USA

Thanksgiving Blessings and Tzedakah

I’m always fascinated at Thanksgiving time to see how rabbis express what is a central tenet of Judaism: giving thanks to the Almighty for the many blessings bestowed upon us.
For example, the Forward offered a prayer from the book, Talking to God: Personal Prayers for Times of Joy, Sadness, Struggle and Celebration  by Rabbi Naomi Levy of the Neshuva congregation in Los Angeles. The poem focuses on every day things—children’s laughter, our ability to breathe, having enough food to eat, living in adequate shelters, being clothed, being healthy, the special people in our lives, and residing in a country where people are free to practice their religion without fear. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Medical professionals lament holiday travel

My wife and I are in the medical field. My wife works on the front lines at a large medical center and watches the suffering that COVID inflicts.  Not just to the patients and their families but to the front line workers risking their lives to help others.  In the evening we watch the news showing these dedicated doctors, nurses and support staff, exhausted both physically and mentally, literally begging us to stay home this Thanksgiving.  The Surgeon General, the President-elect and many of our states’ governors also warn us not to make matters worse. They are ignored by a huge percentage of the population. [Ben Dishman, PharmD]

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Ben Dishman, Judaism, Lifestyles, USA

Trump is a good friend of Israel. We’ll see about Biden

In the recent election, American-Israelis voted 70%-30% for President Trump, the converse of how American Jews voted. That tells you Israelis value the president’s accomplishments abroad, feats which are not high priority for most Jews in the US. Under Trump, the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem, quit the Iran nuclear deal, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, declared that Israeli “settlements” beyond the 1949 Armistice lines are not illegal, endorsed, in principle, an Israeli annexation of up to 30% of the West Bank, and brokered normalization agreements with three Arab states under the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement. All of these accomplishments deal with reality in the Middle East, not some tired, fanciful panacea about the necessity for a State of Palestine to allow peace in the Middle East.  [Steve Kramer]

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Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

Trump pardons Michael Flynn, who lied to FBI over Russia

Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he had pardoned Michael Flynn, the former security advisor whose lies about his Russian contacts spurred the troubling investigation into Trump campaign collusion with Moscow.The pardon, which was expected, came in the final weeks of Trump’s presidency, two years of which was spent fighting the allegations that

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International, USA

Fabiola Santiago: There’s poetic justice in Biden appointing a Cuban American to lead Homeland Security

The rise of Alejandro Mayorkas may be just the feel-good story Miami needs post-election.After his Jewish parents fled Fidel Castro’s Communist takeover of Cuba in 1960, Mayorkas lived in Miami as a child. They eventually left the capital of Cuban exiles for a life in Los Angeles, but the 61-year-old hasn’t forgotten his immigrant beginnings.It

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International, Jewish History, USA

JFS increases services many fold in pandemic’s wake

Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) remains committed to helping San Diegans of all faiths, backgrounds and ages maintain stability through this crisis and beyond. JFS released statistics on Wednesday to demonstrate the region’s increased need for assistance during the pandemic. The 102-year-old nonprofit has also announced a new, “Triple Your Impact Giving Tuesday” donation match challenge for the JFS COVID-19 Relief Fund on Dec. 1. [Jewish Family Service]

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San Diego County, USA

Biden says Americans ‘won’t stand’ for attempt to derail election result

Washington (AFP) – President-elect Joe Biden said Wednesday that Americans “won’t stand” for attempts to derail the US election outcome, but Donald Trump doubled down on his unprecedented refusal to concede defeat and called for the results to be overturned.In a speech on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, Biden said in his hometown Delaware

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USA

Why do we love books about presidents? Obama’s ‘Promised Land’ is next and there’s a stack about Trump

CHICAGO — In the early 1930s, Ralph Newman was walking through the Near North Side when he noticed a bookstore going out of business. He had left Northwestern University after a semester to play minor league baseball in the Southwest — only to be injured and leave baseball. He was in his 20s when he

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA

Janet Yellen to be 3rd consecutive Jewish Treasury Secretary

Among Jews nominated for important posts in the Biden Administration is Secretary of the Treasury-designate Janet Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve.  Although she and her husband, Nobel Prize-winning economist George Akerlof, have not to date talked much publicly about their religious beliefs, it is known that as residents of Berkeley, California, decades ago, they attended services at that city’s Congregation Beth El, and that their son Robert Akerlof, who is now himself a professor of economics at the University of Warwick, was enrolled by them in the Beth El preschool. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Rosenwald’s and Washington’s Partnership for Good

The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, www.JASHP.org, has funded and completed another marker it its series honoring and recognizing the Partnership for Good of Jewish philanthropist Julius Rosenwald and Black educator Booker T. Washington. Rosenwald was key to the construction of over 5,400 schools, in the 13 States of “South” for Black school children. Millions of Black Americans were significantly benefited by Rosenwald’s generosity. [Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Streaming Jewish Programs (Nov. 29-Dec. 4, 2020)

Following are programs of scholarly and popular Jewish interest that can be accessed via the Internet from Nov. 29 through Dec. 4, 2020.  All times are Pacific Standard Time. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA