By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Israel announced two contradictory policies on the eve of the second round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. It will release a group of Palestinian prisoners as a good will gesture, and build more settlements on the West Bank as a bad will gesture. As a compromise, the PLA demanded […]
Humoring the Headlines: August 12, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USA
By Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — Two years since the heinous, unforgivable incident, the Miami Beach, Fla. police have still failed, ignominiously, to clear the air about the inexplicable street killing of motorist Raymond Herisse. Herisse, 22, was killed on a South Beach street in his vehicle in a barrage of firepower that entailed
Black men and police firing squads Read More »
USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Between his therapy sessions, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner phoned Alex Rodriguez to get advice on how to delay disciplinary action for the duration of a contract and how to get past first base and not strike out. Commenting on the difficulties of restarting peace talks between Israel and
Humoring the headlines: August 7, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — A poll of New Yorkers has selected Eliot Spitzer as the formerly tarnished politician most likely to succeed. When asked why, they said he waited five years to run for office again and never put any of his indiscretions on YouTube. In a related story, Anthony Weiner told
Humoring the headlines: August 5, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Jerry Klinger DEADWOOD, South Dakota — The air pockets over the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana were shaking the airplane pretty hard. I was trying to write about a recent historical roadside marker project that, my little society, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation had completed in Spokane, Washington. The marker recognized Spokane’s
Deadwood, South Dakota, and the Jews Read More »
USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Anthony Wiener is reportedly considering withdrawing from the New York’s mayoral race. He has been negotiating with Oskar Mayer to become the chauffeur of their trademark vehicle. He’s also changing his name to Felix Frankfurter. Robert Filner, the embattled mayor of San Diego, is also contemplating a job change.
Humoring the headlines: August 1, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — For some time now I’ve itched in the presence of those obsessed with their privacy. The issue of personal privacy may–for some of us–not be as pressing or exciting as Israel and Palestine, but it is endemic to the gadgets that almost all of us enjoy. If you say “Not
Expectation of Internet privacy is naive Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — August 28 will mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s unforgettable ‘I Have A Dream’ preachment—the culmination of the 1963 March on Washington. Ironically, the date will also mark the 58th anniversary of the brutal murder of Emmett Till, on August 28, 1955—an appalling vigilante
Emmett Till’s 1955 murder helped spur Civil Rights Movement Read More »
USA
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The media did its best to portray George Zimmerman as a racist in its efforts to influence the public and the jury to convict him for the crime of manslaughter. Eric Holder, as of today, is still investigating whether Zimmerman might be prosecuted for civil rights
Zimmerman, no racist, has African-American ancestors Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USANEW YORK (Press Release)–The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has issued an informational advisory to law enforcement and Jewish communal groups concerning the display of swastikas in parks and other public areas this weekend by a fringe religious sect known as Raelian. The ADL advisory makes clear that the sect poses no known security threat, and has
ADL: Raelian swastikas not motivated by hate Read More »
USA
WASHINGTON (Press Release)– Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life today announced that Eric Fingerhut will serve as its president and CEO. The appointment was approved unanimously on Sunday by the Hillel Board of Directors, who met in New York. “Eric is an ideal fit for Hillel at this important time in our history,” said
Eric Fingerhut is Hillel’s new national president Read More »
USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California–The problem is not what we know; it’s what we feel. We do not really know what happened: for the vast majority of us, it happened somewhere else (in the previously unknown town of Sanford, Fla.), we have relied entirely on the cloying media with its pundits and professional oracles,
Trayvon Martin case forces us to grapple with our racism Read More »
USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The list of famous people President Obama has invited to the White House is something most of us would find surprising, amusing, and even outrageous. He has on occasions invited Gangsta Rappers like the rap artist named Common, whose poetical lyrics extols the virtues of cannibalism,
Obama’s Middle Eastern guest list raises questions Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The similarities and differences between Barack Obama and Benyamin Netanyahu tell us something about politics. For cynics, they are two peas in a pod who happen to coincide, and deserve one another. Both are attractive physically and know how to speak. Those are the makings of good actors, and that is the
Bibi and Barack: two political peas in a pod Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA