By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Currently, Israel is in the midst of what might be called an operation or a mini-war. It’s been going on for several days, and came in response to threats from Islamic Jihad in Gaza to attack Israel. That came in response to Israel’s arrest of an Islamic Jihad activist […]
Assessing the Conflict Between Islamic Jihad and Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Middle East, Opinion
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — My family’s association with soprano Ilona Domnitch goes back many years, to the 1980s, when my parents moved to Israel and were active in the activities of B’nai B’rith there. One of the projects which that organisation undertook at the time was to help new immigrants from Russia
An Unbeatable Experience Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Opinion
By Doron Krakow SAN DIEGO — This week saw the return of the JCC Maccabi Games®. In this, its 40th year, the Games drew 1,600 Jewish teen athletes from 57 delegations and 67 JCCs across Canada and the U.S., as well as delegations from Bulgaria, Mexico, and Israel, to San Diego for a week of
At JCC Maccabi Games in San Diego, Pioneers Open Our Eyes to Remarkable Possibilities Read More »
Doron Krakow, Opinion, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, USA
LOS ANGELES (Press Release) – On August 4, StandWithUs launched its second national letter campaign to nearly 3,000 university leaders, highlighting five key issues of concern to Jewish students. The letter stressed the importance of fighting bias and discrimination against Jewish students as part of broader Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and social justice efforts
By Gedaliah Borvick JERUSALEM — Israel enjoys a strong relationship with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, two countries that comprise the former Czechoslovakia. To understand the root of this special relationship, let’s go back over 130 years and focus on Tomas Masaryk. The name Masaryk may ring a bell, as streets in over half a
Like Father, Like Son Read More »
Gedaliah Borvick, International, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — For more than half her 20-year tenure as a Democratic member of Congress from San Diego, Susan Davis encouraged the exchange of students from Jerusalem and San Diego, remembering that her own time spent as a young woman on an Israeli kibbutz was formative in her own life.
By Jerry Klinger Recently, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation’s U.K. branch placed a new historical, interpretive marker in Whitechapel, London. The marker was placed on a building that replaced the Adler House. The Adler House was named in honor of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Hermann Adler, 1891-1911. The text of the
Whitechapel: ‘Centre of Jewish Immigrant Life’ Read More »
International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — As Andrea Mitchell interviewed her on MSNBC last Thursday, Lina Abu Akleh took advantage of her forum to accuse Israeli higher-ups of ordering a soldier to kill her aunt, journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Mitchell asked Lina Abu Akleh during Andrea Mitchell Reports if the shooting was “intentional,” and the
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Colleges began offering “majors” and “minors” in sustainability in the first decade of the 21st century. Sustainability is taught as a multi-disciplinary program to approach complex problems, usually environmental. With that knowledge, it can offer various career possibilities. One of our son Saul’s best friends, Yonathan, majored in
Sustainability in Israel Read More »
Middle East, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food
By Bea Carter SAN DIEGO — At first glance, Mitchell Kerbel seems like your typical 23-year-old. The American student lives in San Diego, attends community college and is brushing up on his rusty Hebrew. But one thing about him is different — he is preparing to enlist in Special in Uniform (SIU), a Jewish National
Finding a Special Purpose in Israel Read More »
Middle East, San Diego CountyBy Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Israeli media have focused on the case of Rabab Abu Siam, an Arab woman, recently divorced, who was shot to death near her home in the city of Lod. She had been warned by police, who urged her to relocate. She did, but returned home to visit her three
Minorities and Murder Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, Opinion, USABy Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — It’s been a while since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, and a bit less time since the same Court invalidated New York’s law against concealed weapons. But enough time for states’ actions to take their own course. A number of states — mostly in the
The Not-So United States Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Opinion, USA
This book is a fictionalized account of Jacqueline Semha Gmach’s life in Tunisia and Canada before settling in San Diego where her store of cultural knowledge for many years defined programming at the Lawrence Family JCC. It is also a love story, travelogue, and collection of photos that are dear to Gmach. [Donald H. Harrison]
A Scroll of Ancient Music that Leads to a Romance Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, San Diego County
By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — In the first episode of season three of The Kominsky Method (2021), there is a funeral service for Michael Douglas’ character’s lifelong friend Norman Newlander (played by Alan Arkin). By far the most inconsolable mourner to give a eulogy is Newlander’s personal assistant of 22 years who, amid a hyperbolical
Sleep No More: Capitalism and Insomnia Read More »
Opinion, Sam Ben-Meir, USA