By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – There are two photos of Jewish members of the U.S. Congress in the news . One we’d like to see a lot more of; the other a lot less. The first, of course, is that of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who has been in physical rehabilitation ever since January […]
Tales of two congressional photos Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, USA
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO–It wasn’t exactly news when sources back in my hometown of Cincinnati announced that the wrecking ball would finally bring down our venerable, exhilarating, dangerous, and soul-defining Woodward High School—a churning microcosm of America from which we graduated in 1970. For some time, the school had stood ready for imminent
While high school stood, it stood for a lot Read More »
USA
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — For more than 60 years, the United Nations has worked mightily to prevent the Arabs from paying the price of their rejection of the independence of Israel in 1948 and to stoke the fires of Palestinian irredentism: denying resettlement to Arabs who fled the Arab war against Israel; five
Palestinian vote could set precedent for secessionist movements throughout world Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The lead story in Monday’s Ha’aretz carries the headline, “U.S. pressuring Netanyahu to accept Obama’s peace plan; Israeli source says Americans frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for hampering U.S. efforts to stop Palestinians trying UN route to statehood in September” It is not clear if this is coming
Is Palestinian reconciliation unraveling? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Friday met with Jewish community leaders from across the nation at the White House to underscore the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to partnering with faith-based communities to prevent, prepare for and respond to threats and announce the expansion of DHS’ “If You See Something, Say
Homeland Security Dept; Jewish organizations announce anti-terror partnership Read More »
USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C — In honor of Russia’s National Day on Sunday, Russia House took out a full-page ad in a Washington newspaper. The first text line reads, “Twenty years ago, Russia completed the process of liberating about two dozen nations, itself included, from communist rule.” Funny, the Poles, Czechs, Estonians and
Central European history not a template for Mideast Read More »
International, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –The United States has added another Muslim country to the list where its soldiers are fighting. The administration that is dead set against condemning Islam is now active in Yemen as well as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya. Some are major battlegrounds, others provide occasional activity against targets of
U.S. now fighting in seven Muslim countries Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Go to war. Then think about it. It’s the story of Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Libya. The New York Times reported: “As NATO airplanes and attack helicopters struck fresh targets in Tripoli and the oil port of Brega on Sunday, senior British and American officials said there was no
Wars, U.S. statements on Mideast, examples of not thinking matters through Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Over the weekend, the Syrian government killed 122 people. What’s that? You say some of them were killed by the IDF? No. The Palestinians killed on the Syria-Israel border were sent to their death by Bashar Assad, desperate to deflect attention from the more than 1,200 Syrians he has killed
Blame Syrians for Palestinian deaths at Israel border Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — When I lit up my computer on Monday morning, the lead story on the New York Times Internet site reported on Palestinian-Syrian efforts to send a mass of demonstrators toward the Israeli border on the Golan Heights. The article described the motives of the Syrian regime to distract attention from
Syria demonstrates usefulness of world’s obsession with Palestine Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SACRAMENTO—It took a Holocaust video to compel the California State Assembly to a moral consensus. It was during one of our more recent visits to the state capitol that members of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice—a multi-cultural panel of activist clergy—discovered a genuine poignancy in the midst of the
In Sacramento, there’s the ‘Capitol Knesset’ Read More »
USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — At the anniversary of the Six Day War, we are reminded of the existential threat Israel faced. Egypt was massing troops in the Sinai after closing the Straits of Tiran and expelling the UN peacekeeping force. Syria was massing troops on the Golan after years of shelling Israelis in
Israel ready for military challenges from Iran-backed neighbors Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — We watch the news on TV where we are informed that murder and mayhem, death and destruction are raging all around us. Regimes are changing in the wake of mass demonstrations, some more violent than others, in several countries nearby. But we look out of the window and
If Middle East is in turmoil, why does life seem so pleasant? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – Congressman Bill Johnson, (R-Ohio), Wednesday announced that he is introducing legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to place at the national World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. the prayer offered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the American people as U.S. troops were storming the beaches
Move to include FDR’s D-Day prayer at World War II memorial Read More »
USA