By Ben Cohen/JNS.org In the coming days, there will be much reflection on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, following the former South African president’s passing on Dec. 5. And in the coming weeks, we can anticipate a febrile exchange over his true views on Israel and the Middle East. We shouldn’t underestimate the […]
Nelson Mandela and Zionism Read More »
Jewish Religion
Boycott of Israel endorsed by American Studies Association leaders (JNS.org) The national council of the American Studies Association (ASA) on Wednesday announced its adoption of a resolution to boycott Israel. The ASA’s 5,000 members now have until Dec. 15 to vote on the measure. “Our resolution understands boycott as limited to a refusal on the
JNS news briefs: December 5, 2013 Read More »
International
JERUSALEM (Press Release)–Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed Iran as well as Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinians, and then met the media on Thursday, Dec. 5. Following is a text of their remarks as provided by the U.S. State Department. PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: It’s good to have
Kerry, Netanyahu reassure each other on Iran, Palestinians Read More »
Middle East
TEL AVIV (Press Release) — Coffee and beer are polar opposites in the beverage world. Coffee picks you up, and beer winds you down. Now Prof. Martin Kupiec and his team at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology have discovered that the beverages may also have opposite effects on your genome. Working
Can beer lengthen your life, coffee shorten it? Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Do Israelis want to settle with the Palestinians or do they want to settle in the West Bank? That’s how I read the underlying question asked by Stanley Fischer, the former Governor of the Bank of Israel, at a recent symposium in New York. The issue overshadows much of
What kind of settlements do Israelis want? Read More »
Middle East-Second of two part series- By Steven Kramer It’s pretty obvious that President Obama has led the American retreat from its lofty status as the world’s only superpower to an attitude of non-participation in any situation which may endanger American soldiers. However, isn’t it the army’s role to protect the homeland from dangers abroad and
Iran wins, West loses (Part II) Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
By Shoshana Bryen and Stephen Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The nuclear-related agreement signed between the P5+1 and the Iranian government is, on its face, one-sided. In essence, according to Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), they get: billions in sanctions relief, 3,000 new centrifuges, a plutonium reactor and enough enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb. We get, essentially,
U.S. set back its own interests in Iran deal Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, Stephen D. Bryen, USA
Natasha Josefowitz, Living Without the One You Cannot Live Without: Hope and Healing after Loss, Prestwik Poetry Publishing Co, ISBN 9781484141328, 2013, 93 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– I have known Natasha Josefowitz and her late husband Herman Gadon for many years. Natasha is kind enough to regularly contribute a column to San
Coming to terms with the loss of your beshert Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonHezbollah blames Israel for commander’s death despite jihadist group claiming responsibility (JNS.org) Hezbollah on Wednesday blamed Israel for an attack in Beirut that killed one of its commanders, Hassan al-Laqqis, despite the fact that a jihadist group claimed responsibility for the assassination. A group called “The Free Sunnis of Baalbek Battalion” posted on Twitter that
JNS news briefs: December 4, 2013 Read More »
International
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO― Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief has been a best seller since its publication in 2006. It occupies a particular niche in Holocaust and World War Two fiction as a novel targeted at adolescent audiences. Thus, it cautiously navigates between the grim reality of the mass violence of that era and
The Wandering Review: ‘The Book Thief’ Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Several headlines of recent days bring to the fore the persistent question of whether Israel is a strong state or a lazy state. The noisiest commotion has to do with the Bedouin. There have been demonstrations involving thousands, with non-lethal violence in several locations, protesting a government plan to deal
Many of Israel’s knottiest problems are lazily put off Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Story and photos by Donald H. Harrison LA JOLLA, California–Runoff candidates for San Diego Mayor, Kevin Faulconer and David Alvarez, on Tuesday expressed warm feelings for Israel and for the American Jewish community, while sidestepping such potential hot button issues as the Mt. Soledad cross atop city-owned land and the long-pending effort by Hillel
Mayoral candidates campaign at Jewish community forum Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego CountyAlan Gross asks for Obama’s involvement in securing release from Cuban prison (JNS.org) Alan Gross, who is serving a 15-year prison term in Cuba for helping the Cuban Jewish community access the Internet while he was a subcontractor for the United States Agency for International Development, asked for President Barack Obama’s “personal involvement” in helping to
JNS news briefs: December 3, 2013 Read More »
International
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM — In recent months remains of an impressive structure from the Hasmonean period (second century BCE) have been unearthed in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Giv‘ati site, located in the City of David near the walls surrounding the Old City. Josephus wrote about Hasmonean Jerusalem, but
Hasmonean building under excavation Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education