Opinion

Parsha Ha’Azinu: Good religion impacts humanity as a gentle rain

Toxic faith feeds on certainty, alienates the seeker, and destroys personal conscience. It builds walls of “Us versus Them,” viewing anyone on the other side not as a fellow bearer of the divine image, but as a blasphemer to be corrected, conquered, or erased. (Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel)

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

Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia University for ‘deliberate indifference’

The anti-Israel mob concocted a novel legal strategy on Monday when former Columbia University students sued their alma mater: the defendant mobilized a pattern of “deliberate indifference.” (Bruce S. Ticker)

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Antisemitism, Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, News Media, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Gloria Steinem was her role model

Steinem inspired me to join the National Organization for Women, march for the Equal Rights Amendment, fight for abortion rights, demand equal pay, understand that rape victims never “ask for it” or deserve it, keep my own last name, not be embarrassed by my 5-foot 10-inch frame, pay my own way, and speak up for justice, human rights and deeply held values. [Marsha Sutton}

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Jewish Celebrities, Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Miliband’s actions belie his self-description as a ‘proud Jew’

Ed Miliband has just introduced legislation banning imports from the “settlements”, which are Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (aka West Bank). What he and other Labour Party members do not recognize is that what they call the “West Bank” is a term which was coined in 1950 by the Hashemite rulers of Jordan. Archaeological remains and Biblical documents prove that the Israelites go back at least to King David’s era (circa 1,000 BCE) in the area known as Judah (then later, Judea) as well as in areas of the Golan Heights and southern Lebanon. [Steve Kramer]

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer

High Holiday wisdom in poetry and prose

Rav Nahman of Breslov taught: The whole world is a narrow bridge— and the essential thing is not to be afraid. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

To build our Jewish community, extend an invitation to a stranger

This year, and I hope for the next 90, we want to work toward a San Diego where every Jewish person, and everyone connected to our community, can find a place where they feel seen, valued and heard, and where they can come together with others around a shared purpose. {Heidi Gantwerk]

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Heidi Gantwerk, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

It’s an insult calling Judea and Samaria the ‘occupied West Bank’

In my own lifetime parts of Germany have been ceded to Poland and France as a result of wartime gains, and the borders of several countries in Eastern Europe have changed in accordance with military conquest. (Dorothea Shefer-Vanson)

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism by Democratic Socialists of America

The San Diego chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America requires those seeking its endorsement to refrain from any affiliation with what it calls “Zionist lobby groups,” a prohibition that encompasses liberal organizations that criticize Israeli policy and support Palestinian statehood. When the label attaches regardless of what a group advocates, “Zionist” has stopped describing a political position and become shorthand for “Jew.” (Jason Nevarez, Heidi Gantwerk, Sara E. Brown)

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Antisemitism, California, Heidi Gantwerk, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

California can put Jewish day school tuition within reach

A new federal program, enacted by Congress, offers taxpayers a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donating to nonprofit Scholarship Granting Organizations. Those organizations then award scholarships to eligible K-12 students for tuition and a wide range of educational expenses: tutoring, transportation, technology, special education services, textbooks, uniforms, and after-school programs. [Neuriel Shore)

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Business & Finance, California, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

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

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

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