International

Social Worker Serves as a Lay Rabbi for Elderly Residents of Paradise Village

Lazard, a social worker employed by the County of San Diego to determine financial and residential eligibility for cradle-to-21-year-old residents with major disabilities, says he is happiest when he gets to sing, particularly Jewish prayer songs. Through his tutoring of Ruth Sax, he got to know other Jewish residents of Paradise Village, and before long he was asked to officiate at the monthly Shabbat service. He met with Paradise Village’s Chaplain, Harry Bennett, before accepting the volunteer gig. Services are held in the non-denominational chapel, which has a stained-glass window bearing a picture of a dove. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Author’s Vivid Accounts Range From Nazi Death Camps to Boston’s Worst Neighborhoods

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — From Broken Glass: My Story of Finding Hope in Hitler’s Death Camps to Inspire a New Generation, by Steve Ross, is truly an inspiring story. Interspersed with the author’s vivid recollections of being incarcerated from the age of 8 in a succession of concentration camps are accounts of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, USA

After Persisting During Pandemic, Israeli Theater Can Now Share the Fruits of its Labor

By Toby Klein Greenwald (JNS) Raise Your Spirits Theatre released, on the morning of April 15, on the eve of Passover, the video (for women only) and audio recording (for everyone) of our latest biblical musical, “REBECCA! Mother of Two Dynasties.” It is a story of great faith, love, courage, and the hope of reconciliation

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Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Toby Klein Greenwald

Calling Russia’s War in Ukraine ‘Genocide:’ Does it Matter?

By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) When President Joe Biden used the word genocide to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine, it raised some eyebrows. But it didn’t generate the same kind of pushback some of his other previous unscripted remarks about that conflict, such as his call for regime change in Moscow or his threats to

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Holocaust, International, Opinion

Israel to Send Protective Gear to Emergency Service Providers in Ukraine

(JNS) Israel will send helmets and vests to Ukraine’s rescue and emergency services, the Office of Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced on Wednesday. During a phone call between Gantz and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, the Israeli defense minister said the protective gear will arrive following a request made to the Israeli Ministry of Defense

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International, Middle East

ADL Task Force Calls on Administration to Keep IRGC on Foreign Terror List

(JNS) As talks for the United States and Iran to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) appear to be stalled due to lingering differences, information that American negotiators may remove the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation from a branch of Iran’s armed forces complicit in international terrorism in an effort to appease Iran

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Middle East, USA

The Art of Transformation: Vasily Kandinsky at the Guggenheim

By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — The Russian-born artist Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was one of the early pioneers in the field of abstract painting – along with Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, and Hilma af Klint, among others. Through September 5, New York’s Guggenheim Museum is hosting “Around the Circle,” an immense retrospective of this extraordinarily

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International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

Ex-Israeli National Security Adviser Says Current Draft of Nuclear Deal ‘Must Not Be Signed’

By Yaakov Lappin (JNS) The current draft of the Iran nuclear deal should “not be signed under any circumstances,” a former Israeli national security adviser has warned. Brig. Gen. (res.) Professor Jacob Nagel, who served as acting national security adviser to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and who was the former head of Israel’s National

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International, Middle East, USA

United States District Court Appoints Randy S. Grossman to Serve as US Attorney

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — The U.S. District Court has appointed Randy S. Grossman to remain as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. “It is a tremendous honor and privilege to serve as the U.S. Attorney,” Grossman said. “I am grateful to the district judges for appointing me to serve in this

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California, USA

StandWithUs Commends Arizona for Landmark Antisemitism Legislation

(JNS) StandWithUs commends the state of Arizona for overwhelmingly passing (by a 49-4 vote) important legislation to help confront antisemitic crimes and discrimination. By passing HB 2675 on April 19, 2022, Arizona now joins the ranks of Florida, Iowa, South Carolina, and Tennessee in codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism and making sure it is taken into

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USA

Ben & Jerry’s Tries to Force Food Apartheid

(JNS) For the first time in human-rights history, an international mega-corporation has attempted to coerce a licensee into food apartheid. This unprecedented contractual demand has provoked a turning-point lawsuit that asks whether it is legal to attempt to force a food licensee to discriminate against entire communities, especially ethnic ones. More distilled, the lawsuit asks

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Edwin Black, Middle East, Opinion, USA

Subdued Holiday Blessing at Western Wall as Tensions Clamped to Keep the Calm

By Mike Wagenheim (JNS) Israeli security forces got what they were seeking: quiet. And, to some extent, Arab rioters got what they wanted: a depressed turnout. With Jerusalem on edge and the threat of violence palpable, Monday morning’s Birkat Kohanim prayer service at the Western Wall (Kotel) and activities on the overlooking Temple Mount went

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Middle East