By Lloyd Levy EILAT, Israel — The supermarkets in Israel stock many authentic Russian foods, such as marvellous black bread, and herrings. The range of Vodka is unfathonable in its diversity. Somehow they stir ancient folk memories in my Jewish soul. Yet ex-President Bill Clinton was recently quoted as saying that Israel would be a […]
Zionism’s western body has been reunited with its Russian soul Read More »
Lloyd LevyBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–It has not been a good week for our neighbors. A referendum in South Sudan may produce the first division of a country that defines itself as Muslim. One can expect dispute about the results. If the separatists win, defining borders will not be easy and the near future may not be
Despots in Arab countries receiving unwelcome news Read More »
Travel and FoodJERUSALEM — One reason why I didn’t go to Tel Aviv on Saturday night to attend the rally in support of Israeli democracy was because I attended the celebration of 25th anniversary of the founding of Kol Haneshama, our congregation in Jerusalem. Kol Haneshama was born in the home of its spiritual leader Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman
An unexpected lesson from Kol Haneshama Read More »
Middle East
By David Amos SAN DIEGO — The Mexican film Visa al Paraiso, (Visa to Paradise) is the story, told in a documentary format of the Mexican diplomat, Gilberto Bosques, who was assigned by his government, (led at the time by President Lázaro Cárdenas in the late 1930’s) to be Consul General in Paris, and
San Diego Jewish Film Festival preview: ‘Visa al Paraiso’ Read More »
Travel and Food
By Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan– Daniella Ashkenazy is a seasoned journalist, born in Washington and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, and living in Israel since 1968. For over two decades she published articles in Israel’s leading print media and in newspapers and periodicals abroad including features in Israel’s second-oldest Hebrew newspaper Davar and the
Did someone move Chelm to Israel? Read More »
Travel and Food
By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO — The 21st Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival sponsored by the Leichtag Family Foundation is presenting a number of short but engrossing documentaries, three of which I had the pleasure of screening: Ingelore, Wrong Side of the Bus and He’s My Girl. Ingelore, the shortest of the three running
Blindness, race, sexual orientation all subjects at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–Wednesday night Judy, Margalit, and I watched The Secret Life of Bees. The movie, produced in 2008, is based on the book by the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. The story takes place in Southern Carolina in 1964 in the midst of racial turmoil. The Civil Rights Act had
Remembering the Exodus and the American Civil Rights struggle Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USABerlin 36. Running time: 103 minutes By Norman Manson SAN DIEGO–Over the years, the Olympic Games, supposedly a time of international brotherhood, have instead produced notable examples of strife and tension. One of the best-known examples of this animosity occurred at the so-called “nazi Olympics” of 1936, when the atmosphere was pervaded by the Hitler regime’s emphasis on anti-semitism
San Diego Jewish Film Festival preview: ‘Berlin 36’ Read More »
Travel and FoodWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– The government crisis in Lebanon, prompted by Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the government coalition, continues to draw commentary from member of Congress. Here is a roundup of comments issued to the media: * Rep. Dan Burton (R-Indiana): “I am deeply dismayed by the decision of Hezbollah to withdraw its cabinet ministers from
Hezbollah’s role in collapse of Lebanon’s government draws U.S. congressional fire Read More »
Travel and FoodMOUNTAIN CITY, Tennessee (Press Release)–A Tennessee county’s preference for Christianity in its courthouse displays violates the U.S. Constitution, according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Americans United, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, is challenging the Johnson County Commission’s decision to display the Ten Commandments and Christian
By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Without taking any partisan position, but purely on the issue’s historical merits, nothing could have been more appropriate than Sarah Palin’s use of the term “blood libel” to describe what happened to her after the Tucson killings. I know because my direct ancestors were the target of a blood libel.
Commentary: The fact is accusations against Palin were ‘blood libels’ Read More »
International, USAJERUSALEM — A New York Times story from Qatar begins “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a scalding critique of Arab leaders here on Thursday, saying they badly needed reforms to jump-start their economies and overcome dwindling natural resources, or risk having extremists take root in their societies.” She said, “In too many places, in too
Clinton’s critique of Arab leaders not likely to change their minds Read More »
Ira Sharkansky
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –The only reason that takes me to the shrine of the Western Wall is the company of tourists and the occasional Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Unlike some Jews who profess piety, the place doesn’t move me to prayer. In fact, the ostensibly religious hustlers who exploit it for blatantly irreligious, even discriminatory,
Thoughts on seeing a grandson sworn into the IDF at the Kotel Read More »
Middle EastTORONTO (WJC)–Violence erupted during a demonstration in Toronto on Tuesday night by anti-racist groups opposing an alliance between the ‘Jewish Defense League’ (JDL) and the UK based ‘English Defense League’. Four protesters were arrested and a police officer was injured in the violence . Demonstrators representing several anti-racism and social action groups shouted slogans and
Coalition of Jewish and English right-wingers subject of rioting in Toronto Read More »
Travel and Food