Judaism

Still teaching at 96, a WWII hero professor receives the French Legion of Honor

Justus Rosenberg worked for the American Rescue Committee, the French resistance, the US Army, and the UN, to clandestinely save thousands from the Nazis By Cathryn J. Prince Professor Justus Rosenberg receiving the French Legion of Honor from the French ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud on Thursday, March 30, 2017. (Emily Stern) Justus

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International, Jewish History

‘Babi Yar’ poet Yevtushenko dies

  TULSA, Oklahoma (WJC) — Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, whose 1961 poem about the Nazi massacre at Babi Yar near Kiev helped to expose rampant anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union, died Saturday at 84. Yevtushenko passed away in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He had been a faculty member at the University of Tulsa since the mid-1990s.Some 34,000 Jews were

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials

Students asked to debate Final Solution from Nazis’ perspective

A New York teacher has come under fire for giving an assignment asking students to debate the final solution from the Nazis’ point of view, The Algemeiner reported. In the assignment, titled “Top Secret: Memorandum for Senior Nazi Party Members,” students were asked to recreate the debate that took place at the infamous Wannsee Conference,

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Jewish History, USA

The Last Passover in Cairo

Editor’s Note:  San Diego Jewish World is pleased to republish a Passover monologue written by San Diego playwright Janet S. Tiger, who was the recent subject of a feature story on these pages.  By Janet S. Tiger (A man comes out, in Army fatigues, he is holding a box of matzohs.  He speaks calmly, with

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Jewish Religion

500-year-old ‘Prague Haggadah’ found

Just prior to Pesach (Passover), the National Library of Israel revealed that it had acquired the velum Prague Haggadah two months ago, when the library purchased the famed Valmadonna Collection of Judaica. The Haggadah was printed in Prague in 1556. A previous Haggadah was printed in 1526, but no copy survived. Several elements of the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

In Tel Aviv, a glimpse into the turbulent years when the British ruled

Lehi leader Avraham Stern was gunned down 75 years ago in an unassuming apartment; it now houses a museum dedicated to the underground group By Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am The entrance to the Lehi Museum, located on a street named for Avraham Stern in south Tel Aviv. (Shmuel Bar-Am) Stern’s room in Tel Aviv, where

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International, Jewish History, Middle East

‘Baseball Shabbat’ anticipates MLB’s 2017 season

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – In anticipation of opening day of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, congregants of Tifereth Israel Synagogue themed their Kabbalat Shabbat services on Friday night, March 31, around the American pastime.  Traditional Shabbat evening prayers were mixed with meditations on baseball; a baseball trivia quiz took the place

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David Ogul, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions

Sculptor’s work on refugees takes on increased resonance in new London exhibit

Drawing on the Old Testament as inspiration, the late Chaim Stephenson crafted compassionate scenes of familial pain and drama By Anne Joseph LONDON –Acclaimed Anglo-Israeli artist and self-taught sculptor Chaim Stephenson had a lifelong sympathy for people driven from their homes. In a career that spanned over 60 years, he produced a huge body of

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

NYC takes harder line on controversial circumcision practice

Health department will now ban mohels linked to newborn herpes cases without testing for virus. By Amy Sara Clark Women visit an infant following his bris ceremony. GETTY IMAGES One day after the city’s health commissioner confirmed that two mohels have been banned from practicing the risky circumcision ritual metzitzah b’peh, the health department has

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Jewish Religion, USA

CHURACHANDPUR, India (Press Release) – The Bnei Menashe community throughout the remote northeastern Indian state of Manipur today began preparing for Passover – including by baking matzah, the holiday’s traditional unleavened bread – at the Shavei Israel Hebrew Center in Churachandpur. “The experience of seeing the entire community kneading, rolling, and then baking the dough – all

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Travel and Food

Weekly Torah portion: Vayikra

Love Yourself as You Would Your Neighbor! By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — The momentous occasion had arrived. After months of dedicated and selfless work, the Mishkan (the portable tabernacle) was completed and assembled. Moshe and all the people stood in awe and trepidation as they watched G-d’s glory descend and rest upon the

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Jewish Religion

Tens of Thousands of Orthodox Jews Protest Israel’s Military Draft Law

JERUSALEM, March 29, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews gathered yesterday (Tuesday) to protest Israel’s Military Draft Law, resulting in the forced enlistment of many Orthodox Jews. The protestors also decried Israel’s brutal tactics to crack down peaceful protestors. The demonstration was organized by the Edah HaChareidis – a Rabbinic umbrella association

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Jewish Religion, Middle East