By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Other than occasional reassuring hints by US Secretary of State John Kerry, the public is being kept in the dark about the state of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The chief Palestinian negotiator is quoted to have said that there hasn’t been direct contact between the two sides in recent
Could attempted violence mean peace is coming? Read More »
Middle East
By Aryeh Savir BAT YAM, Israel — A terrorist attack was thwarted Sunday after a passenger found a suspicious package and alerted his bus driver. The driver of line no. 240, Michael Yuger, was told about a large black knapsack in the back of the bus. He immediately had all 15 passengers get off and
Bus bombing thwarted in Bat Yam Read More »
Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Mimi Pollack, a friend and occasional writer for San Diego Jewish World, is an adjunct faculty member at Grossmont College in neighboring El Cajon. She teaches English as a Second Language, which is popularly abbreviated as “ESL.” Whenever I see that abbreviation,” I think of the word “easel,”
ESL students make excellent pen pals Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Mimi Pollack, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–A youtube came to my mailbox that has provoked some thoughts about what has happened to the Jews of America. I’m one of them, with my own twists and turns that reflect some of what has happened, in all kinds of ways, to many more. The clip shows a lecture, well crafted
American Jewry: From generation to generation Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA
By Suzanne Pollak Ruven Gelfond has changed surgical nails into complex screws and converted regular equipment into tools for eye surgery. He has helped blind people see, delivered babies and set scores of bones. His day job is a nurse in charge of running the hospital surgical unit at Hadassah Mount Scopus. But in
Israeli nurse quick to respond to disasters Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―President Obama appointed the American delegation to the Winter Olympics. To protest Russia’s laws against homosexuals, he included the openly gay tennis champion Billie Jean King and two-time women’s hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow in its ranks. To add insult to injury, he has recruited the Village People to sing “YMCA” instead
Humoring the Headlines: December 20, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–The Women’s Museum of California paid tribute Friday morning, Dec. 20, to 108-year-old Laura Simon, whose art works and a silver service are part of its permanent collection. The museum also sells the book–I’m Still Here–that has won Simon designation as the oldest living author in the collection of the
Women’s Museum honors Laura Simon, 108 Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Steve Kramer Alan Dershowitz is one of the brightest and most quoted law professors in America. He recently announced his plans to retire from the faculty of Harvard Law School, one of America’s most eminent educational establishments. I haven’t always agreed with Dershowitz, who said last year that Israel should offer to freeze all
Alan Dershowitz’s brief for Israel Read More »
Steve Kramer, USA
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — After the Pharaoh who had elevated Joseph to power died, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” (Ex. 1:8) Was it really possible that this newly arrived Pharaoh knew nothing of the great man who had just saved Egypt from starvation? Certainly not! Rather,
Facing the truth… and acting upon it! Read More »
Jewish Religion
Israeli universities: American Studies boycott targets ‘breakthroughs that benefit humankind’ (JNS.org) In an advertisement appearing in the New York Times on Dec. 20, the American arms of seven Israeli universities said that the American Studies Association’s (ASA) boycott of Israel targets an academic community that “achieves breakthroughs that benefit humankind.” “Preventing scholars who live in
JNS news briefs: December 20, 2013 Read More »
International
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — An interesting conversation took place been CNN host Piers Morgan and Barbara Walters that caught my attention. Morgan asked Walters an important question. “You have interviewed every president of my lifetime. Why is Obama facing so much opposition now? Why is he struggling so much to
No Barbara, Obama’s not the messiah Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO– In 1942, Seymour Lederman was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi for basic training. America had just entered World War II, and young men from all over the country were preparing to serve their country overseas. The small Jewish community in Biloxi arranged for a special Pesach Seder for the Jewish
Why the parson’s wife arranged the seder Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The biggest failure in the American diplomatic quest to midwife the State of Palestine has been a failure to listen to the Palestinians, who don’t hide much. (One wag said that generally parties to a negotiation lie on the outside and tell the truth in private; the Palestinians, however,
Kerry publicly oblivious to Palestinians’ real goals Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Times editorial board published an opinion today that the 59-year old infamous high Cross above Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, Ca., should be removed: “A cross is not a universal symbol for memorializing the dead. It is a Christian marker.” This is but the latest
Let’s not worry about the Mt. Soledad Cross Read More »
San Diego County