Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called US sanctions against Ankara over its purchase of a Russian missile defence system an “open attack” on the NATO member state’s sovereignty. The United States made good on months of threats to punish Turkey for buying the S-400 system under a 2017 law known as CAATSA, which […]
Turkey’s Erdogan calls US sanctions ‘attack on sovereignty’ Read More »
Middle East, USA
Israeli actress Gal Gadot was projected onto Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper on Tuesday to advertise her latest film in the Wonder Woman franchise. The Emirati promotion for soon-to-be released “Wonder Woman 1984” makes a marked contrast from the reception in the Middle East of Gadot’s previous appearance as the superhero. The first “Wonder Woman” film
Israeli actress Gal Gadot takes over Burj Khalifa as Wonder Woman Read More »
Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
City Council President Dr. Jennifer Campbell solidified her control over City Council business by appointing herself and the four councilmembers who supported her for president against Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe to key committee positions. The five councilmembers who voted for her now are the exact same membership of the Rules Committee, which according to the City of San Diego’s website, has responsibility for the “charter, permanent rules of council, open government, elections and ballot measures, annexations, boards and commissions, council initiated matters, communications, customer service and public outreach.” Besides Campbell, who will chair the committee, other members include Raul Campillo, Stephen Whitburn, Marni von Wilpert, and Chris Cate. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jen Campbell solidifies her City Council control Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
US President Donald Trump continues to lead transactionally in his final weeks in office. Perhaps nothing illustrated this point more than Trump’s announcement that Morocco would become the fourth Arab state in 2020 to formalise diplomatic relations with Israel as part of a deal in which the US would recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
How Morocco-Israel normalisation could push Algeria closer to Russia Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday picked the next director of the Mossad spy agency, identified only as “D”, to replace Yossi Cohen, a high-profile player in recent normalisation deals with Arab states. Netanyahu “decided to appoint Deputy Mossad Director ‘D’ as the next Mossad Director. ‘D’ is an accomplished Mossad veteran,” a statement
Israel picks new head of Mossad spy agency Read More »
Middle East
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, will visit Israel and Morocco next week to discuss the normalisation of ties between the two countries, a US official told AFP on Tuesday. The American delegation, headed by Kushner, will take the first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Rabat, the source said. Kushner
Jared Kushner to lead US delegation to Israel and Morocco Read More »
Middle East, USA
Some letters written in Hebrew dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) were found in the province of Shinjiang on the ancient Silk Road. This was the route that Jewish merchants from the Middle East traveled to China. According to records, a large group of Jewish people traveled on Persian merchant ships and arrived in China in the year 998 (Northern Song Dynasty 960-1127). They then traveled through the city of Quanzhou and then Yangzhou and finally settled in the capital of Henan called Kaifeng. In the city of Quanzhou (Fujian province), there are tombstones showing the Hebrew names supporting this record. In KaiFeng, they stayed in a district called Heshuen (Peace and Harmony) and the people at that time called the Jewish people “Blue Cap Hui Hui.” [Li-Rong Cheng, Ph.D]
Jewish History in China Stretches Back More Than A Millennium Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, USA
Only yesterday I published a column about the joy of collecting photos of automobile license plates. Today, to my pleasant surprise, I received a notice that the State of Florida has issued a specialty plate with the legend “Florida Stands With Israel.” A sample of the plate may be seen above. [Donald H. Harrison]
Florida Celebrates Israel on a License Plate Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA
The big political event of the week was the announcement by Gideon Sa’ar that he was leaving Likud, and forming a new party,
Sa’ar has a long history in Israeli politics. He was in the Knesset from 2003, Minister of Education, then Minister of Interior. He left then returned to the Knesset, challenged Bibi in a Likud primary, and lost. Then Bibi kept him out of the government and any Knesset committee seats. Now he’s resigned again from the Knesset, and Likud, and hopes to be Prime Minister. Instead of Bibi. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
Gideon Sa’ar leaves the Knesset, begins forming new party Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Iran plans to return to the 2015 international nuclear deal under which it swore off the pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for eased sanctions – which it began to ignore after the US pulled out – its president said on Monday. “[US President Donald] Trump and a few people holding grudges in Iran want
Iran should return to 2015 nuclear deal, president says Read More »
Middle East, USA
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will self-isolate on Monday after having come into contact with a coronavirus patient, his office said calling it a precautionary step. Netanyahu tested negative for the virus on Sunday and on Monday, but he will still “enter isolation until Friday following contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient”, the statement said.
Israel’s Netanyahu to enter precautionary virus quarantine Read More »
Middle East
Washington (AFP) – The United States on Monday for the first time accused Iran of direct involvement in the “probable death” of former FBI agent Bob Levinson, who vanished 13 years ago. Releasing the finding a month before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, Donald Trump’s administration urged his successor to prioritize the release of at
US says Iran behind ‘probable death’ of ex-FBI agent Read More »
Middle East, USA
The United States said Monday that it has imposed sanctions on Turkey over the NATO ally’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system, a move that swiftly drew criticism from Ankara. The U.S. sanctions include a ban on granting specific export licenses and authorizations for any goods or technology transferred to Turkey’s military procurement
U.S. sanctions Turkey over purchase of Russian missile defense system Read More »
Middle East, USA
In the early ‘90’s we moved into an old-new home in Efrat, up the street from where we had rented since 1985. The size of the house was unpretentious, and our renovations were modest, but it put a strain on our finances. Among my splurges were wall-to-wall carpeting in the children’s bedrooms (rare in Israel) and – my dream since childhood — a beautiful bay window. Chanukah was drawing near. Both general and religious elementary and high school education in Israel are, theoretically, free, but most schools ask parents to pay additional fees to upgrade what the school can offer, such as smaller classes, additional courses (in addition to the usual books, supplies, bought by parents), and so on, and we were big believers in after-school art, drama, dance and sports classes, so with six kids, and a few already in (non-free) high schools, money was tight, and that was with my husband teaching the equivalent of a job and a half, and me teaching part time, writing a bit, and working at various creative – but not very lucrative — projects. In short, we could not come up with a plan for Chanukah gifts, without plunging us into high-interest overdraft. And then it came to me. A poem. [Toby Klein Greenwald]
The Gift of a Poem for Chanukah Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, Toby Klein Greenwald