By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — There’s a bit of a mystery regarding Syria. First, who is the opposition? Second, what will happen? Having been the first to warn about the threat and power of Islamists in Egypt, I think that’s earned me some credibility to say that Syria may well be a different case. […]
Syria’s revolution may hold more promise than Egypt’s Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Though I grew up in Sweden I never thought of its citizens as being particularly happy. In the 1940s and 50s we heard a lot about drunkenness and suicide but not much about life as bliss. Denmark, on the other hand struck us even then as a very happy place.
Gallup Poll shows Israel high on happiness index Read More »
Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Today Syria has entered its biggest internal crisis since 1970. The regime has come out to crush the insurrection. Either it will succeed by killing many people or the insurrection will build into a real potential revolution. And the Western states are doing…precisely zero. One Syrian expert friend responded:
The Big Historic Event Today: Syria’s Biggest Crisis in 40 Years Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky SAN DIEGO — I’ll say it again. Coping is the name of the game. No solutions appear on the horizon, even when standing on a high place. Israeli policymakers concerned with “peace,” “borders,” or however you define that cluster of issues have to cope with Palestinians, Americans, and Western Europeans, as well
Israel practices the art of coping Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastSAN DIEGO (Press Release)– The documentary, Their Eyes Were Dry will be screened in San Diego County as part of a special May 9th event in 250 theaters around the country. The film details the heart-wrenching story of the 1974 Ma’alot Massacre in Israel when 105 students were held hostage by Palestinian terrorists, and it
Film May 9 exposes Palestinian terror against children Read More »
Travel and Food
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pastor Terry Jones is planning a rally at a Detroit-area mosque and a jury is deciding whether he has to post a bond to cover extra security local officials are planning to provide for the demonstrators. Jones doesn’t want to pay – he asked for no extra security and
Yes, Terry Jones is intolerant; by no means, the most intolerant Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USA
Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff Famed Correspondent Will Present Report on Middle East March 13th Southwestern Jewish Press, March 2, 1956, Page 1 Edward R. Murrow’s “See It Now” hour-and-a-half report on the international crisis in the Middle East, with special emphasis on Egypt and Israel, will be broadcast on Tuesday, March 13
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, March 2, 1956, Part 1 Read More »
Adventures in SD History, Jewish HistoryBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday condemned violence in Syria and said the Syrian government must stop the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of prisoners.” There’s a problem with that word “must.” See, you cannot have it both ways. You cannot help overthrow or move away from allies,
Obama administration is not taken seriously by Syria Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — By all accounts a large number of people and organizations in Israel are trying to draft the speech they believe Prime Minister Netanyahu ought to deliver before both Houses of Congress next month. The most recent effort comes from a group of left-wing intellectuals, among them many of the
Is ‘conflict management’ the best Israel and the Palestinians can do? Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–During Pesach Jews are obsessed with ridding their homes of chametz. (fermented wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt.) They remove bread, cookies, and beer (sigh), clean and scrub their counters and sinks, vacuum their carpets, and blowtorch their ovens (or use the self clean mode!). The process of getting rid
The symbolism of ridding our homes of chametz Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rachel Barton SAN DIEGO — “So, how was Israel?” I’ve lost count in the passing weeks of how many times I’ve been asked this question, and how many times I’ve fumbled for an adequate answer to express my feelings associated with the five months I spent as a Jerusalem resident. Many times I’ve found
A committed Jew’s dilemma: Make aliyah or build Jewish community elsewhere? Read More »
San Diego CalendarCompiled by San Diego Jewish World staff Council Presents Drama Reading Southwestern Jewish Press, February 17, 1956, Page 5 On Thursday, Feb. 23, 8:00 p.m. at the Mission Valley C.C., Mr. and MRs. Coffee Chats, of the National Council of Jewish Women, will present Esther W. Moorsteen, in a dramatic interpretation of “Tea and Sympathy.”
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, February 17, 1956, Part 3 Read More »
Adventures in SD History, Jewish History
By Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — If Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? had been written by Mel Brooks, it would be God of Carnage. God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning Best Play of 2009, brings four of Broadway’s best actors to the Ahmanson to drive each other into a riotous, scenery-chewing frenzy. It also
‘God of Carnage’ is Brooks in Woolf’s clothing Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Who would have thought that we would find ourselves agreeing with the Saudi approach to events in the Middle East, while thinking our own government needs a “reset”? National Security Council Advisor Tom Donilon visited Saudi Arabia and Saudi King Abdullah brought three of his advisors to the meeting:
Saudi policy for Middle East far more realistic than U.S.’s Read More »
International, Shoshana Bryen