Judaism

Author Alleges Trump Praised Hitler

It’s a comment Jews sometimes hear from people who are antisemitic when Adolf Hitler’s name comes up: “Hitler did a lot of good things,” often said by folks who downplay or with unpure motives “balance” the fact of the Holocaust. There are a slew of new books coming out with revelations about the Trump administration — and an upcoming one quotes then-President Donald Trump as saying: “Well, Hitler did a lot good things,” shocking his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired US Marine Corps general. [Joe Gandelman]

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International, Jewish History, Joe Gandelman, USA

S.D. Synagogues Welcome Palestinian Speaker, Executive Director

Activities and staffing are returning to pre-pandemic levels at various San Diego County synagogues, with Temple Emanu-El in the San Diego State University area hosting a Palestinian refugee who is highly critical the Palestinian Authority’s human rights record. Tifereth Israel Synagogue in the San Carlos neighborhood, meanwhile, has announced it has hired a new executive director. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Torah Reading for July 10, 2021

When you walk into a synagogue what do you feel? This week’s double reading, Matot and Massei, on the Shabbat that is the first day of the auspicious month of Av, offers us some insight into this question. After all, these readings teach of a new phase in the history of our heritage, the settlement period when we began to find permanent homes for ourselves. Is that what your synagogue is for you? [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Let’s Have Compassion for the Rabbi’s Spouse

I believe some of the most important unsung heroes of non-Orthodox Judaism are the spouses of pulpit rabbis.  We don’t pay them, but more often than not, we expect them to devote their lives to our synagogues.  We want them to attend every social occasion, be there near the front of the sanctuary on Shabbat evening and morning,   to recognize all of us by first and last name, and to be able to chant the blessings before and after the reading of the Torah whenever someone is needed for an aliyah. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA

Jewish faith fuels hope and outreach after Surfside collapse

Published by Reuters By Katanga Johnson SURFSIDE, Fla. (Reuters) – Hundreds have gathered every day at The Shul of Bal Harbour, a synagogue near the Florida condominium complex that partially collapsed last week, to pray that survivors will be found. Other members of Surfside’s Jewish community have offered food, water and emotional support to search

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Jewish Religion

‘Thank you, America’ from the Depths of My Jewish Heart

As a boy, I loved hearing the story about the early childhood of my father, Martin B. Harrison, who was born on the 4th of July, 1910.  To paraphrase the great Irish-American lyricist George M. Cohan, dad was a “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Until dad reached the age of 5, his parents — M. Joseph and Florence Harrison — had him persuaded that the nation held all those parades and shot off all those fireworks in celebration of his birthday.  When he got to kindergarten, however, he learned the truth.  The celebration was for the birth of the American nation, and not specifically for little Marty. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Why I Launched a Podcast About Antisemitism

In August 2016 in Berlin my younger daughter and I visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism, and Holocaust exhibits at the Jewish Museum Berlin. It seemed that Germany was doing rather well with coming to terms with the country’s horrendous crimes against Jews and others during WWII. [Phyllis Zimbler Miller]

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International, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Planning for Locally-Based Israel Trips Resumes

As vaccination rates increase and the coronavirus pandemic seemingly is being brought under control, group trips to Israel from San Diego are again being organized.  One of the first to be publicized is a joint trip planned for May 15-29, 2022 and sponsored by the San Diego Outreach Synagogue and the Desert Outreach Synagogue, to be led respectively by Rabbi/ Cantor Cheri Weiss and Rabbi Jules King. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

StandWithUs to Aid House of Israel in Balboa Park

The leadership of the House of Israel in Balboa Park is less worried today about the possible burnout of their volunteers. which could have led to the organization being unable to keep the doors open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.  That in turn could have led to the House of Israel, a Balboa Park fixture since 1948, being forced to relinquish its cottage and being replaced by the house of another nation. The pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs has come to the rescue. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

‘The Princess Bride’ Was a Jewish Fantasy Film

While the sixties saw a boom in Jewish culture (the Fiddler and Yentl movies, the Anne Frank play, Woody Allen, Barbara Streisand, etc.) the tradition of covertly Jewish characters continued for decades more. And that brings us to The Princess Bride. Blond, British Wesley and his peasant-to-princess Buttercup read as goyish. They’re the heroes, fighting the spoiled prince who won’t let them fall in love. However, basically every other character reads as a European ethnic minority –if not Jewish then honorary mishpucha. [Valerie Estelle Frankel]

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Haftorah Reading for July 3, 2021

This extract, more prose than verse, from the opening chapters of Jeremiah’s book (52 chapters), was selected by the rabbis as the first of Haftorahs of admonition, to be read during the three shabbatot between the fast of the 17th of Tammuz and that of Tish-a b’Av. The former of these two dates (in 586 BCE) recalls Babylon’s breach of Jerusalem’s wall, the latter the actual destruction of Jerusalem, shortly later in 586 BCE. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion