International

Chutzpah and Balagan: partners in innovation

he State of Israel is an amazing place. Ever wonder about the secrets behind how Israel, a tiny country with the highest concentration of start-ups per capita worldwide, is raising generations of entrepreneurs who are disrupting markets around the globe and bringing change to the world? What factors have led to these remarkable achievements, and what secrets do Israeli tech entrepreneurs know that others can learn? [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East

Republicans launch bid for Jewish support in 2020

 Social media users in San Diego County and around the country soon will be bombarded with the Republican Jewish Coalition’s opening salvo in an effort to reelect Donald Trump in 2020 – a 30-second video spot contending it is a “shanda” (disgrace) how leading Democrats are attacking Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, USA

Time to consider Roth conversions, estate planning

We are nearing the end of 2019. And, there’s something significant to note about this year and 2020: There will likely not be any tax increases during these years. Currently, we are enjoying the lowest income tax rates in decades as well as the highest estate tax exemptions. Income tax rates range from 10% to 37% and capital gains tax ranges from 0% to 20%, while the estate & gift tax exemption is $11,400,000 per person! What does this have to do with you? Plenty! Especially if you have retirement accounts and/or are worth more than $2 million per person. [Sheryl Rowling, CPA]

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Business & Finance, Sheryl Rowling, USA

Tao House: Where O’Neill wrote well-known plays

The playwright Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953) grew bored and frustrated by what passed for theatre early in his life.  There were few stories told that connected with reality; instead, theater essentially was spectacle – lots of costumes, big sets, predictable plots and one-dimensional characters. He wanted to change all that, suggested Tory Starling, the educational technician at the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site.   He experimented in various forms of theatre. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

U.S. receives large returns on Israel investment

Both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have made US military aid to Israel a cornerstone policy on their competing campaign trails. Detractors of Israel like to jump on the figure of $3.8 Billion (2019) that the United States gives to Israel for its military defense. What they do not take into consideration are three important factors that make the US-Israel defense relationship truly unique. [Barry Shaw]

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Barry Shaw, Middle East, USA

Should Israel moderate its Iran stand?

It’s difficult to know whether Netanyahu’s obsession with Iran is because he cares for his country or if his real purpose is to persuade Israelis that he and only he can make sure that Israel remains secure, expanding at the expense of the Palestinians and prosperous? The answer isn’t simple. For there’s much to suggest that Israeli hostility to Iran has brought the Jewish state closer to many Arab states, notably Saudi Arabia and Gulf States, on the basis that my enemy’s enemy is my friend. Much of that may be thanks to our prime minister. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]

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Middle East

A consortium of 100 geniuses

Besides being Jewish what do these people have in common?  Amir Amedi, Ron Arad, Marc Benioff, Michael Bloomberg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,  Daniel S. Goldin, Roger D. Kornberg, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, John Landis, Uri Levine, Shuki Levy, Daniel Libeskind, Shimon Peres (z”l), Ehud Shabtai,  Amir Shinar and Barbra Streisand. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, International, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Travel and Food

A busy November for Friends of Israel Defense Forces

With the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) planning its Western Regional Gala on Thursday, Nov.7, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, and the San Diego/ Orange County/ Arizona chapter planning a local gala just two days later on Nov. 9 at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel here in San Diego, it’s likely to be a busy time for the local chapter’s board. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County

Arab countries should pay for humanitarian relief in Gaza

The senator’s scheme to relieve their pain collapses when he proposes that funds for humanitarian aid there be diverted from the $3.8 million that America sends to Israel each year for military aid. Why Israel? Why not all the oil-rich Arab countries that spend their money on royal palaces and extravagant vacations? They launched the war of 1948 that sent Palestinians fleeing Israel in all directions or living mainly in Gaza and the West Bank. What is their responsibility? [Bruce Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

The World War II bravery of remote French villages

The largely rural Vivarais-Lignon plateau enjoys a climate considered to be healthy during the summer months, resulting in the existence there of several hotels, children’s homes and convalescent centres for visiting tourists. In the winter, however, it was more or less cut off from the rest of the country by deep, long-lasting snow and its mountainous terrain. These conditions enabled the villagers to provide sanctuary for people – and especially children – seeking to evade capture and deportation to concentration camps. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International

Noah is one of the world’s many flood stories

Scholars think that a deluge of such cataclysmic proportions was unlikely in the setting of the Land of Israel, given its topography.  It is believed that relatively nearby Mesopotamia was a natural locale for the story.  In fact, cuneiform documents and archaeology provide testimony for periodic inundation of the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Torrential rains, tornadoes, and the melting of snows in the mountains of Anatolia, in combination, have periodically flooded the valley and turned it into a huge lake.  This area produced a number of flood stories in ancient times, including the Gilgamesh Epic. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

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International, Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

An opening in Israel for hope

Benny Gantz will have his chance at this task. Much hangs in the balance. It’s the first time in over a decade that an Israeli politician other than Netanyahu has had such an opportunity. While it is far from clear that Gantz will be successful – the odds aren’t great, and Israelis may well find themselves returning to the polls for an unprecedented third election in a year – one thing is increasingly clear: something is changing in Israel. [Daniel Sokatch]

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Middle East