One Friday night, when my grandchildren tried to tell me a joke (in Hebrew) and my sole response was to point out the linguistic fallacy involved, it dawned on me that I had become an old curmudgeon. And a bilingual one at that. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Becoming an Old Curmudgeon Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East
The Anti-Defamation League is offering to high schools and middle schools a curriculum designed to challenge biases and to encourage students to think critically, according to George Selim, ADL’s New York-based senior vice president of programs. “With our powerful, new civics curriculum we’re cultivating the next generation of leaders to actively participate in their communities and champion social justice. We’re especially excited about partnering with Bites Media with their carefully curated articles which lift up and highlight the relevance of our civics lessons.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
ADL offers a high school curriculum challenging bias Read More »
Bruce F. Lowitt, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
When Ali Velshi speaks, change the channel. Better yet, MSNBC could arrange it so that Velshi can only speak at a street corner.Saturday morning, at 9:45, I experienced an absurd, surreal display of Velshi’s creepy concept of broadcast journalism. If Velshi lived in Russia, he would fit in well writing for Pravda. He offended Jews and other supporters of Israel. Velshi strung together a string of facts and brazen lies while neglecting to supply relevant context on a news program he hosted to conjure up a not-so-creative Israel-bash-a-thon. [Bruce S. Ticker]
MSNBC’s Ali Velshi’s reporting biased against Israel Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
It’s been a tough week to judge, and to summarize.The key event occurred Thursday, with the announcement of a formal agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. It came on condition that Israel shelve the plan to annex territories within the West Bank. Also, the UAE indicated that its Embassy would not be in Jerusalem, at least until there was some arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
UAE a success for Bibi, but COVID-19 still a problem Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
George Salameh, owner of the Alforon Restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard near 59th Street, remembers living within the area near the port of Beirut that was leveled by the terrible blast on August 4 that killed at least 177 people and wounded or injured 6,000 more, leaving as many as 150,000 people homeless, and causing property damage estimated between $10 billion and $15 billion. [Our Shtetl San Diego County by Donald H. Harrison]
Lebanese memories prompted by Beirut explosion Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA
With only nuance separating them on Middle East issues, and practically no discernible differences on domestic issues, I’ve been watching the tenor of their two campaigns to help me in my deliberations. There, I have to say, Sara Jacobs has been far more positive in her approach to the voters than Georgette Gomez. [Donald H. Harrison]
San Diego Jewish World endorses Sara Jacobs for Congress Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USA
It’s “early days,” but the surprise “Abraham Accord” announced by Washington has been a stunner. Against all odds, nothing leaked from any of the governments involved: Israel, the United Arab Emirates (Emirates or UAE), or the US. The Emirates-Israel peace agreement is the first one in which a non-contiguous Arab country has reconciled with Israel and which can be characterized as “peace for peace.” [Steve Kramer]
Many benefits to Israel-UAE agreement Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA
What Jewish activity did Kamala Harris participate in when she was growing up? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish trivia quiz: Kamala Harris Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
– It is probably normal, as “normal” as things can be these days, for voters to be curious about how they relate to or identify with political figures; what values they share; what they have in common as human beings in addition to policy, politics or party affiliation. In the “what they have in common” category would fall ethnicity, race, national origin, gender, religion, etc. In other words, what many would call “Identity Politics.” [Dorian de Wind]
The ‘Jewishness’ of Kamala Harris Read More »
Dorian de Wind, USA
Debates and arguments to open or not open schools in September are in full swing, both for secular schools, colleges, and of course, our Jewish day schools. It is obvious that during the present terrible situation opening schools (and, for the same reasons, colleges) is dangerous. It seems that proponents of school openings know the dangers and are still suggesting it, mostly for political reasons. The following are some considerations about the dangers of opening schools this fall, and some alternatives to doing so. [Arkady Mamaysky]
Keep our kids safe Read More »
Arkady Mamaysky, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Columbia University historian Victoria de Grazia, who has written extensively about women in Fascist Italy (How Fascism Ruled Women), and America’s imperial drive to spread consumer capitalism abroad (Irresistible Empire: America’s Advance through Twentieth-Century Europe), has written a book where its title and subtitle are telling two different, but overlapping, stories. [Mitchell J. Freedman]
Leading Italian fascists and their Jewish lovers Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History
The recent much-heralded decision by the Emirates to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel is a manifestation of the principle that my enemy’s enemy should be my friend. The threat that Iran is posing to Muslim states in the region has forced many of them to seek out Israel as the power that can contain Iranian aggression. Iran may hire stooges like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza to be a nuisance – though not a real threat – to the existence of Israel, but it knows very well that a direct attack would spell suicide for Iran. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]
Israel has Iran to ‘thank’ for UAE’s friendship Read More »
Middle East, USA
Continuing his campaign promise to deregulate America, Donald Trump has proposed regulating the following oaths if he is elected to a second term. [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Deregulating oaths Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
Across the road from the colony was “Louis Cohen’s dairy farm.” The only way to tell he was Jewish was the name. He didn’t look Jewish! Louis had a raw bone, muscular body, honed by years of hard farm work. His voice didn’t sound Jewish. He was quiet and soft spoken, a rarity in my heritage, Jewish farmers in America were as rare then as underpaid professional athletes are today. Louie had a fine herd of milking cows grazing in a flat pasture that became my playground. It was great adventure to overturn hard, white granite rocks speckled with black syinite specks and find one or more garter snakes wiggling angrily at being discovered. The rock homes sheltered the reptiles from the hot sun’s rays. I always searched with my head down, carefully avoiding the innumerable “cow paddies.” [Ira Spector]
Learning about farming and sex in the Catskills Read More »
Jewish History, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA