NEW YORK (Press Release) – The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is calling on Catholic leadership in Poland to reprimand the Bishop of Tarnow for his Holy Thursday sermon that was filled with attacks on the Jewish people. Bishop Andrzej Jeż, citing a 1937 edition of the Polish periodical Nasza Sprawa that referenced the 10th World […]
AJC denounces sermon by Polish bishop Read More »
International, Jewish History, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Israel isn’t only changing the Jewish people, reflected in the ever more complicated relationship between it and the diaspora. It’s also changing Judaism. The book I’m currently reading, so far only available in Hebrew, gives its English title as The Israeli century and the Israelization of Judaism. The author,
Judaism transformed by Israel Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle EastEditor’s Note: Following are remarks delivered at the Yom HaZikaron observance Tuesday evening, May 7, at the Lawrence Family JCC. By Yiftach Levy LA JOLLA, California — We typically think of memory as a purely mental exercise – we remember in our heads and our imaginations – but remembering is a fully multisensory experience. We
Yom HaZikaron: The pain and privilege of memory Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego CountyJERUSALEM (Press Release) — Tributes to the 12 Jews killed in the synagogue shootings of October 2018 in Pittsburgh and April 2019 in Poway took center stage Wednesday during The Jewish Agency for Israel’s memorial service for Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s annual day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks. The special guests
Lori Kaye, Pittsburgh victims mourned in Israel Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — I was one of the brave souls who attended a performance of the opera, The Passenger’ by Mieczyslaw Weinberg. I did so mainly because a friend of ours was the revival director of the production by the Israel Opera, and not because I’m a “glutton for punishment,” as I have
An opera about Auschwitz!? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel’s A New World: An American Sephardic Memoir reads like an engrossing novel. It describes the transition of the Angel family from an immigrant Sephardic community into an Americanized group over several generations. In the process, it “reminisces” about the immigrant generation,
Review: ‘A New World: An American Sephardic Memoir’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Berk Times of San Diego SAN DIEGO — The sages of the Jewish people teach that words from the heart go straight to the heart. From the deepest part of mine, I write to tell you how alone Jews feel right now. Abandoned. The level of hatred Jews are experiencing is something
OpEd: Jews worldwide are feeling isolated Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA
By Jerry Klinger WEST POINT, New York — After 70 years, and considerable effort by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, the volunteer veterans of Israel’s War of Independence were finally, officially, thanked by the State of Israel. A citation was presented by Major General Michael Edelstein, Israel Defense Attache to the U.S., in
Citation honors U.S. volunteers in Israel’s 1948 war Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Middle East, USAThis article will be updated with additional names as they become available By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — In Sunday’s edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune, reporter Peter Rowe wrote an overview story about San Diego’s Jewish community entitled “Jewish San Diego: Unique Odyssey.” The subhead of the article was “Pain, promise over a history of
Seeking names of Jewish officials, past and present Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego CountyBy Ronit Weiss Berkowitz Translated from Hebrew SAN DIEGO — I am still emotionally overwhelmed by the powerful experience I had recently in class. I apologize for writing in Hebrew, it comes to me faster and I do not want those moments to slip away. I planned to talk to the students briefly about the
Visiting israeli professor shares tears with her class Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
By Donald H. Harrison LA JOLLA, California — Congregation Beth El dedicated a 30 by 9 foot mural of a Tree of Life on Thursday, May 2, that incorporates, among other elements, ceramic butterflies symbolizing children who were murdered in the Holocaust. The outdoor Yom HaShoah ceremony led by the congregation’s former president Sonia Ancoli
Beth El dedicates ‘Tree of Life’ mural for Yom HaShoah Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USABy Steve Kramer KFAR SAVA, Israel — “The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator [and Jew hater] Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns under way in central Europe at that time. Although the term now has wide currency, it is a misnomer, since it implies a discrimination against all Semites.
The four sources of Jew hatred Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USAAsylum by Moriz Scheyer (Translated by P.N. Singer); Little, Brown and Company, 2016 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Written at the time of the actual events, this powerful book starts by describing the atmosphere in Vienna before the Anschluss by Nazi Germany, followed by the author’s flight, together with his wife and non-Jewish housekeeper, who
Book Review: ‘Asylum’ Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History
By Toby Tabachnick Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — I ran into an old friend about three weeks after the Tree of Life massacre, a former Pittsburgher, who wanted to talk about the events of Oct. 27. In particular, she wanted to know about one of the survivors, someone with whom she had grown up.
Pittsburgh 6 months later: ‘We are not okay’ Read More »
Jewish History, USA