International

Jewish community urges combat against racism, bigotry

In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and protest demonstrations across the country, rabbis and Jewish organizations are grappling with the issue of what Jews can do to combat racism and bigotry in the United States.  While there is general consensus that there is a need for action, it remains an open question just what kind of action would be appropriate.  Messages and news releases crossing my desk illustrate the contours of the debate so far. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

Coronavirus and institutionalized racism

The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in broad daylight came amid a high point in the continuing rampage of the coronavirus throughout the country, killing over 100,000 and infecting nearly 2 million while more than 45 million have lost their jobs. The death of Floyd is no longer seen merely as an act of police brutality but the final crack in the dam, revealing the insidious socio-economic and healthcare malaise that continues to be inflicted disproportionately on the African American community. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Alon Ben-Meir, USA

San Diego youth peacefully protest Floyd killing

A youth protest on Monday over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd offered a contrast to other protests shown on television news. It was organized and largely made up of people who were barely in their 20s. The emphasis was to remain peaceful and have a calm demonstration. It was made clear, “We don’t want to escalate it, it’s not our fault if it escalates, but we don’t want to escalate it.” [Shor M. Masori and Kenede Pratt-McCloud]

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San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, USA

Putting police practices under the microscope in the wake of George Floyd’s death

George Floyd’s death was tragic. What made his death all the more tragic is that it was at the hand of a policeman. As a country, we need to do some serious soul-searching. I am reminded of the early 19th century Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), where he writes about Cain’s question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, USA

Jews and the Black Lives Matter movement

To say that Black Lives Matter does NOT take away from the fact that ALL life is precious, it merely emphasizes the fact that Black lives are under attack in disproportionate numbers and attention needs to be drawn to it.  To say Black Lives Matter is to say that unarmed African Americans are three times more likely to killed by police than their White counterparts even though they are 1.3 times more likely to be  unarmed than their White counterparts.  [Rabbi Carlos Huerta]

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Jewish History, USA

Modern woman tells of life under the ayatollahs

Author Jacqueline Saper, part of a Jewish family, the daughter of an Iranian university professor and a British mother, an assistant airport manager, describes growing up in a wealthy and idyllic setting, a large house with opulent furnishings in the Tehran neighborhood of Yousefabad, dining in the best restaurants, attending private schools, travelling back and forth between England and Iran, and surrounded by maids and household laborers. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Middle East

U.S. wary of China’s economic interest in Israel

Israel’s greatest ally is unquestionably the US. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has augmented its reliance on America and the West with an outreach to the East, primarily China, which has become its second-largest trading partner. The US sees Chinese inroads into Israel as a threat to itself. [Steve Kramer]

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Business & Finance, International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

Street talk in a riot’s aftermath

The streets of La Mesa were bustling Sunday with disaster tourists checking out the ruins, taking pictures and remarking on the devastation. On Saturday night, a mob of rioters -joining what was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration protesting police brutality- threw rocks and bottles at the La Mesa Police Department Headquarters. Looted bottles of liquor became incendiary bombs, turning the Chase Bank and Union Bank on Spring Street into heaps of charred concrete, twisted metal and still smoldering pieces of lumber. Construction crews had already begun clearing the debris, but it’s a big job that has only just begun. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, USA

George Floyd honored, dishonored by protests, riots

Here in San Diego County, peaceful demonstrators honored the memory of George Floyd, the African-American victim of a white Minneapolis policeman who continuously and fatally pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck, hampering the prone man’s ability to breathe. The demonstrators’ cries for racial justice were heart-felt, appropriate, and in need of urgent redress. Also, here in San Diego County, particularly in La Mesa, rioters of diverse racial backgrounds dishonored George Floyd, using his unwarranted death as an excuse for arson and looting. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA