Judaism

David Lee Preston: Will the GOP show principles, progress this week?

I’m following the Republican National Convention this week in Cleveland with particular interest, partly because I am a child of Holocaust survivors, and partly because of my relationships with two men who are no longer among us. One is Elie Wiesel, the Nobel laureate who died July 2, who famously beseeched President Ronald Reagan not

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Jewish History, USA

Trump campaign finds new Rabbi

The Donald Trump campaign has found a new Rabbi. After Rabbi Haskel Lookstein – who’s been the subject of much recent controversy in Israel over the Rabbinical Court’s decision not to recognize his conversions – backed out of an engagement to deliver and “invocation”, or prayer, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland tonight (Monday),

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Jewish Religion, USA

UNESCO hearing on ‘offensive’ Temple Mount resolution delayed

A series of controversial proposals being weighed by the United Nation”s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have been shelved yet again, following the terror attack in southern France and attempted coup in Turkey over the weekend. The current UNESCO session, which was meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, was ended early following disruptions caused by the

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Alternative Jewish histories: Fun, instructive

What Ifs of Jewish History: From Abraham to Zionism edited by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld; (c) 2016 Cambridge University Press; ISBN 978110-7037625; 406 pages including notes and index; $34.99 hardback. By Mitchell J. Freedman POWAY, California –Counterfactuals or alternative histories remain controversial among historians mostly because it is an area where Literature with a capital L

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History

‘Ivanka’s rabbi’ withdraws from Republican convention

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, the rabbi who oversaw Ivanka Trump”s conversion to Judaism, has withdrawn from speaking at the Republican National Convention next week, JTA reported Friday. In a letter to members of his community, Lookstein wrote that he had accepted Ivanka Trump”s invitation to deliver an invocation at the convention “out of respect for her

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

Mickey Stern, 1934-2016

LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) –Known for her vibrant personality, community leadership, sense of humor, creativity and, most importantly, her good work, Mickey Stern succumbed to cancer on July 1. Mickey is survived by her children, Bob Sturm and Melanie Sturm, son-in-law Marc Zachary, and her beloved grandson Zane Zachary. Her much-loved sisters – Dorothy Dimond,

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Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County

Conversion by Rabbi Lookstein should be honored

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — One of my favorite concepts in logic is the reductio ad absurdum (Latin: “reduction to the absurd”) argument, which is a logical method of argument that proves the falsity of a premise  by following its implications to a logical but absurd conclusion. The latest news regards the nullification

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Who cut the Crown Heights eruv?

Orthodox Jewish residents of the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn were shocked to discover in recent days that a newly established eruv had been destroyed. The eruv itself had elicited a greal of controversy, dividing the neighborhoods Chabad population with the growing modern Orthodox community. In late June, local Chabad rabbis issued an edict declaring

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Jewish Religion, USA

NBA’s Omri Casspi gushes about meeting with rabbi

Israeli NBA player Omri Casspi joins the list of Israeli celebrities publicly displaying their ties to Judaism and Jewish practice. Omri Casspi praying Screenshot/Instagram Casspi posted a picture to his Instagram account in which he is seen wearing Tefilin and a Tallit (prayer shawl), and praying in the morning sunlight. In the caption to the

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Jewish Religion, Sports & Competitions

Artist Charlotte Salomon’s life told in free verse

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson   MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Life is full of strange coincidences. I first encountered the story of Charlotte Salomon about twenty years ago, when an exhibition of her work, a series of paintings with captions describing her life and entitled Life? Or Theatre? was held at the Royal Academy in London. It made

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History

In memory of a fallen hero from Exodus-47

  By Jerry Klinger July 18, 1947, in international waters off the coast of Sinai, a shadowing British battle fleet attacked an unarmed American Chesapeake Bay steamer, the President Warfield. They had been shadowing the lumbering vessel since she left Sete in France. A warning to stop and submit to boarding came from the light cruiser

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, USA

The mystery of life and death

Hukat | Numbers 19:1-22:1 The mystery of death and the meaning behind the mystery have been central concerns of every religious tradition. This week’s portion includes a detailed description of a now-obsolete rite known as the ritual of the red heifer. This practice was intended to accomplish ritual purification for anyone who had had contact

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Jewish Religion

Christian scholars undertake 13- month Judaism study

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Shalom Hartman Institute are pleased to welcome the 23 prominent North American Christian leaders that will comprise Cohort V of the Christian Leadership Initiative (CLI), an intensive 13-month educational program on Judaism, a partnership of AJC and the Hartman Institute in Israel. The program begins

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA