President Abraham Lincoln sent a Jewish man, Issachar Zacharie, as an emissary to New Orleans to promote loyalty to the Union and to spy on Confederate troop movements. How did Lincoln know Zacharie? A. Zacharie was an attorney who gave Lincoln his first job in Springfield in 1836 after Lincoln
Jewish trivia quiz: Abraham Lincoln Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Rabbi Ben Kamin OCEANSIDE, California — It’s been a couple of weeks now since my new life, alone, began here. This transitional town, situated between the glistening ocean waves and Marine fatigues of Camp Pendleton, is hardly associated with metro San Diego’s more effete communities such as La Jolla, Del Mar, or Rancho Santa
Simplicity and kindness mark his starting over Read More »
San Diego County, USABy Richard L. Cravatts, PhD BOSTON — Perhaps when literary critic C.S. Lewis despaired of “omnipotent moral busybodies . . . who torment us for our own good,” he was speaking about those well-meaning, but naïve college students who “torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” Lewis’s observation
SJP wants ‘free speech’ for itself, not for others Read More »
Middle East, Richard L. Cravatts, USABy Laurie Baron MARGATE, New Jersey‒ The Palestinian Authority has dropped its request to UNESCO to designate the Western Wall as a Muslim Holy site. This followed a request by Israel to declare Medina a Jewish holy site because Mohammed executed the Jews of the Banu Qurayza there after the Battle of the Trench. *
Humoring the Headlines: October 25, 2015 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO –As I watch the heart rending plight of the refugees from North Africa in tiny boats desperately trying to reach safety and freedom in Europe – who could not be moved? And so many more tearing themselves away from home and country – leaving the anarchy of Syria and environs;
European anti- Semitism rises again Read More »
Jewish HistoryBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Friday afternoons are times of high tension. Tens of thousands leave the mosques, where some of the preachers have urged death to the Jews. My last column included a link to one such sermon. The translation is provided by Memri, a respected institution that provides material from Persian and Arabic in Hebrew,
Jerusalem intifada seems to be quieting Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison CHULA VISTA, California – Sonni Cooper, an author and script consultant for the original Star Trek television series, said Saturday, Oct. 24, that although William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and such other members of the cast as Mark Lenard were Jewish, the cast was far from a happy Yiddishe family. Shatner played
Behind the scenes of the original Star Trek series Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — The National Retail Federation’s research is telling us “more than 157 million Americans will celebrate Halloween this year, with eight in 10 millennials saying they are already planning something fun with their friends. Total spending in 2015 will top $6.9 billion, with the average American celebrating planning
No, it’s not Purim; it’s Halloween Read More »
Michael Mantell, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The good news is that Jews won’t be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. Cameras will be installed to check up on them and to provide evidence as to who causes the troubles there. That seems to be the outcome of Kerry’s conversations with Netanyahu, Abu Mazen
By Donald H. Harrison EL CAJON, California – A doctoral student in religious anthropology told the Fletcher Hills Kiwanis Club on Saturday morning, Oct. 24, that her spiritual journey, which included conversion to Judaism, began one morning on a high school trip from San Diego County to St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Jenn Lindsay,
Scholar’s spiritual journey to Judaism began in Vatican Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Travel and FoodBy Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — The old argument used to be that Palestinians were fighting and demonstrating to achieve a state of their own, and that it was Israeli obstinacy that was fermenting Arab violence against Jews. On top of that, a misinterpretation by much of the media positioned Palestinian rage being caused by
Jew hatred and media bias team up against Israel Read More »
Barry Shaw, Middle East