By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Currently Israeli politicians are wrapping themselves around a high intensity bit of meaninglessness, which is also dangerous, about the country’s self definition of being a Jewish state. The issue was settled 60 years ago when the founders left dangling in the Declaration of Independence the wonderful sounding ideals of being
‘Jewish state’ bill likely to go nowhere Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
SAN DIEGO (Press Release)— Peter Beinart, a former editor of the New Republic and currentlyh a columnist for Haaretz, will discuss his insights into recent developments in Israel and the region, the Israel-Diaspora relationship and the changing dynamics around Israel on college campuses at 7 p.m. Monday, December 15th at at Congregation Beth Israel, 9001 Towne Center Drive,
Columnist Beinart to discuss Israel here Dec. 15 Read More »
Middle East, San Diego Calendar, USABy Jack Forman LA JOLLA, California — King David’s rich and full life is meticulously detailed in Samuel I and II and Chronicles, and his last years are described at the beginning of Kings I. He is a larger-than-life figure who plays a central role in Judaism because it is from King David’s lineage, according
Rabbi Wolpe delves into King David’s lives Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish HistoryBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ President Obama told George Stephanopoulos that he felt like a dinged-up used car and that the voters would be looking for a new model in 2016. Picking up on his car analogy, many Republicans hope he will be recalled before the next election. * The new Lammily doll is less
Humoring the Headlines: November 24, 2014 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Anav Silverman BEER-SHEVA, Israel– According to a Ben Gurion University of the Negev research group, American football players for the first time have been found to have brain damage from mild “unreported” concussions. Published in the current issue of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Neurology, the Ben Gurion study could improve decision making about when an athlete
BGU: 2 kinds of football- caused brain trauma Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & CompetitionsThe Evolution Revolution: Why Thinking People are Rethinking the Theory of Evolution by Lee Spetner, Judaica Press, Brooklyn, NY; ISBN 978-1-60763-155-2 ©2014, $17.95, p. 145, plus references and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –Showing that common descent, the belief that all of life has a universal ancestor, first proposed by Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis in
Does the theory of evolution need updating? Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Tzvi Zucker JERUSALEM (Tazpit) — Fierce debate, both inside Israel and abroad, has been raging over a piece of legislation that would become a Basic Law. This legislation, dubbed “the Nationality Bill”, would enshrine in law the definition of Israel as a state of the Jewish people. Basic Laws are the building blocks of
Nationality bill shakes Israel’s ruling coalition Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East
BERLIN, Germany (WJC) — The Kunstmuseum Bern on Monday agreed to accept artworks from the collection of Hildebrand Gurlitt, whose son Cornelius Gurlitt willed them to the museum in the Swiss capital shortly before his death last April. The head of the museum’s Board of Trustees, Christoph Schäublin, told a press conference in Berlin that his institution
Swiss museum will exclude looted art works Read More »
InternationalDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel, source of past controversy on Israel, to resign (JNS.org) U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, a past source of controversy due to his statements about Israel, will resign. The New York Times, citing senior U.S. officials, reported Monday that President Barack Obama decided to push for Hagel’s resignation “as a recognition
JNS news briefs: November 24, 2014 Read More »
Middle East, USABy Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO –“Each of us thinks we’re unique. But we’re somebody else’s stereotype.” -Sam Woodhouse Before Honky opened, the REP was accused of being racist for staging a show with such a racially charged title. Somebody even stole the poster from the REP’s front window –a first in their history. These
‘Honky’ explores racism from two sides of the divide Read More »
Travel and Food
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– Shmaltz Brewing Company, brewers and bottlers of He-Brew Beer, has issued in time for the Dec. 16-24 Chanukah holiday a new special-label beer. It’s called “Hanukkah, Chanukah Beer,” apparently with an eye toward not taking sides in the age-old debate about how the name of the 8-day holiday should
Chanukah Beer passes amateurs’ taste test Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonNEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Sunday, Nov. 23, expressed outrage at a Turkish governor’s threats to turn a century-old synagogue into a museum — as punishment, he says, for Israel’s alleged actions against Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. Dursun Sahin, governor of the province of Edirne, said he was turning the 107-year old Buyuk
ADL denounces Turkish governor’s threats against shul Read More »
Middle East, USABy Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — Okay, so we all have dysfunctional families. And their doppelgangers have been running rampant, loving and hating one another, as in August–Osage County, or attempting to provide hilarity onstage a la Kaufman and Hart’s You Can’t Take It With You. So enough already! The latest entry in the “whimsical family” category is a heavy-handed attempt
Cast of ‘Reasons to Live’ tries too hard Read More »
Travel and Food
By Tzvi Zucker JERUSALEM (Tazpit) — Archaeological excavations in Netiv Haasarah have uncovered a Persian era military installation. Netiv Haasarah is a town in the “Gaza envelope” with a population of about 700. The dig, being headed by Dr. Yael Abadi Rice, found a fortified town and a military tower, from approximately 2,100 years ago.
Ruins of fortified town of 2100 BCE found near Gaza Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education