Jewish Agency, Israeli government convene strategic summit on Israel-Diaspora ties (JNS.org) More than 120 Jewish leaders gathered in Jerusalem on Wednesday and Thursday for a first-of-its-kind strategic dialogue conference—led by the Israeli government and The Jewish Agency for Israel—focused on formulating ways to bolster both Israel-Diaspora ties and the Jewish identity of youths. “This is
JNS news briefs: November 7, 2013 Read More »
International
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Rabbi Kamin’s interesting article on the subject of Halloween reminded me of many of my own childhood experiences. Is Halloween “permitted”? Is the children’s ritual of “Trick and Treating,” considered forbidden because it emulates the practices of the non-Jewish world? Many years ago, a learned colleague
Halloween superstitious? How about tefillin and mezuzot? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Donald H. Harrison Kerry tilts to Palestinians during Wednesday’s Mideast press conferences Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke bluntly about Iran and the Palestinians. On the other hand, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tried to put a diplomatic gloss on matters during their joint appearance in Jerusalem. Later while standing with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Of Presidents, Prime Ministers and Secretaries Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Twice a year at about this time, Israelis hear about the murder 18 years ago of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It happens twice, like some other occasions, due to the the country’s juggling of two calendars, secular and Hebrew. Like JFK, Yitzhak Rabin has grown in stature with an improved personality since
How the Israeli landscape has change since Rabin Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastAvigdor Lieberman cleared of corruption charges (JNS.org) In a unanimous verdict, a three-judge panel on Wednesday acquitted former Israeli foreign minister and Yisrael Beiteinu party chairman Avigdor Lieberman of corruption charges, Israel Hayom reported. “I congratulate you on your acquittal and I am pleased with your return to the Israeli cabinet so that we can
JNS news briefs: November 6, 2013 Read More »
InternationalTEL AVIV (Press Release) — Israeli soldiers captured during the 1973 Yom Kippur War were subjected to brutal torture in Egypt and Syria. Held alone in tiny, filthy spaces for weeks or months, sometimes handcuffed and blindfolded, they suffered severe beatings, burns, electric shocks, starvation, and worse. And rather than receiving treatment, additional torture was
The painful legacy of torture Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationTEL AVIV (Press Release)– On the 18th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry paid tribute to him at the square where his life was taken. Here, provided by the U.S. State Department, is a transcript of the remarks made on that occasion: SECRETARY KERRY: It’s a great privilege for me
Kerry pays homage to Yitzhak Rabin’s memory Read More »
Middle EastNetanyahu: No change in Palestinian position since 1993 (JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday in a Likud-Beiteinu alliance meeting that he sees “no real changes in the Palestinian position since 1993,” the year the Oslo Accords were signed. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, said Israel’s linking of its release of Palestinian prisoners
JNS news briefs: November 5, 2013 Read More »
InternationalLA JOLLA, California– Susan Magee, author of Into the Light, a pictorial biography of artist Kalman Aron, speaks at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair today (Tuesday, Nov. 5). Here is a video about the artist whose work has been greatly influenced by surviving the Holocaust.
Kalman Aron: Survivor and artist subject of Book Fair talk Read More »
Jewish HistoryBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Here we are, with at least 2,000 years of animosity from outsiders, along with quarrelsome Jews. Some believe with great intensity that God gave us everything between an Egyptian river and far to the east. Some believe that the Jews of Palestine then Israel have been responsible for their problems
Netanyahu and Israel have learned to cope Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — On November 4, 1963, a still-emerging quartet from Liverpool played a key engagement: The Beatles gave a concert for the Royal Family in London. In fact, the event was a Royal Command Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, in the presence of both the Queen
Memories of 1963: JFK, The Beatles Read More »
USA
Aline Sax, author, and Caryl Strzelecki, illustrator, The War Within These Walls, Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, 2013, ISBN 978-0-8028-5428-5, 169 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Sometimes I think all of us are too young to learn about the Holocaust, because the more we know the more our souls feel crushed. But
A Holocaust book for youngsters? Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―Major cuts in the Food Stamp Program went into effect the day after Halloween. When criticized for reducing food subsidies for those who can’t afford to feed themselves, a number of Tea Party Republicans introduced legislation to hold Halloween on the last Thursday of every month to sweeten the lives of
Humoring the headlines: November 4, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireJobbik party’s commemoration of Hungarian Nazi collaborator sparks protest (JNS.org) Nearly 1,000 protestors took to the streets in Budapest to decry the far-right Jobbik party’s unveiling of a statue of Hungarian wartime leader and Nazi collaborator Miklos Horthy, Reuters reported. The third-largest party in Hungary, Jobbik’s leaders have stoked extremism anti-Semitism in Hungary, often
JNS news briefs: November 4, 2013 Read More »
International