By Jacob Kamaras (JNS) The new mural on the wall of the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles building, unveiled on Aug. 23, contains the State of Israel’s logo at the bottom of the artwork. Rather than a one-off project, the mural embodies the broader efforts of the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles […]
Consul General Emphasizes Israel’s Diversity Read More »
International, Jacob Kamaras, Middle East, USA
In the face of the ongoing debacle in Kabul and in Afghan provinces, Americans’ first priority should be to pray for our soldiers and our allies, and check out the veterans operating #DigitalDunkirk. Our soldiers are proving, once again, that they are the best among us. Then, it’s time to adopt a little bit of realism about the world. [Shoshana Bryen]
OpEd: Restoring American Leadership in the World Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA
I believe that Western governments’ strategy of restraint and “fairness” when dealing with Iran, Russia, etcetera, are like taking a knife to a gun fight. That strategy doesn’t work with non-democratic countries, which are unconcerned with the welfare of their citizens. For them, it’s all about the mission of the ruling class. Iran, Russia, China, North Korea – none of them respect restraint or fairness. That type of soft policy only engenders a loss of respect for those countries that espouse it. [Steve Kramer]
OpEd: West Must Stand Up to Totalitarian Governments Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA
“Games We Played” is about people, specifically the two main characters, who have psychological and sexual hangups and issues which complicate their lives, as well as those of the people around them. The chapters are written from the viewpoints of the two main characters, Rachel, now an actress in the New York area, and Stephen, a rather mixed-up young man and military drop-out, living in California. As children Rachel and Stephen lived near one another and played together, though their games sometimes involved some kind of sexual element. In addition, Stephen had been indoctrinated with neo-Nazi ideology by his grandfather, with whom Stephen and his mother lived, and this penetrated their childhood games. Rachel had what was seemingly a normal family, with a psychiatrist father and home-maker mother. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Novel Relates Tangled Lives of Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivor, Neo-Nazi Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
When Shmuel Silverberg, 18, was shot outside Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Denver’s West Colfax neighborhood on Tuesday, Aug. 17, his assailants were not satisfied. Silverberg ran away from them, and they chased him just inside the school where fellow students tried to perform CPR on him. Silverberg, who was studying at the religious school as a post-high school student from Cleveland, was rushed to the hospital, where he died, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Murder of Yeshiva Student Highlights Need for Gun Control Read More »
Bruce Ticker, USA
These strong poetic lines extracted from the Book of Isaiah are attributed to Isaiah III, again a composite figure. They were written in Judea, to coincide in setting to the era of post-return and the rebuilding of an early incomplete version of the second Temple, c. 480-450 BCE. The writer(s) expresses these verses under a repeated imagery of light. We don’t know actually when they were written/edited, which might have been years later. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]
Haftorah Reading for August 28, 2021 Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
The Jewish Welfare Board was created on April 9, 1917, three days after the U.S. declared war on Germany. It wanted to provide services to Jewish troops similar to what Catholic servicemen received from the Knights of Columbus and Protestants from the YMCA. In 1919, after the war was over, the JWB printed tens of thousands of these reassuring cards depicting a grinning doughboy and distributed them to servicemen to send to family and friends. [Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D]
Pandemic Postcard Messages, 1918-1920 Read More »
Jewish History, Lifestyles, Oliver Pollak, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
This week’s parasha is one of the most formidable and alarming chapters of the Torah. We find fourteen verses of the good things that will happen to the us if we faithfully obey Hashem’s divine commandments. And then, we read 54 verses that warn of the converse, the curses that will befall us if we do not faithfully observe all His commandments. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Torah Reading for August 28, 2021 Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
The headline in the adjoining news clipping is hype. “May” is not “will” or “shall.” Booster describes real estate developers, hucksters and visionaries who wanted to profit from growing communities and increases in real estate prices. Saul Voorsanger, who emigrated from Holland with his wife Sarah in 1893, promoted the growth of the Jewish population. He was a salesman and publicist and the brother of Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger. The rabbi started Emanu-El, San Francisco’s weekly Jewish newspaper in 1895 and died in 1908. Sol, Saul or S. became editor. During 1912 several newspapers reported Voorsanger’s visiting chambers of commerce in San Diego, Visalia, Fresno, Modesto, Kings, San Joaquin, and Dinuba. He solicited advertising for a special 75,000 copy edition of Emanu-El to recruit better-off Russian Jews to buy and farm California land, a chimera. [Oliver B. Pollak]
Growth of Jewish Communities Promoted in the Early 20th Century Read More »
Jewish History, Oliver Pollak, USA
NETANYA, Israel — In the August 23, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
–Israeli scientists have printed an active tumor for testing cancer therapies.
–An Israeli charity is saving Arab children from dying in car crashes.
–Israelis again aid victims of another massive deadly earthquake in Haiti.
–Israelis are developing a flying sports car.
–The rate of Israel’s economic recovery is one of the fastest in the world.
–Israel’s “no-fear” children enjoy a thrilling adventure trail in Jerusalem. [Michael Ordman]
Good News from Israel (August 23, 2021) Read More »
International, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — I’ll never forget my first baseball game. My father brought me to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on the last day of the regular season in 1993, as we watched the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1. Even as my interest in America’s Pastime has waned
Putting the ‘Community’ in Jewish Community Day at Petco Park Read More »
Jacob Kamaras, Sports & Competitions, USA
By Mimi Pollack LA MESA, California — It is unusual when a person combines great talent with compassion for others, but from personal and perhaps biased experience, I can attest that South African musician, Sharon Katz, has both in spades. Music can soothe and heal the soul, no matter where you are from. Imagine growing
Sharon Katz: Music and Mitzvahs Read More »
International, Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
By Mark D. Zimmerman Following the lead of Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida State Board of Education has threatened to withhold funds from the school boards in Broward and Alachua counties, where local officials want to enforce mask requirements for their students. DeSantis has stated that mask wearing should be an individual choice, and even
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Governor Ron DeSantis Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Jerry Klinger KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — At-risk to his own life, Roddie Edmonds saved approximately 200 Jewish POW G.I.s during the Holocaust. He is the only American G.I. honored by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. East Tennessee is part of the Republican flyover country to the coastal elitists. Images of the Beverly
Historical Marker for Holocaust Hero Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds Finally Dedicated Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, USA