USA

An Open Letter to Mahmoud Abbas

I hope that this final appeal will awaken you to the reality that you can no longer ignore. Time has just about run out and your immediate decision to agree or refuse to enter into new peace negotiations with Israel will determine the future of your people for generations to come. They will either live in peace and harmony with Israel, growing and prospering, or remain a shattered nation despairing for a ray of hope that has eluded them for seven decades – with you sealing their fate. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Alon Ben-Meir, International, Middle East, USA

Supporting racial justice during the pandemic

While protests and demonstrations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement are taking place across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing – limiting  sources of support to worthy organizations. However, if you are so inclined and financially able, charitable giving is a great way to support this growing movement and effect real change in our community. Below is a list of organizations you might consider. [Sheryl Rowling]

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Business & Finance, Sheryl Rowling, USA

Bowman v. Engel: Progressive Democrats’ seek takeover

By  Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Jamaal Bowman, a candidate in a New York Democratic primary election for Congress, on Friday disqualified himself in the eyes of many pro-Israel voters, when he revealed disingenuous views about Israel in an opinion piece published by The Riverdale Press, a Pulitzer-Prize winning neighborhood weekly. Bowman, 44, is trying

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

Reflection, introspection on Father’s Day

Sunday being Father’s Day, I couldn’t help but think about a conversation held approximately 111 years ago between a son and his father. The father’s first name was Velvel, the name he had been given in Lithuania well before he immigrated to the United States during the 1880s when American ports were open to all who were healthy and wished to work hard. The first name of the son was Meyer. He was born in the United States, was a talented draftsman, a good student, and in 1909, earned a university degree as a professional architect. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, USA

Juneteenth and Jewish community reflection, action

It is six days shy of a full month between the killing of George Floyd on May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer and today’s ‘Juneteenth’ celebration.  It has been a time of daily marches and national protests for racial justice, and a time for deep reflection throughout America.  Many communities, including our fellow Jews, have been reflecting on such questions as “in what ways can we help to bridge gaps and create understanding and unity in our country?”  “How can Jewish tradition and values guide us in our search for societal harmony?” and “In what manner do we best start?” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

On Juneteenth, remembering a woman snuffed out five summers ago

It was five years ago, summer 2015, that Sandra Bland, driving while black, was wantonly pulled over by police very close to her home. In the dimness of our prevailing sadness, the malevolent passing of one young American woman in a Texas jail cell stands out in its grim narrative. Sandra Bland, in her consuming desperation and misfortune, must never be forgotten–especially in this summer of racial reckoning. [Ben Kamin]

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USA

Satire: Trumpteenth

After Donald Trump learned that the original date of his Tulsa Rally coincided with Juneteenth, he changed the date out of deference to African Americans.  Indeed, he respects their holiday so much that he plans to make June 20th a national holiday modeled after it calling it Trumpteenth.  Here are excerpts from an advance copy of his speech tomorrow: [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Netanyahu’s annexation gamble

A reason often given for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s current pursuit of the annexation (“Israeli sovereignty”) of parts of the West Bank is to fix Israel’s Eastern border that would incorporate most or all of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank yet take up a relatively small part of the area currently under Palestinian control as potential Palestinian state. The time is now, so the argument goes, while Donald Trump, “the great friend of Israel,” is still in power. It is difficult to justify these effort on their merits, which seem minimal. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]

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Middle East, USA

Thomas Sowell, Bolsheviks, and BLM rhetoric

Thomas Sowell is one of the greatest intellectuals in the world today. Back in 1999, he wrote a remarkable book, The Quest for Cosmic Justice. He relates in his book about the time in 1919 when The Bolsheviks created the secret police known as the Cheka.  The similarities between the rhetoric of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Cheka are astounding. Sowell cited records from that era, which ought to sound familiar to us—a century later: (Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel)

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA

Vindication for Kaepernick, awakening for White America

In defense of Colin Kaepernick, I made the supreme sacrifice four years ago: A one-time high school chum de-friended me on Facebook. He could not believe how liberal I had become – all because I insisted that football players like Kaepernick had a constitutional right to kneel during a pre-game playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Now Kaepernick – and by extension myself – has been vindicated. Taking a knee is such a fad that even police chiefs are doing it. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Sports & Competitions, USA

Former SD Padres, JNF boost Israeli baseball

Two former Jewish players for the San Diego Padres are helping Israel build baseball as a popular sport among that nation’s Jewish, Arab, and Bedouin youth, while also preparing Israel’s national baseball team to compete in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, USA

How students can respond to anti-Israel sentiment

The bulk of the [StandWithUs] presentation addressed the basic scenario of students being harassed or excluded from events because they are seen to be pro-Israel. Issues ranged from college professors openly advocating against Israel, to students being kept from marching with or supporting groups like Black Lives Matter because of their beliefs. [Marcia Berneger]

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Marcia Berneger, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA