Published by DPA Esther Bejarano, a Jewish woman who survived Auschwitz concentration camp by playing in the girls’ orchestra, has died at the age of 96 in Hamburg, her adopted home. Helga Obens, a member of the Auschwitz Committee board, confirmed her death on Saturday. Bejarano died quietly in her sleep in the early hours
Auschwitz survivor Esther Bejarano dies at the age of 96 Read More »
International, Jewish History
Former Labor Party leader and Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog was sworn in as Israel’s 11th president on Wednesday, saying he would work to repair divisions within Israeli society. [JNS]
Isaac Herzog Sworn in as Israel’s 11th President Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East
It’s a comment Jews sometimes hear from people who are antisemitic when Adolf Hitler’s name comes up: “Hitler did a lot of good things,” often said by folks who downplay or with unpure motives “balance” the fact of the Holocaust. There are a slew of new books coming out with revelations about the Trump administration — and an upcoming one quotes then-President Donald Trump as saying: “Well, Hitler did a lot good things,” shocking his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired US Marine Corps general. [Joe Gandelman]
Author Alleges Trump Praised Hitler Read More »
International, Jewish History, Joe Gandelman, USA
As a boy, I loved hearing the story about the early childhood of my father, Martin B. Harrison, who was born on the 4th of July, 1910. To paraphrase the great Irish-American lyricist George M. Cohan, dad was a “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Until dad reached the age of 5, his parents — M. Joseph and Florence Harrison — had him persuaded that the nation held all those parades and shot off all those fireworks in celebration of his birthday. When he got to kindergarten, however, he learned the truth. The celebration was for the birth of the American nation, and not specifically for little Marty. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Thank you, America’ from the Depths of My Jewish Heart Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
In August 2016 in Berlin my younger daughter and I visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism, and Holocaust exhibits at the Jewish Museum Berlin. It seemed that Germany was doing rather well with coming to terms with the country’s horrendous crimes against Jews and others during WWII. [Phyllis Zimbler Miller]
Why I Launched a Podcast About Antisemitism Read More »
International, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
As vaccination rates increase and the coronavirus pandemic seemingly is being brought under control, group trips to Israel from San Diego are again being organized. One of the first to be publicized is a joint trip planned for May 15-29, 2022 and sponsored by the San Diego Outreach Synagogue and the Desert Outreach Synagogue, to be led respectively by Rabbi/ Cantor Cheri Weiss and Rabbi Jules King. [Donald H. Harrison]
Planning for Locally-Based Israel Trips Resumes Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USAThe leadership of the House of Israel in Balboa Park is less worried today about the possible burnout of their volunteers. which could have led to the organization being unable to keep the doors open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. That in turn could have led to the House of Israel, a Balboa Park fixture since 1948, being forced to relinquish its cottage and being replaced by the house of another nation. The pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs has come to the rescue. [Donald H. Harrison]
StandWithUs to Aid House of Israel in Balboa Park Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
While the sixties saw a boom in Jewish culture (the Fiddler and Yentl movies, the Anne Frank play, Woody Allen, Barbara Streisand, etc.) the tradition of covertly Jewish characters continued for decades more. And that brings us to The Princess Bride. Blond, British Wesley and his peasant-to-princess Buttercup read as goyish. They’re the heroes, fighting the spoiled prince who won’t let them fall in love. However, basically every other character reads as a European ethnic minority –if not Jewish then honorary mishpucha. [Valerie Estelle Frankel]
‘The Princess Bride’ Was a Jewish Fantasy Film Read More »
Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
When the Association of Jewish Libraries evaluates a book with Jewish content that it finds particularly good, it awards the author its Sydney Taylor Book Award after the author of the All-of-a-Kind series of books that introduced a Jewish family, with siblings who dressed alike, to America’s non-Jewish children and to their parents. The Jewish series was the first put on the market by a general publisher, thus breaking a barrier in children’s literature. [Donald H. Harrison]
One-of-a-Kind Biography about Author of ‘All-of-a-Kind Family’ Books Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, USA
I read this in ebook form as I was told it dealt with Chortkow, the town in Poland (now Ukraine) from which my in-laws came. As I read on I found many similarities between the two stories – both Syma, the heroine of the book, and my in-laws came from a medium-sized town with a large Jewish population, many of whom were assimilated and prosperous. The crux of the story takes place in the port town of Haifa in pre-State Israel, which is also where my in-laws lived. But they fortunately remained there, whereas the heroine of this (real-life) story returned to Chortkow, where the Holocaust caught up with her, leading to her tragic death. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
If Only She Had Remained in Pre-State Israel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Middle East
It is not widely known that Yoni Netanyahu was a hero long before he commanded the Entebbe operation. He played a key role in many other crucial Israeli security operations exhibiting courage and valor in the most dangerous of circumstances. He was a living example to the world’s statesman that terrorism can be beaten – if the nations of the world have the will to fight back. [Moshe Phillips]
Yoni Netanyahu Proved Himself a Hero Before Entebbe Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Middle East
On the 45th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, this morning, (Tuesday) the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation held a moving and insightful meeting revealing testimonies never before heard, from the behind the scenes of one of the most ingenious and daring rescue operations the world has ever known, overseen at the time by then Defense Minister, Shimon Peres. [Peres Center Press Release)
Former Israelis PMs Family Members Reflect on Entebbe Anniversary Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East
She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, her roots deep in the Ashkenazi culture of Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania. He grew up in Long Beach, California, a third generation Japanese American, and he barely knew a single Jewish person. On paper, they might not sound like an obvious match: Jewish Brooklyn versus Buddhist Japan, kvetching as a collective mode of connection versus pursuit of inner peace. But while Leah and Randy Matsui may come from disparate ethnic backgrounds, “two different flavors” as Randy puts it, over the past four decades, they have become one woven unit, and their story teaches a great deal about what love is, what true connection looks like, and most significantly, what diverse Jewish journeys look like in the 21st century. [M. Evan Wolkenstein]
Torah on a Tatami: How One Couple Found Community In a Pandemic World Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
By Dan Elbaum (June 23, 2021 / JNS) It was perhaps the most important meeting in Jewish history, but it was also simply a discussion between two old friends. Harry S. Truman was the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world. Across from him in the Oval Office sat Eddie Jacobson,
Why President Truman’s support for Israel is more relevant than ever Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, USA