International

First direct tourist flight from Israel to UAE touches down in Dubai

The first flight carrying Israeli tourists to the United Arab Emirates landed on Sunday in the city-state of Dubai, the latest sign of the normalisation deal reached between the two nations.FlyDubai flight No. FZ8194 landed at Dubai International Airport just after 5:40pm, bringing the tourists to the skyscraper-studded city after a nearly three-hour trip.The low-cost

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Middle East, Travel and Food

Hebrew Day alumna Tova Winick briefs 2 Defense Ministers

Sooner or later, many schools will learn of an  alumna who made it big.  For example, Patrick Henry High School in San Diego boasts as one of its graduates the actress Annette Bening.  Westmount High School in Westmount, Quebec, claims  U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as a 1981 graduate.  And Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School now can brag about Tova Winick, Class of 2013. Okay, Tova isn’t a household name yet, but there has been quite a buzz about her ever since she was pictured in late October in the uniform of an officer of the Israel Defense Forces giving a briefing on the workings of the Iron Dome missile defense system to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper accompanied by Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East

Palestinian president congratulates Biden

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday congratulated Joe Biden, the projected winner of the US presidential election, on his victory, as well as Kamala Harris, projected to serve as the first woman vice president in US history.Abbas said he hoped Biden’s election would improve “Palestinian-American relations and achieve freedom, independence, justice and dignity for our

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Middle East, USA

Israel needs to watch out for Joe Biden’s UN ambassador pick – opinion

US President-elect Joe Biden reflects the orthodoxy of the “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. He is a committed, enthusiastic proponent of this idea as a way forward in the Middle East.There is a competing political paradigm – “racial-justice politics” – that has gained, if not dominance, at the very least great influence with liberal

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Middle East, USA

Mohammed bin Salman congratulates Biden over US election

Saudi Arabia’s king and its powerful crown prince Sunday congratulated Joe Biden on winning the US presidential election, state media said, a day after TV networks declared him the victor.King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent congratulatory messages to US president-elect Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.It added

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Middle East, USA

Retiring Rep. Susan Davis considers possible role with JFS

Now that Sara Jacobs has been elected as her successor, retiring Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) says she would like to work in the future either part-time or as a volunteer in the San Diego Jewish community, specifically mentioning her admiration for the work of Jewish Family Service. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, San Diego County, USA

Moving forward while presidential politics remain stuck

So many of us are stuck, unable to move forward. And yet, we must.

Perhaps we can learn how from Father Abraham. In the Torah, we read of the Akeda, the story (Gen. 22) of the binding of Isaac. It begins with the words: Vay’hi achar had’varim ha-eyleh (And it happened after these things). The Rashbam comments: Kol makom sh’ne’emar achar had’varim ha-eyleh, m’chubar al haparsha shel’mala (Every place where the Torah says, “After these things,” it is connected to the text above it). [Rabbi Dr. Bernhard H. Rosenberg]

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Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, USA

Good News from Israel (Nov. 8, 2020)

NETANYA, Israel — In the 8th Nov 20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

Israel begins human trials of Israeli Covid-19 vaccine.
A new Israeli breath test detects Covid-19 carriers even without symptoms.
An Israeli groundbreaking way to produce X-rays.
An Israeli app prevents drivers from texting while driving.
Twice-daily low-cost flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai.
Israeli maritime technology is protecting most of the world’s ships.
A new museum of Jewish history is being built in Jerusalem. [Michael Ordman]

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Business & Finance, International, Jewish Religion, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of Great Britain has died

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the much respected former chief rabbi of the UK, has died aged 72.Sacks was highly esteemed around the Jewish world for his erudition, his wisdom, and his prolific authorship of works on Jewish thought.Sacks announced in the middle of October that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment, but

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International, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials

Kamala Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff to be first ‘second gentleman’

Washington (AFP) – When Kamala Harris makes history as the first woman and first Black US vice president, her husband Doug Emhoff will break his own new ground: as the original “second husband.”Harris and Emhoff, who married in 2014 — she for the first time, he for the second — will also be the first

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Jewish History, USA

Trump lawyers vow fight is not over in Philly and pledge new lawsuits

PHILADELPHIA — Even as even as Joe Biden was declared the projected winner of Pennsylvania — and ultimately the presidency — President Donald Trump’s legal team refused to concede without a fight and promised to bring a slew of new lawsuits Monday challenging the vote-counting process in Philadelphia.At a news conference in Holmesburg, the president’s

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USA