International

Military families sacrifice for us; can’t we feed them?

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Jewish Family Service, Mazon (The Jewish Response to Hunger) and now Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Davis, ranking member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, are teaming up to help alleviate food insecurity among the families of the lower enlisted ranks of the military. […]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

‘Breaking The Silence’ probe fuels NGO reporting bid

By  Gerald M. Steinberg JERUSALEM — The revelations that the Israeli political organization Breaking the Silence (BTS) was gathering sensitive or potentially classified information on the IDF caught many Israelis – including me, a long-time critic of this fringe NGO – off guard. Like others, I knew that the handful of activists in this group

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Middle East

Bach’s ‘St. Matthew Passion’ stirs Jerusalem audience

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I don’t write about every concert I attend, or even every book I read, for that matter. That would be boring and repetitive. However, there are some concerts (and some books) that I feel I really must share with anyone out there who might be slightly interested in

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

From the Jewish library: ‘An Improbable Friendship’

An Improbable Friendship: The Remarkable Lives of Israeli Ruth Dayan and Palestinian Raymonda Tawil and Their Forty Year Peace Mission, by Anthony David, Arcade Publishing, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Ruth Dayan was married to and then divorced from Israel’s General Moshe Dayan. Raymonda Tawil was the mother-in-law of Palestinian Fatah Chairman Yasser

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East

A shul of elders who have witnessed so much

By Rabbi Ben Kamin OCEANSIDE, California — They call themselves “a synagogue without walls,” which was especially ironic and heartening when I first was interviewed by the leadership ten years ago.  My pastoral institute is called Reconciliation: The Synagogue Without Walls and—once the meeting warmed into a promising new relationship—one of the officers teased me:  “We

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USA

Hey, Donald, Bernie! In San Diego we build bridges!

By Chris Jennewein SAN DIEGO — In this ugly political season, with insurgent politicians on both sides talking barriers — from walls to tariffs — San Diego has an opportunity to show the rest of America how to succeed by building bridges. With Republican Donald Trump calling for a mighty wall along the Mexican border, and Democrat

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Chris Jennewein, International, San Diego County, USA

Middle East Roundup: March 25, 2016

Argentine Jews ask for Netanyahu’s help with rampant assimilation (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Leaders of Argentina’s Jewish community have warned that accelerated assimilation by Jews in the South American nation and worldwide is “placing the Jewish people’s future at risk.” The phenomenon, they said, is akin to “quiet terrorism.” Buenos Aires is home to one

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Middle East

Gaza, Lebanon–An Israeli soldier’s diary

From the Wilderness and Lebanon: An Israeli Soldier’s Story of War and Recovery by Asael Lubotzky, Translated from the Hebrew by Murray Roston,Toby Press, New Milford, Connecticut; ISBN 978-1-59264-417-9 ©2015, $14.95, p. 188 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –The Third Platoon of the Golani Brigade, now working near Gaza for training, but normally operating in Northern Israel,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle East

Indifferent security led to massacre in Belgium

By Barry Shaw   NETANYA, Israel — Western intelligence services repeatedly warned Belgium of a serious and imminent terror threat. They even gave the intended targets, the airport and the underground system, but Belgian security services failed to take the necessary preventative measures that may have stopped the huge loss of life and injury on

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Barry Shaw, International, Middle East