By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — One cannot observe the politics of America or the Middle East without thinking, at least occasionally, about God. And one cannot be a decent political scientist without looking beyond one’s own locale, country, and continent, to see how things are done elsewhere. All this makes it hard for
God, in politics, is the All-Present and the All-Elusive Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion-Staff Report- SAN DIEGO — Anne Frances Ratner, one of the matriarchs of San Diego’s Jewish community, was eulogized Friday, Nov. 11, at a crowded service at Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Friday–her 100 years lauded as having been filled with leadership, philanthropy and devotion to family. Ratner, who died Wednesday, Nov. 9, helped to start
Anne Ratner, 100, eulogized at Tifereth Israel service Read More »
San Diego Calendar
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Anyone who has ever confused “Veterans Day” with “Memorial Day” can understand how it might have happened. The plaque to be dedicated on Nov. 11–Veterans Day–came back with an inscription saying it was dedicated Memorial Day. But, no real harm done– Given that the permanent monument for the
JWV dedicates a temporary plaque at Miramar National Cemetery Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish HistoryWASHINGTON, D.C. (JINSA) — Happy Veterans Day 2011 to all the men and women who serve and have served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. Today, Nov. 11, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki made a plea for jobs in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. Hardly
Time for employers to step up for the veterans Read More »
USABy Rabbi Avi Shafran © 2011 AMI MAGAZINE JERUSALEM — The latest Nobel Prize for chemistry was awarded last month to Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman for his discovery of “quasicrystals.” In the 1980s, the Israeli chemist noticed something peculiar as he examined a glowing hot metal he had cooled. The diffraction pattern that formed in
Nobel-prize-winning discoverer of quasi-crystals casts doubt on scientific orthodoxy Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Carol Davis SAN DIEGO–It’s not that I haven’t seen this show, Come Fly Away before, because I have. It’s not that I don’t love Frank Sinatra. I do love his voice. It’s because of the above-mentioned Sinatra voice and Twyla Tharp’s absolutely stunning choreography that I love this show. Once in Vegas was not
Tharp’s choreography, Sinatra’s voice star in ‘Come Fly Away’ Read More »
Carol Davis, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Once again the story of Moshe Katsav has taken a large share of Israeli media. Thursday, Nov. 10, was the occasion for the Supreme Court to reject his appeals against a verdict of guilty for two instances of rape and several counts of sexual harassment, and to affirm the lower court’s sentence
Court confirms guilt of Israel’s ex-president Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO– Some in my congregation may have noticed that I often leave the bima during Shabbat services to greet visitors to our congregation. Although this may appear disruptive, I am following in the footsteps of a most excellent role model: Avraham Avinu, Abraham our Father. Abraham, the first human being
Why Abraham was sad in his tent Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Daniel Halper WASHINGTON, D.C. — Where is Jerusalem located? What seems like a simple matter of geography is actually a thorny diplomatic issue, one the U.S. State Department has aggressively avoided answering on official U.S. forms since the early 1990s. On passports and birth certificates, Americans born in Jerusalem are prohibited from adding “Israel”
U.S. declines to identify Jerusalem as part of Israel–not even on passports Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — This weekend, while most Americans are continuing to shake their heads over the terminally drooping economy, the decidedly uninspiring race for the Republican presidential nomination, and the hard-to-discern frenzy about the Eurozone, something is happening in Memphis, Tennessee, that is worthy of our attention. The National Civil Rights
Civil Rights Museum in Memphis celebrates its 20th anniversary Read More »
USA
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Hashem revealed to Avraham that He planned to destroy the wicked city of Sodom. Avrahom did not merely take this as intellectual information that was removed from him. Avraham thought about the actual people in the city. As such he pleaded with Hashem that there must surely be
Three instances of appreciating the others’ point of view Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan– Back in June, I wrote a rather contentious commentary for another publication headlined ”Let’s Stop Pretending Getting a Star on the Walk of Fame Is a Real Honor” in which I spilled the beans on how celebrities today get stars on the famous Walk of Fame in Hollywood. And
Who really pays for the stars on Hollywood’s walk of fame? Read More »
Travel and Food
By Cynthia Citron BURBANK, California — If you were an actor whose most recent claim to fame was playing a pimp in the men’s toilet in Central Park, an impromptu trip to Uganda might not seem so unreasonable. At least it didn’t seem so for Johnny O’Callaghan, one of the main performers in a thriller
Ugandan adoption leads to new play in Burbank Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Widely reported was this conversation at the G-20 summit in Cannes, not meant to be heard but for a slip-up of the great men close to an open microphone. Nicolas Sarkozy, “I cannot bear Netanyahu, he’s a liar.” Barack Obama, “You may be sick of him, but me, I have
If no one believes Netanyahu’s credibility, who’ll heed his advice on Iran threat? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East