Judaism

New book examines Judaism’s last three prophets

Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty by Hayyim Angel, Maggid Books, New Milford, CT, © 2016, ISBN 978-1-59264-413-1, p. 154 plus appendix, $24.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –  Jewish prophets are missionaries in the sense that God calls them to fulfill a task, such as conveying important information to the […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Menorah dispute, JCC bomb scare roil community

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – A bomb scare delayed the opening of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center on Tuesday, the same day local newspapers reported a dispute between the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot over the former’s request for permission to erect a menorah on the base

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

For the past 150 years, Alaskan Jews have blazed trails in the last frontier

With a spotlight on the dramatic rescue of 40,000 Yemenite Jews by Alaska Airlines, the Alaska Jewish museum marks the anniversary of ‘Seward’s Folly’ By Rich Tenorio This year, Alaska celebrates 150 years since secretary of state William Seward acquired it from Russia for over $7 million in 1867. “Seward’s Folly” later became a mother

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Jewish History, USA

Weekly Torah portion: Yitro

By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — After the Jews, had settled peacefully into their wilderness encampment, Yitro, Moshe’s father in law, brought Zipporah, Moshe’s wife and two sons from Midyan, to be reunited with their husband and father. Moshe and all the leaders hosted Yitro to a joyous celebratory meal in which they praised

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Jewish Religion

Trump keeps getting asked about anti-Semitism, but he doesn’t seem to have an answer

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in America. And the recent surge of anti-Jewish hate incidents appears to coincide with the political rise of President Donald Trump. Trump doesn’t seem interested in talking about it. During his first solo news conference on Thursday afternoon, Trump was asked about the rising number of anti-Semitic crimes around the

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Jewish History, USA

“Quiet, Quiet!”: Trump Silences Jewish Reporter Who Asks Him About Attacks On Synagogues

During yet another disastrous press conference held on Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump committed numerous attacks against the freedom of the press, attacking the legitimacy of the members of the press and silencing a Hasidic reporter who tried to ask an important question. As he often does, Trump referred to CNN as “fake news,” and

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Jewish History, USA

Newly Found Songs from the Holocaust Still Haunt

The history of music is rich with sounds spurred by suffering. During the Holocaust, songs of defiance and belief helped captive Jews confront and temporarily alleviate their misery. Now, a long-lost recording from 1946 is providing a poignant new soundtrack for understanding life in the Nazi concentration camps and Jewish ghettos. Just after World War

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Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Court upholds airport’s punishment of Orthodox employee who observed Passover; appeal is expected

(c) Edwin Black WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit surprisingly rejected the appeal of Susan Abeles, a Washington D.C. Orthodox Jew, who was punished by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) because she took off work for the last two days of Passover 2013, as she

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Edwin Black, Jewish Religion, USA

Wife of former Brazilian president Lula dies aged 66

Rio de Janeiro (dpa) – Marisa Leticia Rocco, the wife of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, died Friday in a Sao Paulo hospital aged 66, multiple local media reports confirmed. Rocco was Thursday declared brain dead in the Hospital Sirio Libanes where she had been admitted after suffering a stroke. Lula’s predecessor,

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International, Obituaries & memorials

Anti-Semite vandalizes Chicago Loop Synagogue

Chicago Police are investigating an attack on the Chicago Loop Synagogue. The synagogue’s surveillance cameras show a dark-clothed man wearing a mask exit a dark vehicle, plaster swastika stickers on the synagogue’s front door, smash the synagogue’s front windows with a metal object, then run back to his car. Construction workers working nearby noticed the

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Jewish Religion, USA

Viral rabbi captures hearts of online ‘congregation’ via social media

All that Meir Kay wants from his audience is a smile. But the millions of YouTube hits don’t hurt, too By Lisa Klug NEW YORK — While Americans are still digesting the presidential inauguration, the new administration, and the Women’s Marches across the country, one of their brethren is putting his focus elsewhere. With a

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Jewish Religion, USA

Current Lord Balfour proud of great- grandpa’s declaration favoring national homeland for the Jews

WINDSOR, England (Press Release) – A century after the U.K. declared its support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Israel, the current Lord Balfour expressed pride in his great-grandfather’s “humanitarian act,” as Jewish leaders from around the world and some 700 Russian-speaking Jews from 18 European countries gathered in

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International, Jewish Religion

Hundreds fete retiring Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Congregants, rabbis, representatives of Jewish agencies and organizations, staff, family, and friends feted Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal on Saturday evening, Feb. 4, to mark his retirement after 29 years service to Tifereth Israel Synagogue and the community. A catered dinner for several hundred in the Conservative congregation’s social hall

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County