President Clinton hosted a summit at Camp David where Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Arab leader Yasser Arafat a plan for an independent state covering all of Gaza, eastern Jerusalem and 93 percent of the West Bank. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Van Hollen’s OpEd in NYTimes forgets Barak & Clinton offer to Arafat Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Thousands of years ago, in a story held as history, sacred memory, and inherited narrative, our traditions begin in the same household. Abraham. Sarah. Hagar. Isaac. Ishmael. [Betzy Lynch]
Letter to our Muslim neighbors Read More »
Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
He came rushing in, a foot taller than me, much heavier and wider than me, angrily screaming that I was a f*** b****** and that we (Jews) are all f*** b***s and murderers That we had murdered his grandfather, his grandparents. I had just unlocked the House of Israel in Balboa Park last Saturday to prepare for my volunteer staffing shift. I had not expected a rage-filled Palestinian man to burst in, screaming at me. I was cornered behind the counter with him making antisemitic comments … [Barrett Holman Leak]
This is America – and we are not alright Read More »
Antisemitism, Barrett Holman Leak, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
For our enemies, for those who commit the greatest violence motivated by the deepest hatred, it does not matter if we stand arm in arm or cower alone. We are all on their hit list. If anything, our division makes us easier targets, our silence coming across like acceptance. [Matt Winstel]
In the wake of Islamic Center tragedy, interfaith suspicions still linger Read More »
International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
A review by the ADL Center on Extremism of the killers’ apparent respective manifestos reveals adherence to several ideologies, most prominently white supremacist accelerationism and inceldom, as well as virulent Islamophobia and antisemitism. Their writings, which have been shared on gore sites like WatchPeopleDie (WPD), also illustrate general misanthropy and an immersion in online nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) ecosystems. [Press Release]
San Diego mosque attackers influenced by online extremism Read More »
Antisemitism, Middle East, Opinion, Press Release, San Diego County, Technology, Travel and Food, USA
Five people are dead, including suspected teenage shooters Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez in the wake of an attack on Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Two of the other three victims were not immediately identified, but one was security guard Amin Abdullah whom law enforcement officials said may have prevented a much larger death toll. [Donald H. Harrison]
5 die in aftermath of gunfire at Islamic Center of San Diego Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Coverage of Israel often portrayed it as a destabilizing force rather than a necessary refuge for a shattered people. By the 1970s and 1980s, legitimate policy critique sometimes slid into rhetoric about excessive Jewish power and dual loyalty. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
New York Times and antisemitism: the Jewish enemy within Read More »
Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, News Media, Shanda File, USA
Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Every day this unnecessary, reckless war continues is another day that my constituents who are deployed to Iran are in harm’s way and at risk of losing their lives. Our service members deserve better than to be treated as expendable – and so do the American people who are being forced to pay over $1 billion per day for this military adventurism. …” [Press Release]
Sara Jacobs introduces House resolution to end the war in Iran Read More »
Middle East, Press Release, San Diego County, USASingapore and Gaza present two of the most striking contrasts in urban development and resource management, despite both being small, densely populated coastal territories. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Singapore and Gaza: A tale of two coastal enclaves Read More »
animals, International, Israel, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The number of those “killed” in Gaza is totally unreliable because it is circulated by the Gaza Health Ministry, which is under the control of Hamas. (Steve Kramer)
Israel is the intended victim, not the perpetrator, of genocide Read More »
Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, USA
Fluent in five languages, he was both the youngest ambassador and the first non-Jewish individual appointed as an Israeli diplomat. His career included postings as Israel’s ambassador to Ecuador, Brazil, and Panama, and as consul general in San Francisco and Atlanta, among other roles. [Press Release]
Former Druze Israeli diplomat Reda Mansour tells Technion’s story Read More »
California, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Judaism, Middle East, Press Release, Technology, USA
Irwin Jacobs dropped $500,000 to support Campa-Najjar, one of the leading Democratic candidates in a toss-up district that could determine control of Congress. The Bezos-backed group added another $250,000 on his behalf. [Tessa Balc, Times of San Diego]
A Bezos-backed PAC and Irwin Jacobs are bankrolling Ammar Campa-Najjar Read More »
California, Israel, Middle East, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
In the past I would happily watch the broadcast of the official ceremony on television, enjoying the sense of unity and national pride. This year, however, like many other people, I preferred other fare and found a funny movie to watch instead. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Current war, domestic politics dampen Israel’s celebration of Independence Day Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Lifestyles, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAWhen a religious leader pours the “milk” of unconditional pacifism into the “meat” of a life-and-death military struggle, the result is a curdled moral confusion. This mixture makes it impossible to digest the hard reality of defense, leading to a “forbidden” policy that benefits neither the state nor the soul. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Just wars: Pope ignores Thomas Aquinas, Maimonides Read More »
International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA