By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — When we think of Avodas Hashem (Service of G-d) it pays to think of it as we would think of a business, as the following story illustrates: One day, at a top-level meeting of a successful corporation: “Please bring me the test results of the new personnel. I
The test ‘Our Boss’ sets out for us Read More »
Jewish ReligionReport: UN Human Rights Council to call for Israel boycott (JNS.org) The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) plans to release a report calling for a boycott of companies doing business with Israel, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The Free Beacon obtained an HRC report (http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/UN-Report-Sept-2012.pdf) targeting Hewlett-Packard, Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, Veolia Environnement, Group 4 Security,
JNS news briefs: October 26, 2012 Read More »
InternationalBy David P. Goldman WASHINGTON, D.C. — Syria’s two million Kurds have become a wild card in the country’s crisis, after the Assad regime encouraged Kurdish autonomy as a ploy against its Sunni opposition in the ongoing civil war. The importance of the small Syrian Kurdish zone extends far beyond its possible role as a
Syria’s withdrawal from Kurdish areas worries Turkey Read More »
Middle East
Women Organize For Fund Drive Goal of 50,000 Dollars Southwestern Jewish Press, March 8, 1957, Pages 1, 7 Mrs. Lewis Solomon, Chairman of the Women’s Division of the United Jewish Fund, this week announced the appointment of Mesdames Irving Alexander, Herbert Eber, Morton J. Cohn and E. Al Slayen as Women’s Division Co-Chairmen. Goal of
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, March 8, 1957, Part 1 Read More »
Adventures in SD History, Jewish History
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — “It was a hundred years ago,” said the gentleman encountered at a conference. “Why do you people still keep talking about it?” I corrected him and responded that it was not a hundred years ago; that the Wannsee Conference of top Nazi officers—a number of whom held doctorates—was
Why we keep talking about the Holocaust Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Abigail Pickus Jerusalem, said its legendary mayor Teddy Kollek, is the “heart and soul of the Jewish people.” So it comes as no surprise that during Kollek’s five terms as mayor, from 1965 to 1993, he devoted much of his efforts to nourishing this holy city through many municipal projects and building up the
Leichtag Foundation helping to revitalize Jerusalem Read More »
Travel and FoodPalestinians fire mortar to defy truce with Israel (JNS.org) Palestinian terrorists fired a mortar shell into Israel on Thursday morning to defy an informal truce between Israel and Hamas, Haaretz reported. The shell was directed at the western Negev following an Egyptian-brokered truce that had supposedly ended a two-day Palestinian onslaught that saw a total of
JNS.org news briefs: October 25, 2012 Read More »
International
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — It’s a pity that gentiles don’t study Talmud. While there are a number of arguments in the Talmud that are pedantic and unexciting, the study of this ancient rabbinic work teaches people how to critically examine a text. During the second debate, President Obama called the
Transcripts tell story of White House and Benghazi Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East
By Isaac Yetiv , Ph. D. LA JOLLA, California –Among the many symptoms of our economic disease, the most ominous ones are the 23 million Americans unemployed and the more than 16 trillion dollars of national debt. There has been an ominous crescendo in the national debt: In 1990, it was 3 trillion; in 2008,10
Some ideas for cutting the U.S. budget Read More »
USA
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –There are two reasons for the U.S. to seek the demise of Bashar Assad’s regime — for what it would mean to Syria and for what it would mean to Iran. The first is insufficient reason for the U.S. to involve itself directly. The second raises the elephant-in-the-room question: “Would
In Obama’s chess game, Israel, Syria and Turkey just pawns Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Peter Starr, called the “Spielberg of motorcycle moviemaking” by his friend Jay Leno, is building a unique sort of bridge to Taiwan with the help of a small group of elderly motorcycle enthusiasts in America. Starr made 40 motorcycle racing movies from the 1970s to the 1990s. Now 69,
Jewish motorcyclist tours Taiwan Read More »
International
By Carol Davis SOLANA BEACH, California — In 1937 George and Ira Gershwin wrote the score for the movie Shall We Dance. Included in the score was the classic “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”… no they can’t. Ira, of course wrote the lyrics and George the music. Together they would go on to
‘Words by’ production is pedestrian Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Evelyn Gordon WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of the most disturbing of many disturbing developments in the Middle East recently is the growing fear among America’s traditional Arab allies that Washington’s support can no longer be relied on. Whether this fear has any valid basis is irrelevant. Last month, for instance, Reuters reported on
Arab allies doubt U.S. steadfastness Read More »
Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Western Iran-watchers have been pleased these past few weeks to see evidence that international sanctions against the Islamic Republic appear to have precipitated the collapse of local currency and demonstrations in the marketplace. The EU added a new sanctions package last week. Finally, they seem to be saying, we’re
Sanctions don’t hurt Iran’s decision makers Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen