International

First yahrzeit of Tree of Life Synagogue massacre

This Shabbat marks the one year anniversary of the massacre at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when eleven Jews were murdered during the Morning Prayer service.

The act of violence and hate that was supposed to instill fear in Jews had a somewhat opposite effect. Instead of staying away, the next weekend, millions of people, from all different faiths and backgrounds “Showed Up For Shabbat.” Synagogues were packed in what was a beautiful, comforting, and inspiring statement of solidarity and love for Jews, Judaism, and Jewish community, around the world. [Rabbi Joshua Dorsch]

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Jewish History, USA

Benny Gantz reaches out to all sides

Gantz seems to have learnt the trade. His speech last night when accepting the president’s charge to form the next government – now when Netanyahu has failed to do so – was excellent. It left many of us with the impression that here’s a man prepared to lead a united country, whereas the leaders of other parties, not least Netanyahu himself, are bent on fragmentation. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]

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Middle East

We must not grow numb to the Yazidi genocide

A few week ago, I had an opportunity to meet with six members of the Yazidi community, including journalists and activists. I must admit that although I knew and was very shaken when I first learned about the horrifying attack by ISIS on the Yazidi community in Sinjar, Iraq, listening to their account of what actually happened still stunned me beyond description. [Alon Ben-Meir, PhD]

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Alon Ben-Meir, International, Middle East, USA

State’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum awaits resolution

The state’s proposed ethnic studies curriculum was temporarily shelved in part because of objections from the California Jewish Legislative Caucus, the Anti-Defamation League, and other Jewish groups that the panel that created the document all but ignored the Jewish experience in the United States, while utilizing the curriculum to spread a false Palestinian narrative about Israel that includes support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Bibi’s mandate soon to expire, without results

We’re at the end of Bibi’s’ mandate, without any results. With more than a hint of desperation, and indications from within Likud that–while expressing support for their leader–individuals are maneuvering to be next in line. He’s produced another pledge, signed by the ultra-Orthodox, but not by Shaked and Bennett, that they’ll oppose any non-Bibi coalition that has the support of the Arab parties. [Ira Sharkansky, PhD]

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International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA

Davis joins Pelosi’s trip to Jordan, Afghanistan

U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) was part of a delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on a previously unannounced weekend trip to Jordan, where they met with King Abdullah II to discuss Turkey’s invasion of Syria.  The group also went to Afghanistan where they met with President Ashraf Ghani. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Middle East, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, USA

A posthumous birthday salute to oceanographer Walter Munk

On what would have been oceanographer Walter Munk’s 102nd birthday on Saturday, Oct. 19, surfers gathered in a ring near the Scripps Pier in La Jolla while others gathered on the pier itself to honor Munk by tossing biodegradable flowers into the ocean.  San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Charles T. Clark reported that a seal “even made an appearance, jumping in and out of the water nearby.”  Often described as the “Einstein of the Oceans,” Munk died in February of this year.  The City of San Diego honored him in 2017 on his 100th birthday by naming a walkway along the beach of La Jolla, “Walter Munk Way.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, USA

King Solomon the not so wise

History repeats itself mostly because people fail to learn from the terrible consequences that occurred following the foolish acts of the past. The Bible tells us about the supposed wisdom of King Solomon. In my book The Authentic King Solomon, I show that actually, scripture is demonstrating that the king was not as smart as he and we think he was. In every chapter where Solomon is shown to have performed an act, it also shows, without exception, that he also acted foolishly. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Middle East

A Jewish Tale of the Great American Prairie

It all started in 2013, when my son Lincoln was with me, visiting the Ashley, North Dakota Jewish Cemetery where my great-grandfather is buried. He began asking me questions about the community of Russian Jewish immigrants, who arrived in the early 1900s with no farming experience, to farm the North Dakota prairies. I didn’t have sufficient answers. But the seed was planted for me to learn more – for my son, myself, our family, and people I had never met. [Rebecca Bender]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Lifestyles, USA

OpEd: Trump’s letter to Erdogan a disgrace

There is no wonder that every person and news outlet that saw Trump’s letter to Turkey’s president Erdogan thought it was a joke. When it was confirmed that the letter was indeed authentic, bewilderment and disbelief struck everyone who read it, as no US president has ever written such a disgraceful letter which will be remembered in infamy. [Alon Ben-Meir]

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Alon Ben-Meir, Middle East, USA

15th Jew in space in first all-female space walk

Astronaut Jessica Meir, who earned her doctorate from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography here in San Diego, on Friday was part of the first all-female team to do a space walk from the international space station. She and fellow American  astronaut Christine Koch were tasked with repairing a power control unit – a job that in the slow motion of space took seven hours and 17 minutes, including interruptions to take congratulatory calls from President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Presidential Advisor Invaka Trump, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA