By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM –There comes a moment when words are not enough. That moment is now, just one week after the death of my 28-year-old niece, Naomi. There are no words of consolation, no words that can convey the terrible depths of sorrow this bereavement has brought to my sister and her family, as […]
In memory of Naomi Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food
Four rockets from Lebanon fired into Israel (JNS.org) The relatively quiet Israeli-Lebanese border became a renewed source of tension on Thursday as four rockets from Lebanon were fired into Israel. One was intercepted the Iron Dome missile defense system, and two landed in the western Galilee region, causing property damage but no injuries, Israel Hayom
JNS news briefs: August 23, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The latest pictures from the Syrian civil war are especially ugly. More than a thousand civilians in the outskirts of the capital dead from what appears to be poison gas. Uncivilized? More so than the bombardment of civilians that has been going on for a couple of years, with total
Drawing lessons from Obama’s empty words about Syria Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO– In a poll of likely Republican primary voters in Louisiana, 29 percent blamed President Obama for the poor federal response to Hurricane Katrina; whereas 28 % blamed Bush even though Bush was the president back in 2005 and Obama was only a senator. As Winston Churchill once said, “The best
Humoring the Headlines: August 22, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USA
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Most rabbinical students attribute omnipresence and omniscience as qualities befitting a Creator. Only God is called, The Knower of Thoughts, and The Searcher of the human heart. Rabbinical wisdom has long taught, “Always keep in mind these three things, and you will never come to the brink
God, not government, should know our every thought Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Al-Jazeera is “breaking in with something we think is unique, and are confident, with our guts and some research, that the American people are looking for,” according to its America’s president Kate O’Brian. If she is claiming “guts” and “research” are among the qualities sought by American viewers, she may
‘Al Jazeera’ is a Qatari ‘Pravda’ Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBashar al-Assad gasses civilians in Syrian civil war, Israeli officials say (JNS.org) Israeli officials corroborated the Syrian opposition’s claim that President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on civilians in a Wednesday attack in eastern neighborhoods of Damascus that killed more than 1,300 people. The Assad regime “has already used chemical weapons several times” during the
JNS news briefs: August 22, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Rabbi Michael Berk SAN DIEGO — The lurid allegations of politicians acting badly overcame the usual summer lull in news this season. Mayor Bob Filner and Anthony Weiner spent much of the summer trying to survive politically. But what about spiritual survival? What does their common faith, Judaism, teach about sin, atonement and forgiveness?
Time for Filner, Weiner and us to do teshuvah Read More »
Jewish Religion, San Diego County, USA
By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM — A 10-member delegation of dairy farmers from the Punjab region of India recently visited Israel to participate in a training program about modern dairy farming techniques. The unique program was especially designed for the group by the Center for International Agricultural Development Cooperation (CINDACO) of Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and
Punjabi farmers tour Israel’s agricultural projects Read More »
Middle EastTEL AVIV (Press Release)— A new study led by Tel Aviv University researchers finds that the Holocaust education trips Israeli high school students take to Poland every year can trigger mental health problems. About a third of the psychiatric professionals surveyed in this pilot study said they had treated teenagers for psychological problems arising from
Student Holocaust trips can trigger mental health issues Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationIsraeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations take place under the radar (JNS.org) Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations were held secretly on Tuesday in Jerusalem, AFP reported, citing Palestinian sources. Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s special envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, reportedly met twice—first for two hours and later for one hour—with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and
JNS news briefs: August 21, 2013 Read More »
International
By Aaron Voit SAN NICOLÁS LEMPA, El Salvador –For the next five months it is my extreme privilege to work as EcoViva’s International Fellow in the Lower Lempa in El Salvador. I first came to the Lower Lempa as a participant on an EcoViva Community Empowerment Tour (CET) in April of 2012. It was a
A Tikkun Olam project in El Salvador Read More »
San Diego CountyBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Moshe Arens has gained credit for coining the expression, The Middle East is not the Middle West. It serves to warn westerners, and especially Americans, that culture matters, and that the culture of the Middle East is not like that of the Middle West. This is a good time to
Middle East is not the Middle West Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — We all have our secret lives. I don’t mean to say that each of us has a sinister side, which we wickedly act out in some deep, dark, private world. What I do mean is that we all act differently when we are alone, or with a
The sins that we commit in the privacy of our homes Read More »
Jewish Religion