A Guide for the Perplexed: A Novel by Dara Horn, W.W. Norton & Co., New York; ISBN 978-0-393-06489-6 ©2013, $25.95, p. 352 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–Josephine “Josie” Ashkenazi, the protagonist in Dara Horn’s newest novel, A Guide for the Perplexed, is a brilliant computer scientist who becomes an entrepreneur, having created, and now […]
A novelist’s Guide for the Perplexed Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdDBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There are times when there are too many Jews in the Jewish country. Or maybe just too many rabbis. Currently we are approaching the culmination of a messy election to the Chief Rabbinate that reveals–along with a couple of other issues simultaneously bothering us–that Judaism would profit from a clean
Chief rabbinate politics as nasty as those in the Knesset Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Dutch Aldi supermarkets deny ban on products made beyond pre-1967 lines (JNS.org) The Netherlands branch of the German supermarket chain Aldi has disavowed comments it made in support of a ban on products made in territories acquired by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Both the Dutch branch of Aldi and another chain, Hoogvliet, had
JNS news briefs: July 23, 2013 Read More »
International
EL CAJON (Press Release) — Holocaust survivors Max and Rose Schindler related to a group of incoming freshmen at Grossmont College on Monday, July 22, that after enduring such horrors as the death of family members, near starvation, and constant humiliation at the hands of the Nazis, they finally were liberated from separate Nazi concentration
Grossmont College class hears Holocaust survivors Read More »
San Diego CountyBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — In downtown San Diego, one of the federal courthouses is named for Judge Jacob Weinberger, who I’m certain would be shaking his head right now. All this speculation about Mayor Bob Filner’s guilt or innocence would have him wondering whatever happened to the deliberative justice system in
Let’s take a page from Judge Weinberger’s book Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel SAN DIEGO — What is Tu b’Av? Do we celebrate it today? What is the significance of the day? The summer holiday of Tu B’Av (the 15th of Av) is a rabbinical holiday, one that the Mishnah describes in colorful detail: Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel said, “There were no happier days
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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiAbbas: ‘All options are open’ if peace talks fail (JNS.org) Amid the push by Secretary of State John Kerry towards restarting negotiations, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted in an interview with the Jordanian daily Al Ra’i as saying that if there is no progress in peace talks, “all options are open.” “If there
JNS news briefs: July 22, 2013 Read More »
International
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Supporting sanctions against Iran is understood to be a position designed to moderate Iranian behavior regarding the acquisition of nuclear capability. It is the position of people and countries that do not want to contemplate military action by either the United States or Israel. It is the position of
Iran uses European courts in its war on the West Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The amorphous agreement of Israeli and Palestinian leaders to begin talking has pushed other items–that might otherwise be grabbing all the headlines–to the margins of national attention. One is the impending election of two Chief Rabbis (Ashkenazi and Sephardi), after a campaign with nastiness that makes Knesset elections seem like the most
Any deal from Mideast talks likely to be partial Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM — Every four years, the Maccabiah Games, the world’s third largest sporting competition following the Olympics and FIFA, are held in Israel. Also called the Jewish Olympics, the games date back to 1932, when they were first held in the then British Mandate of Palestine with 390 Jewish athletes competing from
Jews from far-flung countries to compete in Maccabiah Games Read More »
Middle East
By Sheryl Rowling SAN DIEGO — I was taught that my job in life was to make the world a better place – tikun olam. So, maybe I should have become a research scientist to discover a cure for cancer. Or, I should have been a civil rights attorney, representing those most in need. Instead,
Money Maven: Is this what my mother wanted? Read More »
Sheryl Rowling, Travel and Food
By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — Coming from the American heartland, I understand the importance of rain. Lack of it can drive up the cost of everything and destroy your livelihood. In the last drought, families gave up their belovèd horses for want of oats to feed them. Desperate times can lead folks to
Globe’s ‘Rainmaker’ helps us see a woman’s true beauty Read More »
Eric George TauberBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — For those of us who believe in civil processes for the resolution of disputes, I would say that there were three good stories on the front page of the Union-Tribune on Saturday morning, July 20. Good news, too, sometimes comes in threes. The articles weren’t displayed in
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Donald H. HarrisonBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Anyone wanting a full description of what John Kerry has achieved, praise or condemnation for one of the parties, must look somewhere else. I am currently impressed with the variety of reports, couched as coming from one or another unnamed participant in Israeli or Palestinian governmental forums, with the additional reservation that
Palestinians, Israelis signal confusion over Kerry talks Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East