The first terrorist acts against the leaders of the newly established Soviet government were carried out on August 30, 1918, by Jews Leonid Kannegiesser and Fanny Kaplan. (Alex Gordon)
Jewish Biography: Fanny Kaplan, would-be assassin of Vladimir Lenin Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
An arsonist set Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, ablaze, approximately at 3 am. Saturday morning when the building was unoccupied, but the damage was extensive. Two Torah scrolls were destroyed, and five others were damaged. A Holocaust Torah on display behind a glass case was still intact. Police said they have detained a suspect, whom they have not yet identified. [Donald H. Harrison]
Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, set ablaze Read More »
Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA
Jared Kushner (January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is the son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in-law’s first administration from 2017 to 2021. He was also director of the Office of American Innovation. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish birthday: Jared Kushner Read More »
Today's Jewish Birthday, USA, Wikipedia
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he hopes U.S. foreign aid for his nation’s military can be cut to zero within a decade, Reuters reported. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jews in the news: Saturday evening, Jan.10, 2026 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, News Media, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Brooke Goldstein, founder and executive director of the Lawfare Project, said the settlement that her organization in cooperation with the law firm of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP reached with Cooper Union, also provides a monetary award, a requirement for protesters to carry IDs during protests … [Donald H. Harrison]
Jews in the news: Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, News Media, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Peaceful protest is how people have always defended democracy. It is how civil rights were won and how abuses of power are confronted. Nonviolence is our collective strength, exercised with discipline, dignity, and care for one another. [Terra Lawspn-Remer]
Supervisor Lawson-Remer boosts weekend anti-ICE rallies Read More »
Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Democracy isn’t a spectator sport, and we must get in the arena and use the tools of our democracy to defend it. The most meaningful action we can take is in the midterm elections. We must ensure Democrats take back control of Congress so they can restore checks and balances and provide oversight on the Executive Branch, given the GOP’s abdication of its authority and acquiescence to Trump. In the meantime, there are additional steps we can take to stand up, speak out, and advocate for our values. The most important thing is to not tune out and accept or normalize Trump’s trampling of our democratic norms and institutions. [Halie Soifer]
Opinion: Democracy is not a spectator sport Read More »
Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
[Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey] later issued a written statement, “The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city and making our community less safe. We are demanding that ICE leave the city and state immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Jews in the news: Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 Read More »
Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, News Media, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA, Wikipedia
Historians have long observed a pattern that repeats with uncomfortable consistency, most empires begin to fail somewhere between 200 and 300 years after their founding. Rome. Spain. Britain. Not because history is scripted, but because trust erodes, between leaders and citizens, between institutions and truth, between power, responsibility, and accountability. [Shahar Masori]
When trust is eroded, nations eventually will fail Read More »
International, Opinion, Shahar Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum: “We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries. The history of Latin America is clear and compelling: intervention has never brought democracy, never generated well-being, nor lasting stability.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Jews in the news: Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Democrats have already been influenced by members of Congress who repeatedly bash Israel. Critics have legitimate concerns about Israel, but for a bloc in Congress Israel can do nothing right. Their approach to the war between Israel and Hamas is one-sided, and the more evenhanded Democrats have been walking on eggshells around them. [Bruce S. Ticker]
NY Democrats engage in a showdown over Israel Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
US President Donald Trump covets Greenland for the sake of U.S. national security and for control of Greenland’s natural resources. Stephen Miller, deputy white House chief of staff, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday that “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland … It wouldn’t be military action against Greenland. Greenland has a population of 30,000 people, Jake. The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland?” [Donald H. Harrison]
Jews in the News: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 Read More »
Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, News Media, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded innocent in the New York federal court of Judge Alvin Hellerstein to charges of drug and arms trafficking. Attorney Barry Pollack represented Maduro at the arraignment. The next court date was set for March 17. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political briefing: Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 Read More »
Antisemitism, California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Imagine opening a book that doesn’t just sit on your shelf gathering dust—it walks with you through the chaos of everyday life, whispering (and sometimes shouting) that holiness isn’t reserved for mountaintops or monasteries. It’s right here, in the messy, miraculous grind of being human. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Rabbi Heschel as interpreted by an ex-con turned rabbi Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA