Below are the names of writers who are currently active. For others, living and deceased, please type their name into the search box above the masthead on our home page, www.sdjewishworld.com
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –They are all special forces; every American killed in service to our country is a special force. There have been 1,725 Americans killed in Afghanistan and 11,541 wounded (3,649 not returning to duty within 72 hours) before Saturday. But actual Special Operations forces are something else. One website that works […]
General questions about special forces casualties Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USABy Donald H. Harrison SAN FRANCISCO – The writer Gertrude Stein was a woman of collaborations, alliances, and partnerships. The unorthodox web she wove gained her fame in the art world, celebrity in the popular media, and made her an icon among lesbians and gays. Her life is exhaustively chronicled in the “Seeing Gertrude
Contemporary Jewish Museum spotlights Gertrude Stein Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison SAN FRANCISCO – Anyone who flatters himself into believing that he has “been there and done that” will be quickly disabused of that conceit during a visit to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. The sprawling complex houses a planetarium, tropical rain forest and aquarium as well
Many experiences rolled into one at California Academy of Sciences Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — As an alumna of the London School of Economics, I received the following notification by email at the beginning of March: ‘It is with great regret that I am writing to inform you … that the LSE Council has accepted the offer of resignation of Sir Howard Davies as
A disgrace for the London School of Economics Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Raising the debt limit would not ordinarily be fodder for JINSA Reports but the deal will necessarily impact upon American defense policy and our ability to plan for the defense of ourselves, our interests and our allies, so a quick review is in order. The Numbers.Total defense-related spending in
A look at the post-deal Defense budget Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USA
Yom Kippur Readings: Inspiration, Information, Contemplation by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, Editor; ISBN 978-1-58023-438-2 ©2011, $19.99, p. 311 plus Sources By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Why is Yom Kippur different from all other holidays? On all other holidays synagogues have a meager attendance, but on Yom Kippur they are filled to over
New book provides readings for Yom Kippur Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — It should be hard to pick on Norwegians and their government this week, but it is impossible to overlook Svein Sevje, Norway’s ambassador to Israel. Trying to “outline the similarity and the difference in the two cases” (mass murder of Norwegians by a Norwegian and mass murder of
By Donald H. Harrison ALCATRAZ ISLAND, California – From the prisoners’ viewpoint, what was the worst thing about the federal prison here on “the rock” in the middle of San Francisco Bay? Was it the strict routines they had to follow? The loneliness? The chance that they may fall afoul of the rules and
Alcatraz: Its frustrations and escapes Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison OAKLAND, California – Ever since the 1990 enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it has been increasingly commonplace to see buildings, vehicles, and streets built to be accessible to wheelchairs. But such was not the case in 1936 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President of the United
FDR’s presidential yacht awaits the public in Oakland Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The horror of mass murder in Oslo last week begs nothing as much as distance. All the first comments were wrong. Knowledgeable people – “experts” – were sure it was Muslims and wondered why Norway was a target since Norway is certainly hospitable to Muslims and hostile – sometimes virulently
Ideologies of the lunatics may differ, but they are willing to kill for them Read More »
International, Shoshana Bryen
By Donald H. Harrison CARMEL, California – In some parts of the world, particularly Europe, the saint for whom Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo is named is better known than the man nominated for sainthood whose body is buried under the floor next to the altar. But here in California, the reverse
Is that a future Catholic saint buried in Mission Carmel? Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison SAN LUIS OBISPO, California – In the heart of downtown is an alley that runs between two high brick walls – or, at least, brick are what they once appeared to be. For generations, students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, abetted by tourists, have been covering the walls each
A sticky tradition in San Luis Obispo Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison SOLVANG, California –This famed Danish village in central California made bookseller Kathy Mullins and her late husband, Gary, an aerospace engineer, feel welcome after a life in which they crisscrossed the country on assignment for Boeing Aircraft. Their business selling books to tourists and to locals grew, and the Mullins, of
In Solvang, museum pays tribute to Hans Christian Andersen Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C — The Constitution obliges our government to provide for the common defense. Determining against whom, under what circumstances, with what capabilities and under whose direction is the prerogative of the President, the Commander in Chief. The military services carry out the directives of the President, so the priorities of
Defense budget must be based on threat assessment Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USA