Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said during a state visit to Moscow on Thursday that the Jewish state reserves the right to act to stop Iran’s nuclear program. [JNS.org]
Lapid Warns Iran During Visit to Russia Read More »
International, Middle East
Published by DPA The French photographer Frédéric Brenner has been following Jewish life in the Diaspora beyond Israel for decades. Between 2016 and 2019, he created a series about Jews in contemporary Berlin, a city once rich with Jewish life and traditions before the Holocaust. Some 50 of these works are now among the latest
Jewish life in Berlin subject of new show at city’s Jewish Museum Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
The month of October unleashes a tension of sorts in our predominantly Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood in Los Angeles. As one walks farther from Pico Boulevard, the ubiquitous sukkot on front lawns give way to macabre Halloween decorations. Jewish kids must grapple with a continuum of responses to trick-or-treating: for the far right, it’s as if the holiday doesn’t exist. In a non-COVID year, Modern Orthodox might allow their kids to make the rounds seeking kosher candy and haunted houses, but downplay any outward signs of participation. Sadly, Jews of other denominations are more likely to be carrying a light saber than a lulav. [Sam Glaser]
Comparing and contrasting Halloween and Sukkot Read More »
Jewish Religion, Sam Glaser, USA
The national budget passed its first parliamentary reading without undue fuss and bother. It includes increases in the allocations for the health and education ministries, enabling the services provided to certain segments of the population to be extended. Admittedly, there are still many areas in which the services provided to the less fortunate could and should be improved, especially housing and welfare, but this still signifies a positive change, both in attitude and in action. In foreign policy, too, relations with other countries seem to be going in the right direction, with invitations extended to our Foreign Minister by the Arab Emirates as well as Morocco, Egypt and the U.S.A [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
A Feeling of Progress in Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East
The Biden administration’s actions beg two disturbing Jewish-themed questions: Why would a president lie about such an insignificant detail as visiting a Pittsburgh synagogue? How can a U.S. Foreign Service officer be effective at his job when he demeans Jews and homosexuals? [Bruce S. Ticker]
OpEd: Two Jewish Issues the Biden Administration Must Clear Up Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, USA
Today, the Legislature voted to advance Assembly Bill (AB) 101, legislation that would make ethnic studies a high school graduation requirement in the State of California. This legislation enjoys broad support in the Legislature and is a top priority for our allies in the Latino, Black, Asian Pacific Islander (API), and Native American Legislative Caucuses. It is our sincere hope that this course will provide an opportunity for young Californians to deepen their understanding of our society’s complex history when it comes to issues of race and diversity, and we would like to recognize Assemblymember Jose Medina for his persistent leadership on this important issue.” [California Legislative Jewish Caucus press release]
California Ethnic Studies Legislation Passes Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Published by DPA Israel has extended its closure of entry points to the Palestinian territories as the hunt continues for six militants who broke out of a high-security prison, the army said on Wednesday evening. The closures are due to remain in force until midnight on Friday, at the end of Jewish New Year, when
Palestinian areas closed off as manhunt continues for prison escapees Read More »
Middle East
Though the weather threatened, and Covid leered increasingly, menacingly about us, an Anne Frank Children’s Human Rights Memorial was dedicated in Antigua, Guatemala, September 3. [Jerry Klinger]
Antigua, Guatemala, Dedicates Anne Frank Statue Amid Noisy Protests Read More »
International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History
Published by DPA A 30-year-old man was found guilty on Wednesday of taking part in an attack on a Jewish restaurant in the eastern German city of Chemnitz, and was handed a one-year suspended sentence. He was found to have committed grievous bodily harm, and breach of the peace. The manager of the Shalom restaurant
Man found guilty of anti-Semitic attack in German city of Chemnitz Read More »
International
Is it not extraordinary that in a country that claims to be as enlightened and advanced as ours that the combined wealth of three individuals – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and investor Warren Buffett – should exceed the total wealth of the bottom half of Americans? One has to return to the days of the pharaohs of Egypt to find a parallel to the extreme wealth inequality that we see in in America today. Such stark inequality, and the ever-growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny few will only intensify if we continue as we have for the past 40 years. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]
OpEd: U.S. Should Put Caps on Income Read More »
Business & Finance, Sam Ben-Meir, USA
Published by Al-Araby The last Jew in Afghanistan is en route to the United States after allegedly abandoning plans to remain the Taliban-controlled country, according to an orthodox Jewish magazine. The latest update on the plight of Zablon Simintov came in a tweet by Ami Magazine on Tuesday. The international publication claimed that its foreign
Last Jew in Afghanistan en route to US: report Read More »
International
Doctors at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva have made Israeli medical history, successfully separating twins that had been conjoined at the head. [Israel Hayom via JNS.org]
Israel Surgeons Separate Twins Conjoined at Skull Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
Published by DPA Six convicted Palestinian prisoners escaped from an Israeli prison late on Sunday. The Israeli military, along with the country’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency and police, are now searching for the escapees, the military tweeted on Monday. The prisoners escaped through a tunnel from the Gilboa maximum security prison in the north
Palestinian prisoners escape from maximum security Israeli jail Read More »
Middle East
Meticulous research documents the lives of the Rabinowitz family in small town Poland; their suffering after the Nazis invaded; their miraculous escape to the forest, where they survived in hiding for several years; their post-war relocation to Italy, while awaiting permission to immigrate to Palestine; their decision to move instead to the United States; their lives in Connecticut; and the marriage of daughter Ruth to a future rabbi, from whom author Rebecca Frankel received her Jewish education. [Donald H. Harrison]
Biography Tells of Jewish Family’s Holocaust Survival in the Forest Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, USA