By Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — The headline in the April 20, 1946 edition of the New York Times read “Poison Bread Fells 1,900 German Captives in U.S. Army Prison Camp near Nuremberg.” What the Times did not report nor know was who the perpetrators were. As World War II was ending, survivors trickled out […]
Holocaust survivors mass poisoned Nazis of Stalag 13 Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The decision to establish an egalitarian prayer area at the Western Wall on seemingly same terms as the two Orthodox ones that are now there (one for women and one for men) may be theologically dubious in the eyes of some of us, but it has been politically most
New Kotel section a victory for progressive Judaism Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO –– Parashat Ki Tissa contains the story of the egel ha-zahav, the Golden Calf. After Moses ascended Mt. Sinai, he remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. It did not take long for the Children of Israel to become unsettled and anxious. They despaired of
Golden calf worship: clinging to old habits Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — Worship a golden calf?! How could such a thing happen? After witnessing the ten plagues, the exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the war with Amalek, the Manna from heaven, and the giving of the Ten Commandments from G-d Himself, how, within twenty-four hours, could anyone witnessing
Weekly Torah portion: Ki Tesaw Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Before Holocaust Survivor Lou Dunst died last year, he and his wife Estelle commissioned art to enhance the Holy Ark at Ohr Shalom Synagogue at Third and Laurel Streets in San Diego. Four artists competed for the honor of designing the works, with architect Amy Reichert of Chicago,
Ohr Shalom dedicates Pillars of Cloud, Smoke Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
JERUSALEM (WJC) — Samuel Willenberg, the last survivor of the Treblinka death camp who died on Friday in Israel at the age of 93, beat the odds.. About 870,000 people, most of them Jews, died in the gas chambers at Treblinka. It was the second largest Nazi German death camp after Auschwitz-Birkenau. “Samuel Willenberg wa a hero
Samuel Willenberg, last survivor of Treblinka Read More »
International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorialsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — You can have a flock of sheep and a herd of cows, a covey of witches and a murmuration of starlings, so why not a transport of translators? This is one of the thoughts that occurred to me in the course of the recent annual Conference organized by the
Public speaking translates into misery Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Middle EastBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Although God is the central “actor” in the Torah, Moses plays a significant supporting role. In fact, from the story of his birth on, there is not one parasha in the Torah that does not mention Moses by name…except parashat T’tzavveh. In parashat T’tzavveh, Moses’ name does not
Why T’tzaaveh doesn’t include the name of Moses Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — The Mishkan (the portable Tabernacle) was built to be a place where G-d could dwell, presenting a more concentrated manifestation of Himself than He emanated to the rest of the world. It was the place where the people could go, with the proper preparation, to communicate with G-d
Weekly Torah portion: Tetzveh Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Donald H. Harrison CHULA VISTA, California –Temple Beth Shalom, a Conservative congregation that in 1958 became one of the first local Jewish houses of worship to locate outside the City of San Diego, was designated on Wednesday, Feb. 17, as a historic site of the suburban City of Chula Vista. The Jewish congregation, then
Temple Beth Shalom declared a historic site Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County
By Lisa Herndon NEW YORK — At 102, J. Zel Lurie “39 is likely the Columbia Journalism School”s longest-working journalist. Lurie, who lives in Delray Beach, Florida, suffers from macular degeneration and can no longer read, but it has never occurred to him to end a writing career that started decades ago. Only now, he
Retire at 102? Not a chance! Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, USABy Jack Forman SAN DIEGO — Righteous Rebel: The Story of Rabbi Avi Weiss, a wide-ranging, celebratory feature-length documentary by filmmaker Phil Schneider honoring the life and the activism of the well-known and controversial Orthodox Rabbi who has been in the public limelight for almost a half a century screened before an attentive audience of
Jewish Film Festival Review: ‘Righteous Rebel’ Read More »
Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & BroadcastPoland to outlaw phrase ‘Polish death camps’ WARSAW (WJC) — Poland is planning to adopt a law to punish people who use the phrase “Polish death camps” in relation to Nazi concentration camps in German-occupied Poland during World War II. Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro declared on a radio channel that his bill would “meet the expectations of Poles, who
Never Again: Holocaust News for February 15, 2016 Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryFalse Facts and True Rumors: LaShon HaRa in Contemporary Culture by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Maggid Books, Jerusalem; ISBN 978-1-59264-441-4 ©2015, $29.95, p. 261, plus bibliography and indexes By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–The Hebrew expression lashon hara, literally meaning “an evil tongue,” is often translated as slander, gossip, and malicious or disparaging speech. In contemporary
How Judaism views evil speech Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion