By Gedaliah Borvick JERUSALEM — We had the great honor of marketing a lovely apartment in Jerusalem’s Sha’are Chesed neighborhood for the estate of Yehuda Avner. Standing in Avner’s office and viewing numerous photos of him with leading world leaders felt like I was taking a stroll through the history of the State of Israel. […]
The Ultimate Insider Read More »
Gedaliah Borvick, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, USA
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Their offense was to shake hands with the devil. After literally shaking hands with a foreign athlete during an international competition last month, an Iranian weightlifter was barred for life from entering his nation’s sports facilities. A state senator from Dearborn, Mich., apologized to her Arab and Muslim constituents
Seeking Peace With a Dysfunctional ‘Family’ Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Rabbi Rosette Barron Haim (JNS) When I think of the High Holy Days, I think of generations of our people who have come together to worship and reconnect to the tradition. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the days in between the holidays present an ideal time to strengthen our ties to God, Torah and
The High Holy Days Appeal: Words That Matter for Israel Read More »
Israel, Jewish Religion, Opinion, USA
By Jerry Klinger A cemetery stone on a street is a strange site, even in London. It is even stranger considering that there is no body buried beneath. The black and gold stone of honored memory is for a Jewish secret agent, a member of the British Special Operations Executive, SOE, Captain Lionel Lee. Lee
Captain Lionel Lee: Extraordinary Courage and Dedication Read More »
Holocaust, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Opinion
By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) You would think that everyone understands that you can’t defend the Jews while supporting something set up to help promote antisemitism. Yet apparently, that basic truth is being ignored by those who ought to know better. The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) has put itself in just such
California’s Ethnic Studies Mandate Cannot Be Fixed Read More »
California, Israel, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USABy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — As Jewish leaders and show-biz celebs pondered the use of a prosthetic nose in a film portrayal of composer Leonard Bernstein, three Israelis were gunned down by terrorists along a West Bank highway and outside a gas station. Philadelphia Jews might well be surprised that preschool teacher Batsheva Nigri,
Ignore West Bank Killings at Israel’s Risk Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, USA
The Matzo Chronicles By Karen Galatz Many years back, I wanted to contact one of my cousins. I didn’t have her phone number and, for the life of me, I couldn’t recall her married name. I wasn’t worried because I knew the information was in my late mother’s address book. But I couldn’t find her
An Old Address Book Holds Numbers, Memories, and So Much More Read More »
Karen Galatz, Lifestyles, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — After seven months on the job, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee set herself up for the winter of Summer, to borrow from “The summer of George” title of a Seinfeld segment. Earlier this month, she traded barbs with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which criticized her decision to boycott
The Potential Fall of Congresswoman Summer Lee, the Squad Member From Pittsburgh Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Jerry Klinger “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” — All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 4, Scene 3 A few weeks ago, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation’s U.K. branch placed a historical marker at Leopold John Genn’s birthplace. The marker text: Jewish Prosecutor –
The British Belsen War Crimes Trials and Leo Genn Read More »
Holocaust, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — “This is an affront to American democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system,” says America’s Mayor. Rudy Giuliani was not referring to accusations that he conspired to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. He was slamming the fact that a county prosecutor — a Black woman
Jews in Giuliani’s Space Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USA
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Israel’s Knesset is on its summer recess and won’t reconvene until after the Jewish holidays in October. There are several very important, unresolved issues that are simmering. They are: the fate of the reasonableness factor in making Supreme Court decisions (and subsequent to that, the composition of the
Israel’s Pot is Simmering Read More »
Israel, Opinion, Steve KramerBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — It was a paradoxical week for American Jews, as much as it was historic. The sentencing of Tree of Life synagogue killer Robert Bowers raises disturbing questions about antisemitism’s link to mental illness, the deterrence value of the death penalty and the merits of hate-crime laws. What does Bowers’
Tripwires in the Tree of Life Trial…Er, That’s Trials Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USABy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — It is a cruel irony that Israelis are preparing to move to Germany or Poland where their parents or grandparents survived Hitler. “They’re willing to accept a drop in their standard of living because they’re so worried that their freedom of movement will be curtailed,” Shay Obazanek told The
What Will Happen to the Refuge That is Israel? Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Roz Rothstein LOS ANGELES — In recent months, we have seen tensions in Israel rise to alarming levels. Although the current debate is focused on Israel’s judicial system, it cuts deeper into divisions over what it means for different groups to coexist in a Jewish and democratic state. This has been very painful to
The Political Situation in Israel: What Unites Us in Times of Deep Division? Read More »
Israel, Opinion, USA