This parsha opens with the death of Sarah in Hebron. It is followed by Abraham’s negotiation with the shrewd Hittite landowner Ephron to purchase the cave of Machpelah as the burial site for her and subsequently the patriarchs and other matriarchs. [Irv Jacobs, MD]
Sarah’s and other ancient death rituals Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
The Trump administration has reversed former President Barack Obama’s antagonistic policy toward Israeli settlements in the area known by some as the West Bank and to others as Judea and Samaria. [Donald H. Harrison]
Trump reverses U.S. position on Israeli settlements Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) report that its recent San Diego fundraiser attracted 650 contributors, who honored Sydney and Denise Selati of San Diego, and met five IDF soldiers who, according to security protocols, were identified by their first names or initials only. [Donald H. Harrison]
FIDF gala showcased IDF diversity Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County
Never able to shake off the painful memory of having his fingers shot off by an intruder at Chabad of Poway nor of seeing congregant Lori Gilbert-Kaye murdered and two other congregants wounded, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein has decided to retire. [Donald H. Harrison]
Chabad of Poway’s Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein retires Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
From the respondents to my original article, I am also glad to hear that Witold Pilecki is the most revered in Poland and has been for some time. But one respondent claimed, “There is no anti-Semitism in Poland!” I hoped that this might indeed be the case. But this comment piqued my curiosity, so I decided to check out this out for myself. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Poland, other countries, had mixed Holocaust records Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USA
The former foreign minister said that it was during the Second Lebanon War that she realized that there could be no military solution to Israel’s troubles with its neighbors, only a political one. She said when the terrorist group Hezbollah attacked settlements in the north of Israel, she was urged by then U.S. Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice to prevent her country’s military forces from destroying the duly constituted Lebanese government while retaliating against Hezbollah. [Donald H. Harrison]
Tzipi Livni remains optimistic about Mideast peace Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
There is a continuing focus on Holocaust education in the county, with the Lawrence Family JCC and the J Company Youth Theatre announcing a planned “Remembrance Reading” at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the JCC, and second-generation Holocaust educators Sandy Scheller and Sonia Fox-Ohlbaum pledging to take to schools the concentration camp uniforms their family members had been forced to wear. [Donald H. Harrison]
Survivors’ descendants, youth, to carry on Holocaust education Read More »
Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
I Kings covered the history of ancient Judah and Israel from the coronation of King Solomon in 967 BCE through the split of ancient Israel into two nations, Judah and Israel, because King Solomon’s son overtaxed the people as his father did, though the reign of King Jehoshaphat who died in 846 BCE. II Kings resumes the story and tells readers about the twelve kings of the northern kingdom of Israel from 846 BCE, ending in 721/722 BCE when the kingdom was destroyed, and the sixteen kings of the southern kingdom of Judah from 846 BCE until it was destroyed in 587/6 BCE. It describes the kings of the two nations, Judah and Israel, the politics, wars, and a significant problem of the era in both kingdoms, idolatry. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Middle East was politically unstable in biblical times Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East
Notwithstanding its title, this book is primarily a history of the Holocaust, particularly as it impacted the city of Warsaw. There are some chapters about the Jewish pediatrician Janusz Korczak, whose teachings about respecting the individuality of children were widely admired, but far more attention was given to the rise of Adolf Hitler, the evilness of Nazi ideology, and how Germans degraded, confused, and deceived Jews, ultimately to starve or work them to death or to murder them. [Donald H. Harrison]
A sensitive Holocaust history for teens Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish HistoryJack Fairweather narrates a remarkable story about a Polish resistance fighter’s infiltration of Auschwitz to sabotage the camp from within, and his daring escape to warn the Allies about the Nazis’ true plans for a “Final Solution.”The book highlights the power of a single individual who tried to make a difference. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
The Pole who purposely got sent to Auschwitz Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
Stephen D. Smith is the executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation, which houses the archive of interviews of Holocaust Survivors financed by movie producer Steven Spielberg. He will be a special guest Jan. 12 at the grand opening of RUTH (Remember Us The Holocaust), a Chula Vista Civic Library exhibit named in honor of the late Holocaust survivor Ruth Sax. [Donald H. Harrison]
Chula Vista exhibit to focus on Holocaust survivors Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
SAN DIEGO – The Jewish and general communities are honoring the memory of Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was murdered April 27 by a gunman who barged into Chabad of Poway and wounded three other people before running away and later being apprehended. Exactly six months after the shooting attack that wounded Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 8-year-old Noya Dahan, and her uncle Almog Peretz from Sderot, Israel, StandWithUs San Diego focused on the victims at a gala which was themed “Standing Together Against Anti-Semitism.” [Donald H. Harrison]
StandWithUs, Poway salute shooting victims Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA
Had he lived, today, Monday October 28th, would have been Jonas Salk’s 105th birthday. Last night, an audience of mostly senior citizens remembered and appreciated the enormity of the contribution that he made to world health by developing the polio vaccine. And, indirectly, the man who was the speaker at Tifereth Israel Synagogue—Salk’s son, Dr. Peter Salk—played an important role in that drama while he was still a child.[Donald H. Harrison]
The legacy of Dr. Jonas Salk Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
With Jews around the world scheduled to read the story of Noah’s Ark next Saturday, the Abraham Ratner Torah School at Tifereth Israel Synagogue held a blessing for the animals in a brief outdoor ceremony on Sunday. Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, with arms raised, blessed about a dozen dogs and one rabbit that were brought by congregants of the Conservative shul. [Donald H. Harrison]
Animals receive a blessing at Tifereth Israel Synagogue Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA