By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It isn’t easy responding to the threats of kites and balloons that carry home made fire bombs and explosives, when children as young as 8 are used by Hamas to send them toward Israelis fields and towns. So far, Israelis have decided to accept the damage, rather than escalate into […]
Israel ambivalent about reprisals against Gaza Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Poland revises its law on Holocaust responsibility The American Jewish Committee has welcomed the action by the Polish Parliament to remove the criminal penalties provision of the country’s controversial Holocaust responsibility law. “As long-time friends of Poland, correcting this counterproductive measure is an important step to restore confidence and advance ties among Poland, the Jewish
Editor’s E-Mail Box: June 27, 2018 (10 Items) Read More »
International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USAWASHINGTON, D.C (Press Release) – Americans for Peace Now (APN) on Tuesday released a new policy paper that provides guidelines to assess the prospects for success of an impending Trump administration plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. “We are gravely concerned that the Trump peace plan will exacerbate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rather than move it toward resolution.
How APN will analyze Trump’s Mideast peace plan Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
Supreme Court’s 5-4 ‘Travel Ban’ decision saw Jewish justices in the minority In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s Executive Order Number One which the administration describes as a ban of travel from countries which have insufficient vetting procedures against terrorists, and which opponents describe as a “Muslim ban,” as most
Editor’s E-Mail Box: June 26, 2018 (5 Items) Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USABy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Paul McCartney appeared on a Carpool Karaoke segment of the Late Late Show with James Corden, with the two driving around Liverpool while singing Beatles tunes. They also visited sites from Paul’s childhood, and put on a surprise concert in a local pub. McCartney has many Jewish connections, from working
Jewish trivia quiz: Beatles in Israel Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Trivia, Humor & Satire
Israeli Reserve Duty to Earn Academic Credits The Knesset on Monday passed in its third and final reading a law that will provide two academic credits to students who serve a minimum of 14 annual days of reserve duty. The measure was a initiated by Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home), MK Meirav Ben-Ari (Kulanu),
Editor’s E-Mail Box: June 25, 2018 (4 Items) Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego Calendar, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It’s not easy writing about the American President. Intellectual honesty requires the admission that there are some plusses among many minuses, or at least some aspects of his behavior that might merit praise, depending on one’s perspective. His recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and his criticism of Palestinians compares
Weighing Trump from an American- Israeli’s perspective Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USAJERUSALEM (Press Release) — The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) presented its 2018 Annual Assessment of the Situation and Dynamics of the Jewish People on Sunday to the weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. JPPI Co-Chairs Amb. Dennis Ross and Amb. Stuart Eizenstat and the Institute’s President Avinoam Bar-Yosef presented the findings
Israel’s Cabinet seeks to improve Diaspora relations Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
American Jewish Committee expresses regret over Presbyterian Church’s pro-BDS stance The American Jewish Committee (AJC) regrets that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), at its biennial General Assembly (GA), reaffirmed its support for BDS by adopting a measure opposing anti-BDS legislation. “The Church remains obsessively critical of Israel in its national utterances,” said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC
Editor’s E-Mail Box: June 23-24, 2018 (3 Items) Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
LOS ANGELES (Press Release) – StandWithUs condemns anti-Israel resolutions and institutional bias at the 223rd Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly (PCUSA GA), which took place in St. Louis, Missouri from June 16-23, 2018. At the same time, we commend Presbyterians for Middle East Peace (PFMEP) and other supporters of reconciliation for pushing back and ensuring that
Church group adopts biased anti- Israel resolutions Read More »
Middle East, USASAN DIEGO — Following are some of the stories of Jewish interest that hit our editor’s computer mail box at editor@sdjewishworld.com on Friday, June 22. We are interested in local, national, and international news of Jewish interest, and welcome comments from members of the Jewish community about these news items. Pompeo meets with King Abdullah II of
Editor’s E-Mail Box: June 22, 2018 (3 Items) Read More »
Middle East, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — The exhibition of paintings by Francisco de Zurburan, a seventeenth-century Spanish painter, has been a major attraction at the Israel Museum for the last few weeks. I had never heard of him, so I made use of a free morning to go and take a look. What met my eyes
‘Jacob and his Sons’ at the Israel Museum Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsTRENTON, New Jersey (Press Release) — The New Jersey Legislature on Thursday voted unanimously on a measure which affirms the historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem and condemns efforts by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to deny Jews’ historical, religious, and cultural ties to Jerusalem. Avi Posnick, StandWithUs Northeast Managing
New Jersey affirms Jewish connection to Jerusalem Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The almost unanimous nomination of Isaac Herzog as the next chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) over against Yuval Steinitz, a member of the current Israeli government and one of the prime minister’s most trusted yes-man, is evidence that Diaspora leaders are choosing a man who’s likely
Herzog as JAFI chair benefits the Diaspora Read More »
International, Middle East, USA