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

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

Weaponizing the dollar

Ironically, the US itself can weaken the world role of the dollar by unrestrained budget deficits (although the mechanism is uncertain) and certainly by overusing economic sanctions as a form of warfare. Sanctions involve ending a country’s direct links with the US economy, and indirectly by limiting its use of the dollar. We can cut off its use of US financial institutions and urge foreign banks to do the same by threatening their access to US financial facilities. Our weakening of the Iranian economy indicates that economic sanctions can be quite effective. The natural way for a sanctioned country to respond is to seek other currencies with which to do business and use financial institutions without links to the US. If the US does a lot of this, a critical mass of “sanctioned” countries might find a common new currency for their international transactions. The Chinese Remindbi comes to mind. The dollar’s world role would be greatly reduced. [Lawrence Krause, PhD]

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Business & Finance, International, Middle East, USA

Why I’m supporting Amy Klobuchar for President

I am a former Democrat, who left that party after its hard left, now called progressive, wing did everything it could in 2006 to oust U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut  from his seat, which he nevertheless won as an independent.  Many of us Jews had taken tremendous pride in Lieberman having been Al Gore’s 2000 vice presidential running mate, the first Jew to be so nominated by either major party.  So, we felt the effort to dump Lieberman to be a slap in the face.  Yes, he was more conservative than many of us on some issues, but he always was an upstanding example of integrity and civility. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Memories of a childhood sukkah

The Jewish custom of once a year building a little hut or sukkah in one’s garden or backyard supposedly harks back to the time many thousands of years ago when the Hebrews were wandering in the wilderness after having left Egypt and had to live in makeshift huts or tabernacles, more or less in the way the Bedouin Arabs live today. Like many aspects of the Jewish religion, practice and history are bound up together. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Global Shabbat project expects a million plus participants

rom November 15-16, 2019, more than 1 million Jews in over 1,500 cities around the world, including San Diego, will unite for the annual international Shabbat Project. Last year, the Shabbat Project attracted more than 1 million participants in 101 countries across 1,511 cities and towns. This year, organizers believe the initiative will top those numbers.

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA