By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―Spectators were dazzled by the pyrotechnics, luminescent colors, and special effects of the opening ceremony at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Although Russia claimed it cost a fortune to produce and featured thousands of Russians, conspiracy theorists suspect it was merely a holographic projection of scenes from Avatar and Tron. * Under
Humoring the Headlines: February 10, 2014 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
ATHENS (WJC) –The leftist Greek party Syriza dropped a controversial candidate for the post of regional governor of Western Macedonia after he had made headlines with anti-Semitic statements. Syriza announced that journalist Theodoros Karypidis would not be running on the party’s ticket. In a brief statement, the party’s secretariat revealed that Karypidis would no longer
Greek leftists drop Karypidis after Jewish protests Read More »
International
BUDAPEST (WJC)–Hungary’s main Jewish umbrella organization voted on Sunday to boycott official Holocaust commemorations this year unless the role of locals in the Nazi deportation and killing of Hungarian Jews is made clear. The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) decided to stay away from events marking the 70th anniversary of the deportation of
Hungarian Jews to boycott Holocaust observance Read More »
InternationalNetanyahu and Obama to meet in U.S. in March (JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House and deliver a speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual conference in Washington, DC, during his five-day U.S. visit in the first week of March. According to
JNS news briefs: February 10, 2014 Read More »
International
By Aryeh Savir An agreement recently signed between the IDF Medical Corps and the American Air Force Medical Department will enable both sides to work more closely together, sharing and developing techniques and technologies that will save lives on the battlefield and during humanitarian rescue missions. At the conclusion of U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General (Dr.)
U.S., Israel to cooperate on military medicine Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationNEW YORK (Press Release)–AJC deplores the abominable treatment of gays in Nigeria. The harassment, imprisonment and torture of gays, sanctioned by a Nigerian law enacted last month, was the focus of a major front-page story in the New York Times of Sunday, Feb. 9. “Nigeria’s unforgiving attitude towards gays violates the most basic human rights
AJC deplores Nigeria’s mistreatment of gays Read More »
International, Travel and Food
By Roberta R. Seid, Ph.D and Roz Rothstein LONG BEACH, California — The recent California State University (CSU) Trustees bimonthly meeting took an odd turn. Amid pressing discussions about budgets, improving student success, and other education issues, anti-Israel boycott activists at the January 29, 2014 meeting interjected the subject of Jews and Israel. They made up almost
Israel foes, defenders spar before CSU Trustees Read More »
Travel and FoodNEW YORK (Press Release)–The visit to Spain this week of a delegation of top American Jewish leaders for high level meetings including with his majesty King Juan Carlos I, President of the Government Mariano Rajoy, The Ministers of Justice and Interior, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and other top government leaders, will offer
Right of Spanish citizenship for Sephardic Jews Read More »
International
Attention Family Historians: If you would like a JPG photo copy of any “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” article that has been reprinted on the San Diego Jewish World website, simply copy the website address of the article, and send it along with the article’s headline, with a $5 payment per article, to Family
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, September 20, 1957, Part 1 Read More »
Adventures in SD History, San Diego County
Azriela Jaffe, Unexpected Gifts: A Novel, Menucha Publishers, (c) 2013, ISBN 978-161465-132-1, 255 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– “Everybody’s got tzuris,” my late father, Martin B. Harrison, liked to point out. Were he alive to have read this book, he’d have tapped it authoritatively, and said, “What did I tell you?” Some
Book Review: ‘Unexpected Gifts’ Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM — As thousands of the Ultra-Orthodox community protested violently at various cities across Israel against a government bill that may bring to their draft into the IDF, 170 soldiers of the Ultra Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion were sworn in on Thursday, Feb. 6. Hundreds of family members from Jerusalem who
Haredi IDF unit enlists 170 new recruits Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO– One person, imbued with belief, can accomplish astounding things as the following true story illustrates: Gary was a boy in a Jewish elementary school in Pittsburgh who was known throughout the school as a big behavior problem. Year after year, by teacher after teacher, he was found to be
What turned the ‘behavior problem’ around Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–For those who stayed for the chicken and vegetables buffet—no dairy—following Saturday morning Shabbat services, Feb. 8, at Temple Emanu-El, there was an interesting discussion led by Rabbi Devorah Marcus and Joseph Bendah, a Karaite Jew, about his small, Jewish sect’s full acceptance of the Torah and its rejection of
A Reform-Karaite dialogue over buffet lunch Read More »
Donald H. Harrison