USA

This Rosh Hashanah, ‘If you will it, it is no dream’

As we approach these Days of Awe, I would like to share several stories that have touched me, and I think will touch you too about the people you, Jewish National Fund-USA, and I have supported over the past year. I’m going to tell you about an inspiring young lady who has come home to Israel; an incredible healthcare worker who has found a new way to connect with people with disabilities; an agricultural training center that’s bringing hope and prosperity to developing countries; and a story of how Jewish National Fund-USA is creating a global culinary capital in Israel’s north to feed the world. [Sol Lizerbram, M.D.]

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International, Middle East, Travel and Food, USA

Rabbi Goldstein’s brother also guilty of tax fraud

Mendel Goldstein, the owner of a videography business based in Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty in federal court On Monday to tax evasion charges relating to a long-running conspiracy with his brother, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein. Until around 2018, Yisroel Goldstein was the director and head rabbi at Chabad of Poway, a tax-exempt organization that the brothers used to divert Mendel Goldstein’s income and conceal more than $700,000 in earnings from the IRS. 

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San Diego County, USA

Book review: ‘Hatemonger’ skewers Stephen Miller

Guerrero adroitly compiles in a fast-moving, soundly researched 275 pages a text that connects the dots between Miller’s own history, personal stories of Trump and Miller’s victims, backstage intrigue and shocking events thanks in part to Miller’s engineering. Miller, who predictably would not cooperate with Guerrero, is part of a hard-right network that has long sought the kinds of ultra-conservative policies the current White House is attempting to implement. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Bruce Ticker, International, Middle East, USA

With theaters dark, all the world must now be a stage

Growing up, Judaism always took center stage, but when I moved to Pittsburgh to study directing at the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University, suddenly theater was in the spotlight. For the first couple of years, it felt like I had to give up practicing Judaism in order to pursue theater full time. Choosing rehearsals over Shabbat or having to miss High Holiday services for class felt like I had opted to practice the religion of theater over Judaism. [Adira Rosen]

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass in Civil War debate

A brilliant script by Richard Hellersen brought Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass back to life face-to-face on my computer careen.  I felt like a fly on the wall (better than a front row seat) watching  two brilliant portrayals by Hawthorne James as Douglass, and Ray Chambers as Lincoln in heated conversations actually documented by playwright Hellersen from meetings and correspondence between these two iconic and historic figures. [Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel]

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Some 70 years of love for tennis

The first time I ever saw or stepped on a tennis court was in 1949 when I was sixteen and got a job at Camp Watitoh near Tanglewood in the Berkshires as a maintenance worker. One of my first jobs was to brush and roll the tomato-colored clay tennis courts smooth early every morning. That was boring but tolerable in the cool early morning air. So now I was the tennis court maven, and was assigned to build two new courts in the lower unshaded unused part of the camp property. [Ira Spector]

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International, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food, USA

Jewish pirates took revenge on Inquisition’s nations

You might get the idea from the title of this book that it is about a BBYO Group enjoying a favorite ride at Disneyland. However, it is far more serious than that. It tells about the war Jewish refugees waged against Portugal and Spain and their Grand Inquisitors. It also offers a hint concerning the dispute between Spain and Portugal over the true nationality of 16th century explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, USA

Serbia-Kosovo Agreement Falls Far Short

The recent agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, brokered by the US, to normalize economic relations between the two countries fell short of the needed reconciliation process that would lead to full recognition of Kosovo’s independence by Serbia. Some elements of the economic normalization agreement are positive, including operationalizing the peace highway and the rail link between Pristina and Merdare, sharing Gazivode/Ujmani Lake and exploring its use as a reliable water and energy supply, and receiving financial support from the US International Development Finance Corporation and Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for the above. These and other projects will create job opportunities for several thousand Kosovars and alleviate some of the economic hardship in the country. [Alon ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Alon Ben-Meir, International, Middle East, USA

SWU webcast illustrates diverse support for Israel

StandWithUs on Wednesday evening presented a packed webcast, nearly an hour long, demonstrating the diversity of people who support Israel and the urgency that support has for Jewish and pro-Israel students attending high schools, colleges, and universities in North America and around the world. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Seacrest Village may be answer for isolated Jewish seniors

Jewish seniors isolated during the coronavirus pandemic may be better off both physically and mentally by moving to the Independent Living section of Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, its president and CEO Pam Ferris says. [Donald H. Harrison, “Our Shtetl San Diego County column]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA