The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC), the people-to-people network of Jewish communities from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that are developing Jewish life in the region, facilitated the first Jewish wedding in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 52 years this past weekend at the Ritz-Carlton in the capital of Manama. [JNS.org]
Bahrain Holds First Jewish Wedding in 52 Years Read More »
Lifestyles, Middle East
Addressing supporters with a “heart filled with hope purpose and love for this city,” Eric Adams accepted his win as New York City’s mayor-elect with a nod to strong support from the Orthodox Jewish community, especially in Brooklyn, N.Y. Adams, a Democrat, received 66.5 percent of the vote to Republican Curtis Sliwa, 67, founder of the Guardian Angels, who won 28.8 percent with nearly 78 percent of precincts reporting as of Wednesday afternoon. [JNS.org]
NYC Mayor-Elect Thanks Orthodox Jewish Supporters Read More »
USA
Published by Al-Araby Lebanese Jews on Monday attended a “family gathering” held by Beirut’s representation at the embassy in Paris, Lebanese news outlets reported on Thursday. The gathering was the first of its kind at the embassy, Annahar reported. About 50 invitees attended the event, according to Megaphone. The event took place while Lebanon is
Lebanese Jews attend ‘family gathering’ at Paris embassy Read More »
International
Published by Philippine Star Pia Lee-Brago – The Philippine Star November 5, 2021 | 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — Fully vaccinated Filipinos can now travel to Israel, the Ministry of Tourism of the Israeli embassy in Manila said yesterday. It announced that fully vaccinated tourists from the Philippines could resume all travel to Israel after 18
‘Fully vaxed Pinoys can visit Israel’ Read More »
International
During my daughter Harriet’s recent visit from Portland, Oregon, I suggested we visit the Chula Vista Public Library to see the Holocaust Exhibit arranged by our friend, Sandra Scheller. Harriet teaches Middle School Humanities at the Portland Jewish Academy and one of her classes is learning about the Holocaust. The drive down from University City was under 25 minutes. Both of us found this visit profoundly worthwhile. Sandra met us there and gave us a private docent tour. [Eileen Wingard]
Visit to Holocaust Exhibit Impresses Mother and Daughter Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
Those “authoritarian school board Nazis.” “Israel literally owned Congress.” Reckless words. Wacky parents raging at school officials? Pro-Arab students whipping a crowd into a frenzy? Comparable words were uttered by them, yet such words were echoed in the past week by the unfiltered voices of Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. [Bruce S. Ticker]
OpEd: Jews Endangered by Trump’s and Cruz’s Reckless Words Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA
Dr. Julius Matthias, the chief protagonist of Michelle Mazel’s previous book, has managed by the skin of his teeth to escape deportation by the Nazis from his hometown in Transylvania. His wife, who had refused his entreaties to leave the town together with him, was shot and killed by the invaders during the round-up of the Jews of the town. Many years before that Matthias had sent his grown-up children to France to study, and so, left on his own, he manages for many months to make his way on foot through the fields and forests of Europe, eventually reaching Geneva, where he has friends and a bank account. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Novel Depicts Survivor’s Search for His Family Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
Chula Vista police sought the public’s help Wednesday in identifying the suspect or suspects who spray-painted antisemitic and homophobic graffiti at Bonita Vista High School and Bonita Vista Middle School on Halloween night. [Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego]
Search for Vandals Prompts Call for Public Help Read More »
San Diego County
This joint memoir, intended for students in grades 3 through 7, tells the story of two young sisters — one hearing and one deaf — who survived World War II notwithstanding their transport as orphans from Bratislava to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, where, a year later, Renee, the older of the two sisters, was near death from typhus when the camp was liberated by British soldiers. [Donald H. Harrison]
A careful analysis of Abraham’s nephew Lot raises the question of whether or not he was a righteous man. What did he do to merit saving when the people among whom he lived died by fire? We may think we know about him, but actually virtually everything the Torah tells us about him is obscure, requiring us to make up our own interpretations and learn lessons from them. There are rational interpretations by rabbis and scholars as well as mystical and midrashic ones. Which should we accept? The following are some questionable items. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
What do we know about Lot, Abraham’s nephew? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
Two key factors have kept us sane while raising the next generation of Jewish kids: involving God in the process and striving for consistency in our parenting effort. My wife, Shira and I leave the heavy lifting to God. What we eat, how we treat others and what we do on Shabbat and holidays isn’t something we have to negotiate. We have a priceless 3500-year-old tradition offering precise guidelines on maximizing life and minimizing drama. [Sam Glaser]
Our Jewish Parenting: Keeping Consistency Constant Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Sam Glaser
Jay Black never lost his Jewish connections, and Jay and the Americans included what song of Jewish interest on their 1967 album Try Some of This! ? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Jay Black, z”l Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Trivia, Humor & Satire
You want it, you pay for it. Economic liberalism is the essence of the American experience. Don’t tread on me. Don’t make me pay for someone else’s benefit. Of course it’s not total. In the U.S., there are programs to pay, or help to pay for those in need. And there’s lots of insurance, often associated with a job, that pays most or all of health care needs. And government programs to lend money for education. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
American Lifestyles Contrast with Israel’s, Western Europe’s Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Ira Sharkansky, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA
This is a good week within our synagogues to think about our planet and its future given the start of the United Nation’s Global Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). As global leaders meet in Glasgow, Scotland to hammer out a deal to tackle climate change, what can we as Jews do based upon Torah’s teachings, our ethics and the moral imperative to be better stewards of our planet and all life that depends upon its sustainability? [Dan Tomsky]
A Prayer for Our Planet Read More »
Jewish Religion, The World We Share