International

Putting police practices under the microscope in the wake of George Floyd’s death

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]

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, USA

Jews and the Black Lives Matter movement

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]

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Jewish History, USA

Modern woman tells of life under the ayatollahs

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]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Middle East

U.S. wary of China’s economic interest in Israel

Israel’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]

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Business & Finance, International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

Street talk in a riot’s aftermath

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]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, USA

George Floyd honored, dishonored by protests, riots

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]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

California battle resumes over ethnic studies

StandWithUs, 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]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sam Litvin, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Online concert benefits Ugandan Jewry

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]

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Eric George Tauber, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Susan Davis urges steps to curb sexual assaults in military

Reps. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) are co-sponsoring legislation to shine more light on the extent of sexual assault in the military.  Among other provisions, the proposed legislation would require Judge Advocates General of each Armed Service to assess how well current laws and regulations dealing with the subject are working and make recommendations for further improvement. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

Provocateurs sow dissension among Americans

Just because a former President of the United States is no longer in office -and lacks the authority to affect any executive orders or policy changes- does not mean that he is no longer a threat. The morals and ideals he espouses continue to have a lasting impact on the fabric of this great nation, whether to bind the threads of American citizenry in unity or rent them asunder. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, International, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Sustainable development requires community consensus

How can we achieve sustainable development, not just globally, but specifically in Morocco? We must first consider what the central features of this development are. We must incorporate many factors in creative and innovative design: education, gender, ethics, economics, politics, culture, history, geography, finance, and technical aspects in order for sustainable projects to have enduring success. We also need to employ a participatory approach. We have learned over time through trial and error and observation of how development assistance has been institutionalized in the past 70 years that participation and sustainability are inextricably linked. [Yossef Ben-Meir]

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Middle East, Yossef Ben-Meir