Jewish History

Columnist says Israel can’t take ‘yes’ for an answer

“One sign Hamas might be serious about giving up its weapons is that…it and other armed groups have apparently not fired a rocket at Israel since the original cease-fire took effect in October,” Shehada states. “This unusual holding back could very well indicate that Hamas has no better cards left to play. Armed resistance in Gaza has reached its limit and has exhausted the rationales that sustained it.” [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

ADL, AEN, question academic unions’ ability to fairly represent their Jewish members

“When Jewish faculty and graduate students feel they must remain silent, disengage, or conceal aspects of their identity in order to participate, unions risk undermining the solidarity and equal representation at the heart of their mission…” [Press Release]

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Antisemitism, California, Israel, Jewish History, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Jews and the Nobel Peace Prize

The first Jewish recipients were Tobias Asser (1911), a Dutch lawyer who was honored for his work on international law and the Hague Conferences and Alfred Fried (1911), the Austrian pacifist, journalist, and co-founder of the German Peace Society. (Oliver B. Pollak)

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Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Oliver Pollak, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Glitches in a New York Times political column

‘Progressive’ is a huge category,” Cohn writes. “Over half of congressional Democrats support Medicare for all; nearly half are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; nearly half voted to cut off aid to Israel.” Glitch numero uno: What makes aid to Israel a “progressive” issue? Half of that half of House Democrats voted for aid to Israel in the past. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, International, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish biography: Ernst Boris Chain, Nobel Prize winner for developing penicillin into a medicine

The discovery was made during World War II. It saved millions of lives. The use of penicillin raised humanity to a higher standard of living and health. To bring such a great idea to fruition required a skilled master tenacious, meticulous, demanding champion of the quest for a stable drug, a conductor of the molecular world. (Alex Gordon)

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The lasting value of Jewish camp

Camp also gives young people something incredibly important: ownership. Campers become counselors. Counselors become leaders. Young people move from participating in Jewish experiences to creating them for others. Camp becomes a laboratory where Judaism can be interpreted, adapted, experimented with, and made their own. [Betzy Lynch]

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Jewish History, Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

3 musicians find refuge from Nazi persecution in Iceland: A review of a review

Iceland had a population of about 115,000 in 1935. By the end of the decade Reykjavik’s population of about 28,000 included three “Jewish” musicians from Germany and Austria. (Oliver B. Pollak)

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Oliver Pollak, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

The Israel Bible pays particular attention to Holy Land geography

What makes The Israel Bible unique and special is its unapologetic centering of the entire Tanakh around three interlocking realities: the Land of Israel, the People of Israel, and the God of Israel. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Student book review: Maus by Art Spiegelman

What I liked most about Maus was that Vladek isn’t shown as a perfect hero. He is smart and resourceful, and he does whatever he can to survive, but he can also be cheap, stubborn, and difficult. Sometimes I didn’t really like him. That actually made the story feel more real to me. Surviving the Holocaust didn’t turn him into a perfect person. [CeCe Acosta]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Advice to Jewish Democrats: Trump-supporting Republicans are graver threat than far-left, Israel-hating Democrats

a handful of candidates have used AIPAC and Israel as proxy boogeymen for the problems they’re seeking to fix in this country, such as Abdul El-Sayed’s suggestion that the minuscule percentage of the federal budget that goes toward U.S. security assistance for Israel could instead “provide healthcare here” at home.  [Halie Soifer]

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Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is the semi-autobiographical story of Alicia Keys

So important are those vocals, that unlike traditional musicals where the chorus both sings and dances, in this show you have the company dancers (and oh boy do they ever,) and the company singers. [Sandi Masori]

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Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

German historians describe the German catastrophe

Wittstock and Blubacher, born in 1955 and 1967 respectively, represent a postwar generation of scholars who chronicle what went horrendously wrong in Germany, the decline of the Weimar Republic, Germans who felt wronged and betrayed by the Treaty of Versailles, inflation and financial disaster, Hitler’s charismatic attraction to the alienated volk, and the methodical manner in which Nazis infiltrated and challenged democratic political and cultural institutions focusing on the enemy, and eliminating Jews, Socialists and Communists. [Oliver B. Pollak]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Nine visiting Israelis to teach at San Diego area universities

MGSDII also announced its “Salon Dinner Reception: Meet the Fall Professors” at 6 p.m., Thursday, October 8 in La Jolla. The event includes a fall welcome reception for the visiting professors and salon members. Click here to rsvp and to receive the address. (Cailin Acosta)

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Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, News Media, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors