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Thought on the preservation of memory

Recently, I discovered that my name appeared among more than 885,279 selected entries in Grokipedia, Elon Musk’s AI generated encyclopedia competing with Wikipedia. The message came from a machine-scale archive. The number struck me. [Jacqueline Semha Gmach]

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, The Arts

Gubernatorial debate ignores important context for antisemitism

Today much of the hostility Jews, especially Jewish students on campuses, encounter is expressed through the language of anti-Zionism. Students are frequently targeted not simply as Jews but as “Zionists,” and the protests and slogans surrounding Israel have become one of the primary ways hostility toward Jewish identity now appears on campuses and in public life. A student may not be called a “dirty Jew,” but a “dirty Zionist.” The rhetoric has changed. The hostility has not. [Karen Klein]

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California, Israel, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Centenarian Jewish painter an inspiration for girls aspiring to careers in art

Though she had a remarkable artistic eye, living in the early 1900s brought significant challenges for women trying to succeed in a male-dominated art world, where gender inequality and oppression were common. [Cailin Acosta]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Lynn Margulis

Lynn Margulis (March 5, 1938 – November 22, 2011) was an American evolutionary biologist, who was the primary modern proponent for the significance of symbiosis in evolution. In particular, Margulis transformed and fundamentally framed biologists’ understanding of the evolution of the Eukaryotes, organisms with nuclei in their cells. [Wikipedia]

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Science, Medicine, & Education, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Ki Tissa: The Golden Calf and the ache of separation

Moses climbed the mountain to receive the tablets. He carries no provisions, no visible sign of return. Day after day the people wait. No Moses. No voice from the peak. Only silence and the smoldering summit. In their minds the unthinkable takes shape: the man who brought them out of Egypt, who split the sea, who spoke face to face with God—he is gone. Perhaps swallowed by the fire. Perhaps dead. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Purim story recalled in Israeli-U.S. fight against Iran

ust today, Israelis in the center of the country had to walk or run to safe rooms four or five times (I can’t keep track). Also today in the supermarket, we had to crowd into a safety area not once but twice. Nearly all Israelis are staying at home or close to it. [Steve Kramer]

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, USA