‘We build in Jerusalem,’ Netanyahu says after Jerusalem Day (JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he has a “clear position” that the Israeli government will “build in Jerusalem.” “I ordered the construction of the Har Homa neighborhood, and today there are tens of thousands of residents there, making it a city within a […]
Jewish news briefs: May 19, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
SAN DIEGO– Melanie Rubin, our license plate maven, caught this plate, which appears to be an abbreviation for the Hebrew word hemshech, which means “continuation.” Given that this plate also indicates that the car’s owner is a military veteran, we may conclude that he or she is continuing to provide service to the country.
Jewish interest license plate: MSHECH Read More »
Melanie Rubin, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Ira Sharkansky ROCHESTER, New York — This has become the American city we have visited most often in recent years. This reflects our son’s graduate work at the University of Rochester, and along the way to a degree marrying in to a local family. We approve of it all, and have enjoyed opportunities to
Rochester, N.Y., is beautiful and dismal Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USABy Eva Trieger SOLANA BEACH, California — Siobhan Sullivan, director of the Theater School at North Coast Rep Theater, kept a keen eye on two clusters of teens, as they ran lines, rehearsing for Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs. The set for our interview was an outdoor courtyard across the parking lot from the theater. Though
Theater school goes way beyond daycare Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Psychologists and psychiatrists have defined the outburst of mystical ecstasy and identification with our ancient city as a known phenomenon that sometimes even requires hospitalization or sedation of the person affected. It has a distant echo in the sense of awe that occasionally envelops visitors to Florence, but no
The ‘Jerusalem syndrome’ and holiday bullying Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Winner of the Toronto Film Festival’s Award for Best Canadian film, Felix and Meira retells what in the hands of a less subtle director than Maxime Giroux could easily degenerate into a tawdry and trite story of a Chasidic Jewish woman trapped in her faith and marriage and falling
The Wandering Review: ‘Felix and Meira’ Read More »
Travel and FoodWith assists from Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
The Jewish singers: Polly Bergen Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Most of Jeb Bush’s foreign policy advisors are the same pundits his brother relied upon to formulate American diplomacy. With the wisdom of hindsight, we now know they should just be called cons rather than neo-cons. * Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan as the head of the Israeli
Humoring the headlines: May 18, 2015 Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — In the Mad Men pilot, Roger Sterling asks Don Draper if their advertising firm has ever hired any Jews. “Not on my watch,” replies Don. When Roger explains that they have a meeting with potential clients who are Jewish (from Menken’s Department Store), what does Don reply? A. “Really? Is that
Jewish trivia: ‘Mad Men’ Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireMortar shell fired from Syria explodes in Israel’s Golan Heights (JNS.org) A mortar shell fired from Syria exploded in the Alonei Habashan area of Israel’s Golan Heights on Sunday night. No injuries or damage were reported in the latest spillover of the Syrian civil war into Israel. In recent days, there has been intense fighting
Jewish news briefs: May 18, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Anav Silverman JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter of condolences to the Levinger family on the passing of the late leader Rabbi Moshe Levinger, who was known for his life work in establishing the modern Jewish community of Hebron and as one of the founder of the Gush Emunim settlement
Netanyahu, Rivlin eulogize Rabbi Levinger Read More »
Middle EastGrandpa’s Mountain: Letters from a Border Kibbutz in Israel by Arieh Larkey, Gefen Publishing House, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — After accidentally finding his grandfather’s address in Israel, a twelve-year-old boy in America decided to write. He hoped to establish a relationship and find the warmth and understanding that he felt was lacking in
From the Jewish library: ‘Grandpa’s Mountain’ Read More »
Travel and Food