Watching footage of the looting occurring across the country, Trump thought: “The lamestream media won’t give me credit for succeeding in reopening America and getting people going into stores.” [Satire by Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Satire: Trump’s thoughts on George Floyd protests Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in broad daylight came amid a high point in the continuing rampage of the coronavirus throughout the country, killing over 100,000 and infecting nearly 2 million while more than 45 million have lost their jobs. The death of Floyd is no longer seen merely as an act of police brutality but the final crack in the dam, revealing the insidious socio-economic and healthcare malaise that continues to be inflicted disproportionately on the African American community. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D]
Coronavirus and institutionalized racism Read More »
Alon Ben-Meir, USA
A youth protest on Monday over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd offered a contrast to other protests shown on television news. It was organized and largely made up of people who were barely in their 20s. The emphasis was to remain peaceful and have a calm demonstration. It was made clear, “We don’t want to escalate it, it’s not our fault if it escalates, but we don’t want to escalate it.” [Shor M. Masori and Kenede Pratt-McCloud]
San Diego youth peacefully protest Floyd killing Read More »
San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, USA
We’re a month away from a potential shock to what is more or less peace involving Israel, Palestinians, and other Arabs. July 1 is the date in the agreement between Likud and Blue and White for the onset of movement to impose Israeli sovereignty on parts of the West Bank. Will it happen? That depends, in part, if the government lasts that long. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
Israel and the annexation muddle Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
George Floyd’s death was tragic. What made his death all the more tragic is that it was at the hand of a policeman. As a country, we need to do some serious soul-searching. I am reminded of the early 19th century Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), where he writes about Cain’s question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Putting police practices under the microscope in the wake of George Floyd’s death Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, USA
To say that Black Lives Matter does NOT take away from the fact that ALL life is precious, it merely emphasizes the fact that Black lives are under attack in disproportionate numbers and attention needs to be drawn to it. To say Black Lives Matter is to say that unarmed African Americans are three times more likely to killed by police than their White counterparts even though they are 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed than their White counterparts. [Rabbi Carlos Huerta]
Jews and the Black Lives Matter movement Read More »
Jewish History, USA
Author Jacqueline Saper, part of a Jewish family, the daughter of an Iranian university professor and a British mother, an assistant airport manager, describes growing up in a wealthy and idyllic setting, a large house with opulent furnishings in the Tehran neighborhood of Yousefabad, dining in the best restaurants, attending private schools, travelling back and forth between England and Iran, and surrounded by maids and household laborers. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]
Modern woman tells of life under the ayatollahs Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Middle EastLaurie Baron, PhD, compiles a list of streaming films and documentaries covering racial violence in America.
Streaming movies about American racial violence Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAIsrael’s greatest ally is unquestionably the US. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has augmented its reliance on America and the West with an outreach to the East, primarily China, which has become its second-largest trading partner. The US sees Chinese inroads into Israel as a threat to itself. [Steve Kramer]
U.S. wary of China’s economic interest in Israel Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA
The streets of La Mesa were bustling Sunday with disaster tourists checking out the ruins, taking pictures and remarking on the devastation. On Saturday night, a mob of rioters -joining what was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration protesting police brutality- threw rocks and bottles at the La Mesa Police Department Headquarters. Looted bottles of liquor became incendiary bombs, turning the Chase Bank and Union Bank on Spring Street into heaps of charred concrete, twisted metal and still smoldering pieces of lumber. Construction crews had already begun clearing the debris, but it’s a big job that has only just begun. [Eric George Tauber]
Street talk in a riot’s aftermath Read More »
Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, USA
Here in San Diego County, peaceful demonstrators honored the memory of George Floyd, the African-American victim of a white Minneapolis policeman who continuously and fatally pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck, hampering the prone man’s ability to breathe. The demonstrators’ cries for racial justice were heart-felt, appropriate, and in need of urgent redress. Also, here in San Diego County, particularly in La Mesa, rioters of diverse racial backgrounds dishonored George Floyd, using his unwarranted death as an excuse for arson and looting. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
George Floyd honored, dishonored by protests, riots Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USAHow many times must a black man say
That he is gasping for air?
How many police must stand idly by
As he dies while they silently stare?
{Parody by Laurie Baron}
The answer is burning in the night Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USAStandWithUs, the international organization that battles anti-Semitism on college, high school, and middle school campuses, is engaged in a drive to prevent wording of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) anti-Israel movement from being restored to a proposed, ethnic studies model curriculum (ESMC) for schools throughout California. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
California battle resumes over ethnic studies Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sam Litvin, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
When thinking about Jewish communities around the world, most of us probably don’t give much thought to Uganda. But tucked away in the Savannah, over very rough roads, live the Abayudaya. Like the rest of the world, they are also affected by the current pandemic. Under the same lockdown rules, most Abayudaya are unable to go to their jobs to provide for their families. The worldwide pandemic has hit them hard because, as meager as our stimulus checks might seem, their government provides bubkes. And unlike many of us, working remotely via Wi-Fi is simply not an option. [Eric George Tauber]
Online concert benefits Ugandan Jewry Read More »
Eric George Tauber, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA