SAN DIEGO — Following are streaming Jewish programs of academic and general interest. All times are Pacific Standard Time. (Laurie Baron, Ph.D)
Streaming Jewish Programs (Dec. 13-28, 2020) Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
The unspeakable horror; the ignored cries of pain,; the unimaginable suffering; the final resting place for more than 50,000 innocent souls. This was Nazi era Germany: This was Buchenwald, the death camp infamous for performing medical experiments on inmates. Its place in history marked by being the first camp liberated by Allied Forces. On a recent driving trip through the scenic countryside of the now unified Germany, we two Americans born after World War II gathered our courage to visit Buchenwald. Despite our each having twice before traveled to Germany, neither had mustered the psychological strength to witness the reality of the death camp tales we had heard all our lives. [John Brennan]
Two bricks from Buchenwald Read More »
International, Jewish History
To mark the anniversary of the Kindertransport project, in which Britain agreed to accept ten thousand unaccompanied refugee children, the vast majority of whom were Jewish, from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939, the AJR (Association of Jewish Refugees) recently held a special zoom meeting. This was hosted by British celebrity Dame Esther Rantzen and one of the main speakers was Sir David Attenborough, whose family had hosted two girls from Germany. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Reunion of families who sheltered Kindertransport refugees Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History
The idea of a Holocaust Haggadah is fabulous; we have a Tu’B’ Shevat Seder Haggadah, why not one on the Holocaust—especially since Yom HaShoah occurs within a week after Passover ends? Historically, the Passover Haggadah provided a practical template how to convey the meaning of Passover; Rabbi Rosenberg’s Holocaust Haggadah aims to create a practical syllabus on how to make the Holocaust relevant to the themes of Passover and redemption. For the children of Holocaust survivors (like myself), we must find new and creative ways to preserve the sacredness of Jewish memory. This is similar to the way the retelling of Passover serves to challenge new generations with the seminal thoughts since the time when the traditional observance of Passover ceased with the destruction of the Temple. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
A Holocaust Haggadah To Help Preserve Memory Read More »
Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
The actions by the president [Franklin D. Roosevelt] and his administration included welcoming Nazi warships to U.S. ports; allowing deceptive labeling on German imports to elude anti-Nazi boycotters; censoring anti-Nazi remarks by cabinet members; and refraining from publicly condemning the Hitler regime’s persecution of German Jews (from 1933 until late 1938). Our essay noted that none of this is mentioned in the exhibit on “Americans and the Holocaust” at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in Washington, D.C. None of the museum’s staff historians have disputed the accuracy of our essay. Instead, the museum issued this statement by its communications director: “The exhibition reveals how many segments of American society, not just the president, but also Congress, the State Department, the media, and the public knew about the persecution and murder of the Jews while it was happening but for the most part failed to respond.” In other words, don’t focus the blame on FDR, because everybody was doing it.
‘Everybody Did It’ Is Poor Excuse for FDR’s Inaction on Holocaust Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA
The family of Roald Dahl has apologized for the author’s antisemitism, which hurt his reputation during his lifetime and continues to taint interpretations of his work after his death, through a statement on the website that was recently discovered and publicized but has been up for an indefinite amount of time. “The Dahl family and
Roald Dahl’s Family Apologizes For Author’s Antisemitic Comments Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
David L. Lander, the Jewish comic actor best known for his over-the-top portrayal of 1950s greaser Squiggy on “Laverne & Shirley,” has died at the age of 73. Lander passed away Friday from complications from multiple sclerosis at a Los Angeles hospital, his wife, Kathy, told TMZ. Variety confirmed Lander’s death on Saturday. Kathy Lander
‘Laverne & Shirley’ star David L. Lander, aka Squiggy, dies at 73 Read More »
Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAFollowing are streaming Jewish programs of academic and general interest from Sunday, Dec. 6, through Friday, Dec. 11. All times are Pacific Standard Time. (Laurie Baron, Ph.D)
Streaming Jewish Programs (Dec. 6-12, 2020) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Holocaust survivor Shalom Stamberg holds a book with a photo of himself in Auschwitz, alongside a copy of his concentration camp record. AP Photo/Ariel Schalit One in four American millennials believe the Holocaust was exaggerated or entirely made up, according to a recent national survey that sought to find out what young adults know about
It all comes down to “promote the general welfare” vs. “the free exercise…of religion.”
On Nov. 8, Satmar Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum more than freely exercised his religious traditions by hosting a family wedding in Brooklyn reportedly attended by 7,000 guests at a time when coronavirus cases persisted at high levels of infection. On Nov. 23. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promoted the general welfare by socking the organizers with a laughable $15,000 fine. On Nov. 26, our dysfunctional Supreme Court stamped a final judgment on a synagogue attendance case – rooted in Brooklyn – prioritizing “the free exercise…of religion” over “the general welfare.” [Bruce S. Ticcker]
Free Exercise of Religion vs. Promoting the General Welfare Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA
Los Angeles (AFP) – A Jewish doctor working with coronavirus patients in California shared his shock about the moment he saw neo-Nazi tattoos on the body of a severely ill man he was treating. As his team – which included a Black nurse and a respiratory specialist of Asian descent — prepared the man to
US Jewish doctor tweets on treating Covid patient with Nazi tattoos Read More »
Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Now that Joe Biden is the acknowledged President-Elect, we as Jews have a moral obligation, to pray for his success as we did for our outgoing President, Donald Trump. This is the Jewish way. [Ezra Friedlander]
Jewish Trump supporters should now pray for Biden Read More »
Jewish History, USA
According to the Book of the Calendar Controversy, found in the Cairo Genizah in the early twentieth century, Aaron Ben Meir, a highly esteemed scholar and Head of the Jewish community living in Muslim-occupied Israel, challenged, in A.M. 4682 (921 CE), Babylonian Jewry’s power to construct the Jewish calendar by declaring on the Mount of Olives that the months of Heshvan and Kislev would be defective (both having 29 days), and as a result, Passover 4682 will fall on Sunday, contradicting the pronouncement of the Babylonian Sanhedrin whose calendar said the months of Heshvan and Kislev will be full (both having 30 days) and Passover falling on Tuesday, two days later. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]
The Great Jewish Calendar Controversy Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
Franklin D. Roosevelt is widely remembered as a strong leader who boldly led America out of the Great Depression and to the brink of victory in World War II. Yet when it comes to the Holocaust, some defenders of FDR’s record want us to believe he was not responsible for keeping Jewish refugees out of America—as if that was all the handiwork of the State Department, which supposedly ran U.S. immigration policy and foreign policy independently of the president’s wishes. Sorry, but you can’t have it both ways. [Rafael Medoff and Stephen H. Norwood]
Whitewashing FDR’s Abandonment of the Jews Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA