Famed Mossad agent Yael Man, whose contributions to the intelligence agency made her a national Israeli hero, passed away on Sunday at the age of 85. Man served as an undercover agent in Lebanon, gathering intelligence on the Palestinian Liberation Organization under the guise of a British screenwriter. [JNS.org]
Mossad Agent Yael Man, 85 Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East
When Eytan Stibbe heads off to the International Space Station at the end of the year, becoming only the second Israeli ever to go into space, he’ll take with him a 1,900-year-old coin recently unearthed in the Judean Desert. [JNS.org]
Israeli Astronaut to Carry Ancient Coin to International Space Station Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
B’nai Brith Canada said it wants reassurance from the University of Victoria (UVic) that an upcoming course on anti-Semitism will not become a “forum for antisemitic views” because of its professor. [JNS.org]
University of Victoria’s Proposed Antisemitism Course Under Scrutiny Read More »
International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives is under fire for a tweet that compared coronavirus restrictions to the murder of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. [JNS.org]
Congressman Criticized for Comparing COVID Restrictions to Nazi Laws Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA
A prosecutor in Argentina told Israel Hayom he will not stop trying to apprehend those responsible for the 1994 deadly bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, following news that one of the alleged terrorists was named Iran’s new interior minister. [JNS.org]
Argentina: Still Hope to Capture and Try AMIA Bombing Suspects Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East
The Jewish Welfare Board was created on April 9, 1917, three days after the U.S. declared war on Germany. It wanted to provide services to Jewish troops similar to what Catholic servicemen received from the Knights of Columbus and Protestants from the YMCA. In 1919, after the war was over, the JWB printed tens of thousands of these reassuring cards depicting a grinning doughboy and distributed them to servicemen to send to family and friends. [Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D]
Pandemic Postcard Messages, 1918-1920 Read More »
Jewish History, Lifestyles, Oliver Pollak, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
The headline in the adjoining news clipping is hype. “May” is not “will” or “shall.” Booster describes real estate developers, hucksters and visionaries who wanted to profit from growing communities and increases in real estate prices. Saul Voorsanger, who emigrated from Holland with his wife Sarah in 1893, promoted the growth of the Jewish population. He was a salesman and publicist and the brother of Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger. The rabbi started Emanu-El, San Francisco’s weekly Jewish newspaper in 1895 and died in 1908. Sol, Saul or S. became editor. During 1912 several newspapers reported Voorsanger’s visiting chambers of commerce in San Diego, Visalia, Fresno, Modesto, Kings, San Joaquin, and Dinuba. He solicited advertising for a special 75,000 copy edition of Emanu-El to recruit better-off Russian Jews to buy and farm California land, a chimera. [Oliver B. Pollak]
Growth of Jewish Communities Promoted in the Early 20th Century Read More »
Jewish History, Oliver Pollak, USA
By Jerry Klinger KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — At-risk to his own life, Roddie Edmonds saved approximately 200 Jewish POW G.I.s during the Holocaust. He is the only American G.I. honored by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. East Tennessee is part of the Republican flyover country to the coastal elitists. Images of the Beverly
Historical Marker for Holocaust Hero Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds Finally Dedicated Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, USA
Shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the United States went into full war mobilization mode. While many men were drafted into the U.S. Armed Forces, others were needed to staff the shipyards, aircraft factories, and munition plants on the home front. It soon became apparent that there were more positions to be filled than available male workers and so the U.S. began to recruit women to work in these war industries at jobs for which they never before had been eligible. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Rosie the Riveter’ Theme of National Park Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
The Paso Robles Historical Society currently is housed in a building that had been donated for a library many years before by the philanthropist and industrialist Andrew Carnegie – one of 3,000 libraries he donated throughout the world. Outside the building there is a statue, but it is not of Carnegie nor of Drury James, the man who recognized that the city’s hot springs and mud baths could be made into a tourist attraction and who built the grand Hotel de El Paso de Robles. [Donald H. Harrison]
Talented Celebrity and Statesman Made Paso Robles His Second Home Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA
The University of South Carolina will open North America’s first Anne Frank partner site and the world’s fourth Anne Frank Center. The Anne Frank Center on campus will be free of charge and open for guided group tours starting on Sept. 15, it was announced on Tuesday. Visitors will learn about the young Jewish diarist’s story and legacy through photos, videos and original artifacts, all supplied by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. [JNS.org]
Anne Frank Center Opens at University of South Carolina Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA
In the August 15, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
–Huge positive results from Israel’s mass anti-Covid vaccination boosters.
–An Israeli startup can predict and prevent allergies in babies.
–Israelis are helping Greece fight its devastating forest fires.
–A new Israeli low-cost drip-irrigation system is a game-changer.
–Two endangered species have found safe harbor in Israeli waters. [Michael Ordman]
Good News from Israel (August 15, 2021) Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA
The bulk of the book is about Rachael’s grandmother Hana, who as a young teenager during the Nazi era was sent by her parents from Czechoslovakia to safety in Denmark, where for a while at least she could live unmolested as a farm girl. When Denmark’s German Nazi conquerors decided to round up the Jews, she was among the thousands who were helped by the Danes to escape to neutral Sweden. [Donald H. Harrison]
Following Grandma’s WWII Path Leads Author to Self-Discovery Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
In the context of the Middle East, to which they traveled by way of a tortuous, yet exhilarating bike safari through Europe, the Jewish Michael Tobin and his Lebanese-Christian girlfriend Deborah were problematic candidates for a lasting romance. Religion, nationalism, and past romantic attachments seemed to militate against their permanence as a couple However, these two American psychologists were open to new experiences and to each other, and their time on the road meeting people for intensive discussions about life, love, and loss, impacted each of them differently and profoundly. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Riding the Edge’ Is a Memoir of Self-Discovery Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food