By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — When President Barack Obama took time out from his Martha’s Vinyard golfing holiday to comment on events in Egypt, he produced an iconic moment of unreality comparable to George W. Bush declaring victory in Iraq from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Obama’s lengthy comments have been summarized with the […]
Obama seen by Mideast commentators as naive, out of touch Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — In these hard economic times, many of us have had to witness the firing of beloved colleagues. I thought it might be useful to review current employment practices, which are different from what many of us grew accustomed to over the course of our careers. Under California
Painful, but Necessary: The Termination Process Read More »
Natasha Josefowitz, Travel and Food
By Navras Jaat Aafreedi GREATER NOIDA, India — 19th June, 2013 was a historic day as it saw the release of the only work of fiction by a member of the Baghdadi Jewish community of Kolkata. The Jewish community of Kolkata was the last of the Jewish communities to settle in India and the first
Baghdadi Jew from Kolkata, India, publishes first novel Read More »
Travel and FoodSAN DIEGO–After a fulfilling life and career, Harold Joachim Simon, M.D., Ph.D. died peacefully surrounded by his loving family on August 6, 2013. He was a founding member of the UCSD School of Medicine faculty and a leader in the field of international health and health policy; professor emeritus of Internal Medicine; and founding chief
Dr. Harold J. Simon, M.D., dean at UCSD School of Medicine Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
Israel dismisses accusations that it was behind Beirut bombing (JNS.org) Current and former Israeli officials dismissed Lebanese accusations that the Jewish state was behind Thursday’s car bomb in a Hezbollah-controlled area in southern Beirut that killed 22 people. Lebanese President Michael Suleiman said the Beirut bombing“bore the fingerprints of terrorism and Israel, intended to undermine
JNS news briefs: August 16, 2013 Read More »
International
By Eileen Wingard LOS ANGELES — Dr. Noreen Green, the founder and conductor of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, was a student of Murry Sidlin at the Aspen Festival during the summer of 1993. The brilliant conductor and pedagogue encouraged and inspired Green to follow her dream to create an orchestra specializing in music with
Symphony in Los Angeles highlights Jewish music Read More »
Travel and Food
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — One of the most conspicuous signs of a Jewish home is the mezuza on the doorpost. While sometimes people think that the essence of the mitzva is affixing the decorative case on the doorpost, the important part of the mezuza is what’s inside: a small scroll with the
Building a parapet around our roofs and our hearts Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Personally, I have never been one for reality television shows. Life is much too interesting to “observe” from afar. When I was growing up in the sixties and seventies, I remember “The Dating Game.” This show would pit a number of contestants who would compete for
The suicide of a contestant on ‘The Bachelor’ Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Carol Miller She was tiny, as perfectly proportioned as the doll she appeared to be, and as she walked toward me I could see she was also beautifully outfitted in a two-piece short-sleeved Thai silk dress of reserved color in a conservative Western design, with a gold-and-pearl brooch at the neck, and unobtrusive gold
What’s a Nice Jewish Girl Doing, With Ganesh in Bangkok? Read More »
Travel and Food
By David Amos SAN DIEGO — After having attended hundreds, if not thousands of concerts, and personally participated in as many as a performer, I have become somewhat choosy in the programs to which I am invited. There are many interesting approaches to my opening sentence, but here are a few insights of my own
Some concerts are musical disasters, but win applause Read More »
Travel and Food
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — President Obama denounced the violent repression of Muslim Brotherhood protestors in Egypt by the military government. Fearing that new democratic elections might bring the Muslim Brotherhood back to power, he suggested that new elections be monitored by the North Carolina Electoral Board to guarantee that a wealthy white Christian
Humoring the headlines: August 15,2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USA
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the loss of life in Cairo over the past two days is deeply to be regretted, President Obama’s tepid statement on the “cycle of violence” in Egypt and cancellation of the biannual U.S.-Egypt Bright Star military exercise evidence a lack of strategic awareness. The result is increasing American
U.S. becoming increasingly irrelevant in Egypt Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenJERUSALEM — The present stage of discussions between Israelis and Palestinians, is occurring with loud noises of complaint from both parties, with Americans also squawking, more often in one of the Palestinian choruses than in an Israeli chorus. There are multiple sources of noise from all sides. “Moderate” Palestinians criticize Israel for proceeding with the
In a volatile region, just talking is valuable Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastCantor: Peace requires Palestinian ‘cultural mind-shift’ (JNS.org) U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), the House Majority Leader, said while leading a trip of 28 congressmen to Israel that he doesn’t envision progress in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict until there is a Palestinian “cultural mind-shift.” “Until that point comes, I don’t think that there will be much
JNS news briefs: August 15, 2013 Read More »
International