International

The Catastrophe in Ukraine: More Questions Than Answers

By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — The war continues, at high intensity. Pictures of suffering refugees, more than a million getting to Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Hungary. Picking at bundles of donated clothing, and being fed soup and drinks. Severe shortages of food and medicines in Ukrainian cities. Heavy Russian shelling. Much destruction of homes. […]

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International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, Opinion

Cantor’s Archive Led to Book on Philippine Rescue of European Jews

Enthralled by the stories Cysner told, Harris immediately asked the UC Santa Barbara History Department if she could change her dissertation subject so that it could be based upon Cysner’s experiences, both in Poland, where he was a prisoner of the Nazis, and in the Philippines, where he later became a prisoner of the Japanese. The department agreed, even though this meant changing Harris’ academic advisor and the schedule of courses to which she would commute from her home in San Diego. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food

The Delegitimization Campaigns Targeting Israel and Ukraine

By Ben Cohen (JNS) Attempting to refute the spreading claim that Russian soldiers wounded in Ukraine were receiving only $100 in compensation (the official line is that they receive $28,000), Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t miss the opportunity to return to his latest favorite theme. “Russians and Ukrainians are one nation,” Putin told a meeting

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International, Middle East, Opinion

Ukrainian Refugees, Jewish Groups Among Them, Pour Across Moldovan Border

By David Isaac (JNS) PALANCA, MOLDOVA – The lead gray skies suited the grim events on the ground as thousands of Ukrainian refugees streamed across Palanca, a sleepy border outpost in Moldova, as Russian forces stepped up attacks in southern Ukraine on Thursday. Heavy snow followed by freezing rain added to the refugees’ misery as

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International, Middle East, USA

After Being Given the Cold Shoulder, Israeli Distributor Takes Ben & Jerry’s to Court

By Mike Wagenheim (JNS) Avi Zinger was so upset after Ben & Jerry’s pulled the rug out from under him that he never picked up the phone to speak with them. Instead, he’s taking them, and their parent company Unilever, to a U.S. district court. The longtime Israeli manufacturer and distributor of the Vermont-based ice

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Middle East, USA

Ukraine: Can We Detach the Present From the Past?

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — One’s heart goes out to the Ukrainian men, women, and children caught up in the devastating and unprovoked attack on their country by their powerful and greedy neighbor, Russia. The sight of women carrying children as they tramp along frozen roads and fields in an attempt to find

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, Opinion

Teacher Training on Antisemitism? How About Common Sense

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Kline’s character Otto from A Fish Called Wanda was outdone by Alabama high school officials who demanded that a Jewish student apologize for something he did not do and disregarded any thought of apologizing for his teacher’s action — leading his class in a Nazi-like salute. Unlike the

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Bruce Ticker, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

First Flights of Ukrainian Jewish Immigrants to Arrive in Israel on Sunday

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — Over 300 Jewish olim (immigrants) fleeing Ukraine will arrive in Israel on Sunday, March 6 in a joint operation led by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ). Their arrival is made possible by donations from the Jewish

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International, Middle East

UN General Assembly, With Israel Joining, Overwhelmingly Votes to Reprimand Russia

(JNS) The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution to reprimand Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The resolution, supported by 141 of the assembly’s 193 members, demanded that Moscow end the fighting immediately and withdraw its military forces. Five countries – Russia, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and Eritrea –

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International, Middle East, USA

Jewish Reaction to Biden’s State of the Union Focuses on Ukraine, Inflation

By Dmitriy Shapiro (JNS) Jewish groups and leaders adhered to partisan lines in their responses to President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, a speech that mainly focused on domestic policy but began with a rebuke of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Jewish community’s praise for the

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International, Middle East, USA

Israel Takes Nuanced Approach to UN Emergency Session on Ukraine

By Mike Wagenheim (JNS) “We should take a picture together.” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan strolled across the General Assembly floor on Monday morning, making a direct line for his counterpart from Ukraine. Six months earlier, Sergiy Kyslytsya had visited Israel as part of a delegation invited by Erdan. On this morning,

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International, Middle East, USA