Science, Medicine, & Education

Former Neo-Nazi describes life that led him to Judaism

Meeink described how a childhood marked by instability and abuse led him to embrace white supremacy, how the kindness of a Jewish employer challenged his beliefs, and how discovering his own Jewish ancestry eventually became a central part of his identity. {Cailin Acosta)

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Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, Jewish History, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Zionist professionals teach others to become forward-looking professionals

Our purpose cannot be limited to creating meaningful experiences or strengthening our own institution. We must also foster the relationships, confidence, and sense of shared responsibility that enable people to shape Jewish life for themselves and others. (Betzy Lynch)

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California, Israel, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Should Jews celebrate Halloween?

Given its non-Jewish origins, many Jews question whether celebrating Halloween conflicts with Jewish law. Leviticus 18:3 cautions against adopting the customs of other nations, and some rabbinic authorities argue that Halloween’s pagan associations make participation inappropriate. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, International, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Intersex campaign to persuade adults to ‘let us have the bodies we were born with’

I was born with a body that adults wanted to fix. In preschool, I knew something was happening “down there” that was different from other kids. My parents took me to medical specialists, and I endured years of testing and invasive genital exams to figure out what was wrong with me and to fix it. (Thea Hillman)

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Lifestyles, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Parsha Lech Lecha makes writer reflect on her own life

All I had was some clothes I packed in one suitcase that we would now call a carry-on. I was riding shotgun in my friend Beth’s little Honda CRV hatchback. The rest of my clothes would follow in two weeks with her parents. I had a small Sears manual typewriter in a hard carrying case with a handle and an extra ribbon in my suitcase, along with a quarter pack of paper. I got in the car and watched my front door roll by as we hit the road, off to Boston, heading to college. (Barrett Holman Leak)

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Barrett Holman Leak, Lifestyles, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Accept an invitation to a formal Shabbat dinner

A Shabbat dinner offers an opportunity to experience Jewish tradition, share a meal, and take a break from everyday busyness. (Cailin Acosta)

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, California, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food, USA

Auto biography, History on wheels  

In 1955 we got a reliable white and black Chevrolet, a two-door sedan with hand crank windows, automatic transmission, no radio or air conditioning. A 1956 family road trip to Carmel, San Francisco, the Redwoods and Tahoe resulted in our only scrapbook with Brownie camera photographs and ephemera, napkins, matchbooks, menus, postcards, park receipts, a “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” story. We took pictures of driving through a Redwood tree, and President Eisenhower waving to the crowd from a car at a Monterey golf course. (Oliveer B. Pollak)

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California, Holocaust, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology, Travel and Food, USA

ADL, AEN decry American Studies Association’s anti-Zionist conference agenda

Sessions titled “Dezionizing the U.S. University,” “Zionism Is Racism: Introducing the Critical Zionism Studies Syllabus,” “Against Zionist and White Nationalist Attacks on the Academy,” and “Resisting Zionism: Anticolonial Feminist Pedagogy and Practice” are particularly troubling. Collectively, they portray Zionism as racist, dangerous, or an ideology to be dismantled, with little apparent opportunity for competing perspectives. (Press Release)

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Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Holocaust exhibit opens at San Diego Central Library. It’s the forerunner of a permanent museum at Liberty Station

The opening of the exhibit, presented by Remember Us the Holocaust, drew Holocaust survivors, community leaders, elected officials and supporters who gathered to honor those who perished, recognize survivors and celebrate progress toward establishing a permanent home for Holocaust education in San Diego. (Cailin Acosta)

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Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Brandeis Center files civil rights complaint on behalf of a harassed Jewish student

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MCPS was alerted multiple times to harassment and threats against the student at Montgomery Blair High School through the student’s family, faculty reports, formal bullying complaints, and meetings. This included being accused of genocide because of his intention to study in Israel, being accused of supporting genocide because he wore an Israel baseball shirt, being targeted with demands that classmates shun him as a “Zionist” being told to “go back to 1935” by other students, and receiving an anonymous phone call saying, “You’re a stupid fucking Zionist Jew, and we are going to bomb you” immediately followed by fireworks being set off outside his home. (Press Release)

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Gambling generally disfavored by Jewish authorities

The Mishnah rules that dice players may be disqualified from serving as witnesses. The Talmud offers two explanations: professional gamblers contribute nothing productive to society, while gambling may constitute theft because losers surrender money they would prefer to keep. (Cailin Acosta)

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Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education