By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — In his lifetime, Ovadia Yosef – a former Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel, said to have been a great rabbinic scholar – was also a kind-of supreme leader/ayatollah of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardi Shas party. He now seems to continue to rule it from the grave. Though his earthly home […]
With election coming, Shas’s split gets uglier Read More »
Middle EastHosting Christian leaders, Israeli president laments persecution of Mideast minorities (JNS.org) The persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East is “a cause of great worry and pain,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday upon his hosting of Israeli Christian leaders for a reception to mark the New Year. During 2014, arguably
JNS news briefs: December 30, 2014 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Events surrounding Yisrael Beiteinu provide suggestive parallels to other elements of Israel’s political history, as well as to that of the US. Avigdor Lieberman was not the first Israeli politician to reach power on the backs of an immigrant community that came from a non-democratic society. David ben Gurion and
Russians repeat pattern of earlier Israeli immigrants Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — 2014 was a year of unprecedented explosions of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hatred. The ten worst this year shows how pervasive anti-Semitism has become around the world. The ten examples selected by the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) are tragically indicative of burgeoning threats and challenges to the Jewish people not encountered since
2014’s ten worst anti- Semitic outrages Read More »
Jewish History
Above: Bedouin girl at Al Sayed Technological High School. Below: Bedouin boys in electronics class at same school (Photos: Anav Silverman) By Anav Silverman BE’ER SHEVA, Israel — In the sandy dunes of the northern Negev desert between Arad and Be’er Sheva, 130 students who belong to a local Bedouin tribe, study at the Al-Sayed Technological
Bedouin youth flourish in new high schools Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationHamas bans Gaza orphans from peace-building trip to Israel (JNS.org) The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has barred a group of 37 orphans in Gaza from visiting Israel as part of a peace-building trip meant to heal wounds between the parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to trip organizers, the group, which included children ages 13-16,
JNS news briefs: December 29, 2014 Read More »
Middle East, USABy Laurie Baron January –The Russian police have alerted spectators at the Sochi Olympics to be on the outlook for several “Black Widow Terrorists, women from Dagestan whose husbands were killed by Russian anti-terrorist squads. There are posters throughout the Olympic venues informing spectators how to identify these women: If you meet a woman on
Humoring the Headlines: 2014 in review Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson ZIKHRON YA’AKOV, Israel –The tragic and sudden death in a traffic accident of our daughter’s father-in-law, Eli Goldstein, brought an abrupt and untimely stop to the life of a man who was born on the land and worked the land throughout his life. His funeral, which was attended by what seemed to
Eli Goldstein, Israeli grower, z”l Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Joe Gandelman SAN DIEGO — Get ready for our already ugly and violent 21st century to be the century of soft targets for terrorists. The number of places where people feel safe will diminish as terrorists pick new venues to increase body counts — and grab more of that new and mainstream media publicity
Twisted logic of the terrorist’s soft target Read More »
Joe Gandelman, Middle East, Travel and Food, USASAN DIEGO (Press Release)–The Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University has announced its public schedule for 2015: • Its Spring lecture series “Israel in the 21st Century: New Hopes, New Challenges,” will feature noted scholars: Dr. Mark A. Heller, Principal Research Associate at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv; Dr. Mohammed Wattad,
SDSU Jewish Studies program tells 2015 plans Read More »
San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & EducationTEL AVIV, Israel (Press Release) – Want to determine how a couple falls in love? In Israel? A group of Tel Aviv students is utilizing the latest interactive video technology to tell a love story and give Israeli tourism a boost. The Tel Aviv University students are part of the StandWithUs Fellowship, an Israeli campus
Falling in love in Israel interactive style Read More »
Middle East, Travel and FoodBy Jeremy Ben-Ami WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a victory for those seeking political limits on art and speech in communal institutions, Washington’s Jewish Community Center has fired the artistic director of the acclaimed Theater J. His ouster caps a successful campaign by a small group of activists to shutter the theater over the content of its
J Street founder’s 3 wishes for 2015 Read More »
Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The political situation in Israel is volatile, particularly before a general election. Only a few days ago I could speculate about Avigdor Lieberman not only as a kingmaker but as a potential king. He had spoken about his readiness to be prime minister. At the end of the piece
Debate over Yisael Beiteinu criminal charges Read More »
Middle East
By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO–Jeremy Dauber, is a professor of Yiddish literature at Columbia University, Director of Columbia’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, teaches in the American Studies program and has written several books within these special areas of study. The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem: the Remarkable Life and Afterlife of the Man who
Sholem Aleichem and then some Read More »
Travel and Food