International

Trump salutes Israel’s 72nd birthday, declares May as Jewish-American Heritage Month

President Trump  sent a congratulatory letter to Israeli President Rivlin on Israeli Independence Day. In that letter, President Trump expressed his “tremendous pride that the United States was the first country to recognize the newly re-established Jewish State in 1948. He also signed a proclamation declaring May to be Jewish-American Heritage Month in the U.S. [Press release from ‘Jews Choose Trump’ campaign organization]

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Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

The weirdest Independence Day ever

Ever since its foundation in 1948 Israel has celebrated its Independence Day with general festivities in which anyone and everyone can participate. After I came to live in Israel, about sixty years ago, Independence Day has always been a very special day for me. In my first few years on the country I would hang out with other students, and we would roam downtown Jerusalem, join in street dancing, enjoy the ambiance, bang squeaky plastic hammers on one another’s heads, and eat falafel. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

Lauren and Sol Lizerbram bring San Diego presence to global Yom Ha’atzma’ut celebration

Sol and Lauren Lizerbram of Rancho Santa Fe had cameo roles in the hour-long, worldwide webcast for Israeli Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzma’ut) that was co-hosted Wednesday by Israeli actress Shira Haas (who stars in the mini-series Unorthodox) and Eric Fingerhut, chairman of the Jewish Federations of North America. Sol Lizerbram is the U.S. President of the Jewish National Fund, which arranged to video the near-private ceremony this year at Mount Herzl in honor of Yom Ha’atzma’ut — near private because of the ban in Israel on gatherings of large groups [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

The too-often forgotten thank you

There is a forgotten Thank you. We don’t see them; they are rarely seen on the street. They are the watchers on the wall. They are the ones, far away from us, thousands upon thousands of miles away, standing watch, far from their family, their home, doing their silent duty looking into the scary night. They stand the cold, wet wall across from the DMZ, they service the ships upon the seas and the vessels deep under. They squeeze into cockpits and fly the skies. They crowd into uncomfortable steel tanks or patrol the road with only a rifle and prayer in their hands. [Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, USA

‘Murder Most Foul’: Dylan culture on a silver platter

If Bob Dylan is a modern-day lesser prophet then his retelling of the murder of JFK in ‘Murder Most Foul’ could serve as a forewarning to a moment that signifies a depature from the norm. The timing of Dylan’s single release via Twitter, on March 27th, is somewhat shrouded in mystery, not least as the song was “recorded a while back,” according to Dylan’s tweet. Dylan’s message to fans is that they are to stay safe, vigilant, and have trust in the almighty, and that they may find the song “interesting.” While Dylan wants the general population to remain safe, the song itself is a far cry from any sense of safety. Instead there is upheaval and turmoil, a dark force that is in motion behind the scenes, or as Dylan sings it, “Greatest magic trick ever under the sun.” [Omer Zalmonowitz]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Satisfaction outweighs discontent in Israel

Today, on Israel’s Independence Day, the 72nd anniversary of its creation, the Israel Democracy Institute, a highly regarded institution in the land, reports that 90% of people who live here feel that they belong to this country. As only about two-thirds of the population are Jews, it means that many Israeli Arabs also feel that they belong in Israel. 63,5% of the population believe that Israel’s achievements outweigh its shortcomings. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]

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Middle East

Biden’s 3-point program to protect religious institutions

Former Vice President Joe Biden, referencing the one-year anniversary of the murder of Lori Gilbert Kaye in a shooting attack on Chabad of Poway, on Tuesday announced a three-point program to protect religious communities. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Journey of a song

This story appears to have begun in 1984 but, in truth, it began in 1967. That was when I read the book by Elie Wiesel, The Jews of Silence, about Soviet Jewry who, the oppression notwithstanding, would come out of the shadows to celebrate on Simhat Torah. I was captivated by the book, and had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Wiesel when he attended a community-wide rally in Cleveland that year. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Toby Klein Greenwald, USA

Israeli Memorial Day rites include Poway’s Lori Kaye

The name of slain Lori Gilbert Kaye, who died a year ago during a gunman’s attack on Chabad of Poway, was linked Monday in Latrun, Israel, to the names of Israel’s fallen soldiers during an annual Yom Hizakron (Day of Memory) ceremony. To view the entire ceremony on Facebook, click here. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Joe Gandelman, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Yesterday’s ‘duck and cover’ and today’s coronavirus

We wonder, “Did we really think hiding under our desk would protect us from a nuclear explosion?” Our teachers and parents realized that doing something, however minimal, might confer a degree of protection from a potential oncoming nuclear fireball that was likely to cause serious injury or death. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

EU misrepresents Israeli ‘annexation’ issue

European Union foreign-policy chief Josip Borrell put forward a surprise resolution on Israel’s new government that included the following: “The E.U. does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank. The E.U. reiterates that any annexation would constitute a serious violation of international law.” But E.U. statements have to be unanimous, and Borrell was thwarted by members of his own club. The details aren’t clear yet, but Hungary and Austria were definitely opposed, and an Israeli diplomat noted that the largest number of E.U. delegates to date opposed a resolution aimed at Israel. [Shoshana Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Global memorials for Poway’s Lori Gilbert Kaye

With prayers, reflections and songs, first from her home synagogue, Chabad of Poway, and later from around the world, Jews memorialized Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was slain one year ago during a gunman’s attack that also wounded Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and two congregants, Almog Peretz and his elementary-school-aged niece Noya Dahan. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food