By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — When Maya Mikhaylovna Plisetskaya was eleven years old her father was executed as an “enemy of the people” by the Stalinist regime governing the USSR. Her mother was sent to a prison camp. Though the family was originally from Lithuania, Maya was born in Moscow on November 20, 1925. […]
Maya Mikhaylovna Plisetskaya (1925-2015) Read More »
Obituaries & memorialsReports attribute airstrikes in Sudan to Israel (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Foreign warplanes struck a number of targets in the Khartoum area in central Sudan overnight Tuesday, the London-based news outlet al-Araby al-Jadeed reported. Several Arab media outlets attributed the airstrikes to Israel, which did not comment on the reports. The Israeli military has reportedly
Jewish news briefs, May 6, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy David Amos SAN DIEGO–It is not too frequent when I get to attend a concert which has such impact, both artistically and socially. This was the case on Saturday, April 25, when the combined forces of the San Diego State University Orchestra, Aztec Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, a children’s choir, the Mira Costa
‘To Be Certain of the Dawn’ is a powerful concert Read More »
San Diego CountyBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Ethiopian Israelis clashed with Israeli police to protest the beating of an Ethiopian Israeli soldier by the police. The demonstrators carried signs saying, “If we wanted to be treated like this, we would have moved to Baltimore” and “Black Jewish lives matter.” * When the news that American Pharoah won
Humoring the headlines: May 5, 2015 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireFormer IDF chief defends military’s values, says next round of violence ‘will be worse’ (JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spares no effort to defend democracy and moral values, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said Monday at an event hosted by the Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center civil rights organization in Jerusalem.
Jewish news briefs: May 5, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle EastBy Zack Pyzer JERUSALEM — The Jewish Agency for Israel said in a new report that immigration to Israel (Aliyah) from Western Europe in the first quarter of 2015 was unchanged from the same period last year. However, the statistics revealed that a large increase in the number of immigrants (olim) arriving from Eastern Europe,
Anti- Semitism drives Western European aliyah Read More »
International, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM–Whether by coincidence or design (probably the latter), Jerusalem’s YMCA building is currently showing an exhibition of exquisite Armenian ceramic work produced by one of the many workshops situated in the Old City. No mention is made of the slaughter of over a million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire exactly one hundred
In Israel, admiration, sympathy for Armenians Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Like most people familiar with Yiddish, even people who are second or third or fourth generation non-Yiddish speakers, I know what “nu”means, nu? But it turns out that there’s more to “nu” than I knew. A lot more. Here’s my story for today: I was minding my own
‘Nu, nu, nu, nu’ Nu? Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Garry Fabian MELBOURNE, Australia — Some dates on the calendar have greater significance than others, particularly if they mark a special event, or more importantly are associated with an event that denotes a major landmark in one’s life. 5th May 2015 is indeed such a day in my own life and the life of
Thoughts of a Survivor on 70th anniversary of liberation Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The onset of protests by Ethiopian Jews Israel may have something to do with suggestions coming out of Baltimore, or they may reflect their own dynamic. It’s one of the questions that are impossible to answer about the social realities and politics of this issue. From the beginning, what has grown over
Ethiopian Israeli protests have many causes Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastWARSAW, Poland (WJC) — At a state funeral in Warsaw attended by world leaders, including European Council President Donald Tusk and German President Joachim Gauck, Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, Poland’s former foreign minister and an Auschwitz prisoner who helped save Jews from the Holocaust, was laid to rest on Monday, May 4. Bartoszewski, a historian, writer and
Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, z”l, Righteous among Nations Read More »
International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorialsBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — What is the Jewish connection to this year’s Kentucky Derby? Choose your answer. A. The winning horse, American Pharaoh, is owned by Ahmed Zayat, a Coptic Christian from Egypt. Zayat, the CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation in the 1980’s, was responsible for negotiating with Israel’s Energy
Jewish Trivia: Kentucky Derby Read More »
Jewish Religion, Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Sports & Competitions, USA