International

Good News from Israel (May 30, 2021)

Highlights of Good News from Israel for the May 30, 2011 edition include:
–Israeli wound treatment uses patients’ own blood to save their lives.
–Israeli-invented pill camera to be given to 11,000 UK patients.
–Media reports of Israel’s civil war are fake news.
–Israeli technology is out of this world.
–20 Israeli companies have partnered to make Israel’s roads safer.
–Almost every week there’s a new Israeli billion-dollar company.
–Israelis smash swimming and singing records at Euro events.
–Birthright has resumed free Israel tours for American Jews.
[Michael Ordman]

Good News from Israel (May 30, 2021) Read More »

Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Mideast Ceasefire May Be Holding, But Israel Is Still Under Attack

The Middle East is a part of the world drenched in sadness, pain and violence. Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, once said that in Israel the trauma is layered like an archaeological dig, where each level of destruction is piled one on top of the other, with no space between them. Since 2000 it has been one long war; a new kind of warfare called “asymmetrical war.” Asymmetrical warfare attempts to erase two basic features of war: the front and the uniform. It has no defined place and is waged by unidentified murderers. The goal is to create, in the words of the Israeli moral philosopher, Moshe Halbertal, “a war of all, against all, and everywhere.” Everyone is a potential enemy and nowhere is safe. And one of the results of this kind of warfare is more fatalities in Gaza than in Israel. [Rabbi Michael Berk]

Mideast Ceasefire May Be Holding, But Israel Is Still Under Attack Read More »

Middle East

Goodbye Columbus, Schweitzer, and Lindbergh

For many years, performing any of Richard Wagner’s orchestral works was verboten in Israel.  Wagner was a virulent antisemite and Hitler’s favorite composer.  In a country that had taken in so many victims of the Holocaust, performing any of Wagner’s works would have been like pouring  burning oil onto an open flesh wound. [Donald H. Harrison]

Goodbye Columbus, Schweitzer, and Lindbergh Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Netanyahu, Blinken Paper Over Differences During Jerusalem Meeting

After their meeting in Jerusalem on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made what were supposed to be “soft” public statements. The politely worded remarks deliberately slid past serious policy differences, but those differences cannot and should not be hidden. Moreover, they should form the basis of conversation between the two allies in the future. [Shoshana Bryen]

Netanyahu, Blinken Paper Over Differences During Jerusalem Meeting Read More »

Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

U.S. Justice Breyer touts compromise, democracy, adherence to precedent

Published by Reuters By Andrew Chung (Reuters) – Justice Stephen Breyer on Friday spoke of the need for the U.S. Supreme Court to respect its own precedents, talked up democracy and touted bipartisan collaboration in Congress as he addressed school students amid speculation about his possible retirement. Breyer, at 82 the nine-member court’s oldest justice,

U.S. Justice Breyer touts compromise, democracy, adherence to precedent Read More »

USA

Money is cheap, let’s spend it -White House $6 trillion budget message

Published by Reuters By Andrea Shalal, Jarrett Renshaw and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget proposal that would ramp up spending on infrastructure, education and combating climate change, arguing it makes good fiscal sense to invest now, when the cost of borrowing is cheap, and reduce deficits

Money is cheap, let’s spend it -White House $6 trillion budget message Read More »

USA

Fabiola Santiago: Tone-deaf racial comments aside, Coral Gables does the right thing honoring Harriet Tubman

Published by Miami Herald Election politicking behind them (or so was claimed), the newly installed city of Coral Gables mayor and commission finally did the right thing Tuesday and reversed a wrong. They voted unanimously to join the county and nine other municipalities in supporting the designation of South Dixie Highway in Miami-Dade County as

Fabiola Santiago: Tone-deaf racial comments aside, Coral Gables does the right thing honoring Harriet Tubman Read More »

USA

Dubai opens first Holocaust exhibition on Arabian Peninsula

Published by DPA Dubai’s Crossroads of Civilizations Museum has opened what curators say is the Arabian Peninsula’s first-ever exhibition on the Holocaust, set to become a permanent fixture of the museum, focussing on the history of regional cultures. “It is very important to us that we focus on educating people about the tragedies of the

Dubai opens first Holocaust exhibition on Arabian Peninsula Read More »

International, Jewish History, Middle East

A Memorial Day Weekend Tale of Two Jewish American Military Heroes

As part of our JWB Jewish Chaplains Council® National Jewish Community Observance of Memorial Day, on Thursday, we were honored to visit the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal, while the ship was in port in New York City. The USCGC Nathan Bruckenthal is named for the first Jewish Coast Guardsman killed in combat since the Vietnam War. Petty Officer Bruckenthal, described to us by the ship’s captain as “a nice Jewish kid from Long Island,” served his country as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was killed during a successful attempt to thwart a seaborne IED (improvised explosive device) attack on a major installation in the Arabian Gulf.  He sacrificed himself to protect others [Rabbi Irving A. Elson and Doron Krakow]

A Memorial Day Weekend Tale of Two Jewish American Military Heroes Read More »

Jewish History, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Pulmonologist Mandel to tell of COVID-19 in two Californias

Jess Mandel, M.D., a board certified pulmonologist, will review the development and execution of COVID-19 surge planning at UCSD and in San Diego County at a 7 p.m., meeting on Wednesday, June 9, sponsored by the Beth Israel Men’s Club.  Additionally, he will discuss the collaborations that developed with hospitals and health care workers in Imperial County and northern Baja California. He will also review the current state of COVID19 in the county and its likely course in the future. [Beth Israel Men’s Club News Release]

Pulmonologist Mandel to tell of COVID-19 in two Californias Read More »

International, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Fight Against Antisemitism On Numerous Fronts

Human rights icon and former Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, Malcolm Hoenlein and Prof. Susannah Heschel, daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, were among the leading figures who participated in a special online symposium marking Jewish American Heritage Month. Speakers emphasized that the Free Soviet Jewry campaign’s successful blending of grassroots activism and political advocacy can be a model in today’s fight against the dangerous growth of antisemitism.  [Combat Antisemitism Movement]

Fight Against Antisemitism On Numerous Fronts Read More »

Jewish History, USA