By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — In 2011, NBA Superstar Darryl Dawkins, known as Chocolate Thunder, visited Crane Lake Camp, a sleepaway camp in western Massachutsetts run by the Union for Reform Judaism. What type of class did Dawkins, who passed away this week, run for the campers? A. He taught them how to
Jewish Trivia: Darryl Dawkins, R.I.P. Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Sports & Competitions, Trivia, Humor & Satire
LA JOLLA, California — Judge Murry Luftig, long-time resident of San Diego, passed away on August 27 at the age of 92. He is survived by his wife of sixty-eight years, Rita Luftig, and his children, Vicki Pierce, Mitchell Luftig, Andrea Ferber, and Laura Luftig, along with seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Judge Luftig
Judge Murry Luftig, 1923-2015 Read More »
Obituaries & memorials, San Diego CountyReport: Hezbollah enlisting Palestinian operatives to carry out attacks (JNS.org) Hezbollah is working to enlist Palestinian operatives from Fatah’s Al Aksa Brigades to carry out attacks against Israeli targets in Judea and Samaria as well as inside of Israel proper, a Palestinian security source said. A Palestinian security source told the Saudi daily newspaper
Jewish news briefs: August 31, 2015 Read More »
Middle East, USABy Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — The motto and guiding principle of San Diego Jewish World is “There is a Jewish Story Everywhere.” Don Harrison, owner/editor of the publication, and I have discussed this through the years and he has demonstrated through the years that he has no difficulty adhering to the precept of this
Looking for Moses at the DMV Read More »
Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Michael R. Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — There is nothing so Jewish as self-improvement. And all this time, you thought gefilte fish or bagels and lox were the ultimate Jewish experience. No, you see, when it comes to improving yourself, making yourself into an elevated, more refined, more civil person, nothing in psychology has ever
Spiritual self- improving, Jewish style Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Donald H. Harrison MORAGA, California –Prof. Barbara McGraw of Saint Mary’s College of California likes to tell of an interfaith conference she attended at which delegates representing a wide spectrum of religious beliefs all were in attendance. As was the custom at such gatherings, people in the audience asking questions first would identify
Catholic college fosters religious pluralism Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Emma Podietz, an avid bicyclist who once made a grueling cross-country road trip from Colorado to Pennsylvania, graduated from New York University in 2012 with degrees in environmental studies and Latin American studies, with a minor in art. Now based in Philadelphia, the 25-year-old artist and environmentalist is working
Art in the cause of raising climate change awareness Read More »
The World We ShareBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –The proposal by Gilad Erdan, Minister of Internal Security to appoint Gal Hirsch to head the police provides us with some insight into the workings of Israeli society and politics, as well as some general lessons about difficult decisions. The appointment is one of the most important that can made in
Hirsch choice for police chief stirs emotions Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastIn the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume, Alfred A. Knopf, 2015, 402 pp. By David Strom SAN DIEGO — In the late 1950’s through the late 1960’s I taught sixth graders in an elementary school in Michigan. Many of the young readers enjoyed the writings of Judy Blume and so did I. Recently I was given
Several decades later, Blume still fires up imagination Read More »
Travel and FoodIAEA says Iran may have expanded Parchin nuclear facility (JNS.org) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, said in a report that Iran may have built an extension to part of its Parchin nuclear site since May. “Since (our) previous report (in May), at a particular location at the Parchin site,
Jewish news briefs: August 28, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle EastSAN DIEGO (Press Release) – Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) has received a $12,166 grant from the County of San Diego’s District 4 Neighborhood Reinvestment Program. The grant will purchase furniture for the counseling lobby and children’s waiting area of JFS’s new Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus, which is currently under construction. Scheduled
JFS receives grant for lobby, waiting area furniture Read More »
San Diego CountyWWII-era Jewish café reopens in Shanghai (JNS.org) A café that was a popular spot for Jewish refugees in Shanghai during World War II has been rebuilt and reopened in the city’s Hongkou district. The Zum Weissen Rossi’l café, better known as the White Horse Café, first opened in 1939. On hand for the reopening
Jewish news briefs: August 27, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — If there’s a Jewish story everywhere, as the motto of this publication puts it, there are some good Jewish stories in Taiwan, too, as I’ve reported over the past few years, from Professor Chiang, the Yiddish specialist at Wenzao University, to an annual Passover seder held in a small hotel dining room
Jewish Fulbright scholar teaches English in Taiwan Read More »
International, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — If there was a measure that compared a place’s contribution to the noise of the world to its size, Israel would be somewhere close to the top . Over the years we’ve seen claims that Israel leads in the number of foreign correspondents per capita, the media space and time
Wags say Israel is a city disguised as a country Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East