Judaism

Former Patriots QB ‘Babe’ Parilli dies at age 87

Vito “Babe” Parilli, a member of the Patriots’ Hall of Fame and one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the American Football League, has died. He was 87. “The New England Patriots are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of former Boston Patriots quarterback Vito ‘Babe’ Parilli, who passed away,” the team […]

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Obituaries & memorials, Sports & Competitions, USA

Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani Dies

Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Fields Medal for mathematics, has died in the U.S. The 40-year-old reportedly had breast cancer that spread to her bones. “A light was turned off today. It breaks my heart… gone far too soon,” her friend, NASA scientist Firouz Naderi, posted on Instagram. The Fields

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Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

UK Hasidic school faced with closure for not teaching LGBT

Girls’ elementary school fails three inspections despite being praised for ‘inspiring pupils with enthusiasm’ By David Sedley Illustrative image of ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls studying at a Ultra Orthodox Jewish Girls school in Jerusalem, on September 2, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) An ultra-Orthodox girls’ elementary school in London may be forced to close after failing to meet

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Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education

Were the Jack the Ripper murders an elaborate anti-Semitic frameup?

Author Stephen Senise says it’s no coincidence that Britain’s most infamous unsolved crime is alleged to have been committed by a Jew — it was planned that way all along By Robert Philpot LONDON — It is the greatest whodunit in British history. For nearly 130 years, writers, criminologists, historians and amateur sleuths have pondered

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History

Photos: Neighbors killing neighbors — a Polish community still reels over the massacre of its Jewish residents

If wars leave scars, then Poland has a deep red gash through its middle. For six years during World War II, the country was fought from both sides; the Soviet Union invaded from the east and Germany from the west. Five million Poles died during the war — that’s one-fifth of the population. Three million

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International, Jewish History

Nobel laureate and Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo dies at 61

BEIJING — Liu Xiaobo, the famed Chinese dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize while jailed for his pro-democracy writings, has died in a hospital in northeastern China at the age of 61. The Chinese judicial bureau said Liu died Thursday of multiple organ failure. Liu had terminal liver cancer and had been granted parole

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International, Obituaries & memorials

Book chronicles and analyzes coercion and depravity

Theresienstadt 1941-1945: The Face of a Coerced Community  by H.G.Adler; Cambridge University Press, 2017 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — This monumental monograph, to which no book review can hope to do justice, comprises more than 850 pages and constitutes a far-reaching and detailed account, or rather scientific analysis, of the concentration camp that was

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History

David ‘Buzz’ Sommers, formerly of Poway, dies in Canada

TORONTO, Canada (SDJW)– David “Buzz” Jonathan Sommers died peacefully in the early morning of Friday July 7, 2017, after a short but hard-fought battle against colon cancer, with Julia, his wife of almost 36 years, by his side. He was 58 years old. Sommers, formerly a resident of San Diego and Poway,  was a family

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Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County

13 San Diego rabbis seek ‘black listing’

SAN DIEGO — Thirteen non-Orthodox rabbis, protesting the decision of Israel’s chief rabbi to not recognize certification of Jewish identity by certain American rabbis, have demanded that their names be added to Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau’s “black list.” A copy of their letter follows: Dear Israel Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau: We, the following

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Jewish trivia quiz: Jews of India

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just completed an official 3-day visit to Israel. The highly successful trip included agreements in the areas of technological innovation, water conservation, desalination, space technology, and more. There was also discussion about the more than 80,000 Jews who live in India, many of whom

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International, Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Trivia, Humor & Satire

With no Jews left to protest, Christian crosses grace Holocaust memorials in Belarus

In addition to problems with Jewish law, where some in the scant Jewish community see a positive gesture, others see cultural insensitivity By Julie Masis PETRIKOV, Belarus — A few years ago, a monument to the local residents who perished during the Nazi occupation was built in the central park of the small town of

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International, Jewish History

PM quotes Bible to lambaste UNESCO decision on Hebron

Lashing out at agency, Netanyahu says Jewish connection to city’s Tomb of the Patriarchs possibly without parallel in human history By Times of Israel staff Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting on July 9, 2017. (Ohad Zweigenberg/Flash90) Raging over a decision by a UN body to declare Hebron’s Tomb of the

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Nelsan Ellis, actor on HBO’s ‘True Blood,’ dies at 39

Nelsan Ellis, the actor best known for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds on HBO’s “True Blood,” has died. He was 39. The reported cause was from complications due to heart failure. Ellis burst into popular consciousness in 2008 when he was cast in “True Blood” as Reynolds, a flamboyant and outspoken gay short order cook

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast