By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Refugees aren’t too popular these days in most countries. Israel has some unwanted refugees of its own. These refugees, commonly called “infiltrators” here, number about 30-40,000, down from a much larger contingent several years ago. What happened? Israel’s policy has been to grant asylum to almost none of […]
Wanted/ Unwanted Refugees Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — If you expect peace to break out any time soon in the Middle East, you’re bound to be disappointed. First, Arabs don’t get along among themselves, partly due to the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims. About 85% of Muslims world-wide follow the Sunni tradition; the two sects
Emigration: Pals can escape constant turmoil Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
By Dor Gwieta LA JOLLA, California — Natan Sharansky has been my inspiration, from his work not only as a Jewish leader, but also as an educator and a pro-Israel activist. His life story is a guidebook for me on how a Jewish community leader should act—we must manifest his ideals within the Jewish community.
Sharansky prompted his Jewish commitment Read More »
Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Some years ago, my friend Malcolm Feeley dealt with crime in the streets via a book entitled, The Process is the Punishment. His theme was that a great deal of crime–including violence–that occurs in the ghettos is not formally punished. The police can’t find conclusive evidence, the courts are jammed,
For Netanyahu, process is punishment Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
The Rabbinate in Stormy Days by Shaul Mayzlish; Gefen Publishing House By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — As a Masorti (Conservative) Jew living in Israel, there’s a lot to be learned from this history of the modern State of Israel’s first chief rabbi, Yitzhak Isaac HaLevi Herzog, who of course was deeply religious. The Chief
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Beth Israel’s Men’s Club will host Mike Dolinka as a guest speaker at its March 21 Dinner Forum beginning at 6:30 p.m. Dolinka is the current Executive Director for the Friends of the Israel Defense Force (FIDF) in San Diego, Orange County and Arizona. This program is open to the entire San
FIDF’s Mike Dolinka to lecture March 21 Read More »
Middle East, San Diego CalendarMoadim Perspectives: Chanukah – Purim, by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Rabbi Dr. Solomon Breuer, and Rabbi Dr. Joseph Breuer, Feldheim Publishers, New York, © 2018, ISBN 978-1-68025-072-5, p. 241, $22.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Moadim Perspectives: Chanukah – Purim is the third in a series of books on Jewish holidays by the Rabbi
A scholarly family writes of Chanukah, Purim Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
By Mimi Pollack SAN DIEGO — For some people, your first love or passion can be hard to forget. This passion may be related to love or work. In the case of widower, Rafael [Fallo] Mareyna, he had two first loves which were painting, something he left and came back to many
First Loves Forever Read More »
International, Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego CountyBy Alon Ben-Meir NEW YORK — With the mid-term political campaigns underway, perhaps we should pause and think where this country is headed under the leadership of Trump, with the House and Senate in control of the Republican party—a party that has lost its soul and its way, failing to safeguard America’s national interest. This
OpEd: A party that has lost its soul Read More »
Alon Ben-Meir, International, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We had a right to cheer, or at least to be satisfied, by Donald Trump’s announcements that he recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that Israel is not the heart of the Middle East’s problems. We also have a right to question the wisdom of the announcements, their
Weighing the impact of Trump’s Jerusalem declaration Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Evidently, money means little when it comes to projecting military power. How else to explain the fact that the US is in a tizzy because of threats and actions by Russia, by Iran, and even by dirt-poor North Korea – all of which have economies that are minuscule
Gangster states threaten even when seriously outgunned Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin OCEANSIDE, California — No more of this assault on immigrants! I will no longer tolerate this ugly national mood–especially the brazen, indulgent persecution of immigrants and so-called “foreigners.” It hurts the heart and it’s wrong. I am an immigrant to this country, arriving at the age of nine. My parents chose
U.S. must end its war on immigrants Read More »
USA
Through My Father’s Eyes by Barry Fischer; Fischer Family Press; © 2014; ISBN 9780991-073313; 211 pages; $19.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –This memoir is a good introduction to the Holocaust for middle school students and older. It is written in a clear, conversational style, the author remembering how his father, Mayer Fischer, described
Son relates his father’s Holocaust survival Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish HistoryEFRAT, Israel — Two years ago, Rabbi Gideon Osher Shmueli donated a kidney to a stranger, saving that individual’s life. These days, he works at Magen David Yeshivah in Brooklyn, N.Y., teaching Hebrew and bringing with that teaching the culture and values of Judaism and eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. To him, teaching about Judaism
Orthodox network sends emissaries to San Diego Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA