Judaism

Michail Tochman, Holocaust Survivor, 1926-2016

Michail Tochman, the last known survivor of the Odessa Ghetto and Concentration camp died Wednesday, July 28, of complication at 90 years of age. His recounting of life under German and Romanian occupation and the concentration camp where he was one of only 7 survivors is here. He wrote it, my sister translated his text.  — […]

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International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, Sam Litvin

Republican Jewish Coalition’s view of Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention

By Fred Brown PHILADELPHIA — If you thought Day One of the Democrat National Convention was the worst it could get, you haven’t been paying attention. Democrats followed up on their atrocious opening act with an equally offensive Day Two. To Recap: Morning Pro-Israel Protestors Greeted Top Democrats Attending A Panel Discussion Hosted By The

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Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Lithuanian concentration camp is now a wedding venue

KAUNAS, Lithuania — In this drab city 55 miles west of Vilnius, there are few heritage sites as mysterious and lovely looking as the Seventh Fort. This 18-acre red-brick bunker complex, which dates to 1882, features massive underground passages that connect its halls and chambers. Above ground, the hilltop fortress is carpeted with lush grass

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International, Jewish History

Iraq’s marshlands, nearly destroyed under Saddam, are coming back

It’s easy to believe, when you’re in Iraq’s southern marshes, that civilization really did begin there. Sunlight sparkles as herons dart from the reeds to spear fish, while women in long wooden boats glide through the water. The wetlands span thousands of square miles in the middle of desert. Some students of ancient history believe

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Jewish History, Middle East

Adelson snubs Cruz over his failure to endorse Trump

Texas Senator Ted Cruz was turned away from the luxury suite of Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson after he refused to endorse Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in his speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, Newsmax reports. A former U.S. senator quoted in the reported said that Cruz approached the suite after his speech.

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Jewish Religion, USA

Argentina seeks extradition of Iranian over AMIA bombing

Argentina on Wednesday asked Singapore and Malaysia Wednesday to extradite a former Iranian foreign minister whom it accuses of involvement in a 1994 bombing that killed 85 people at a Jewish community center, AFP reports. An investigating judge issued the request after learning that Ali Akbar Velayati, who is on the Interpol wanted list, was

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International, Jewish History

‘The homosexuals who came to consult me weren’t proud’

Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, the Rabbi of Kiryat Ono (near Tel Aviv) and an expert in Jewish law, weighed in yesterday (Monday) about the growing media storm over LGBT issues, calling for a more civil and substantive debate. The “LGBT issue” has come to the fore in Israeli discourse once again in recent days, following controversial

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

David Lee Preston: Will the GOP show principles, progress this week?

I’m following the Republican National Convention this week in Cleveland with particular interest, partly because I am a child of Holocaust survivors, and partly because of my relationships with two men who are no longer among us. One is Elie Wiesel, the Nobel laureate who died July 2, who famously beseeched President Ronald Reagan not

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Jewish History, USA

Trump campaign finds new Rabbi

The Donald Trump campaign has found a new Rabbi. After Rabbi Haskel Lookstein – who’s been the subject of much recent controversy in Israel over the Rabbinical Court’s decision not to recognize his conversions – backed out of an engagement to deliver and “invocation”, or prayer, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland tonight (Monday),

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Jewish Religion, USA

UNESCO hearing on ‘offensive’ Temple Mount resolution delayed

A series of controversial proposals being weighed by the United Nation”s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have been shelved yet again, following the terror attack in southern France and attempted coup in Turkey over the weekend. The current UNESCO session, which was meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, was ended early following disruptions caused by the

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Alternative Jewish histories: Fun, instructive

What Ifs of Jewish History: From Abraham to Zionism edited by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld; (c) 2016 Cambridge University Press; ISBN 978110-7037625; 406 pages including notes and index; $34.99 hardback. By Mitchell J. Freedman POWAY, California –Counterfactuals or alternative histories remain controversial among historians mostly because it is an area where Literature with a capital L

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History