By Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi During the last two months two international seminars took place in India focusing on Jewish and Israel Studies, with a gap of a month, in two very different cities, signaling the advent of Jewish and Israel Studies in India as an academic discipline and paving the way for India’s first […]
Jewish studies coming to fore in India Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — “Vibrant” “Engaged” and “Enchanted” were three adjectives that leapt into my mind when I met the teacher, clarinetist and international performer. Alexander Gourevitch and his wife Anna, welcomed me into their Carmel Valley home Friday morning. I was eager to learn about Gourevitch’s upcoming role in the San
From Russia with klezmer Read More »
Eva Trieger
Stephen Hawking boycotts Israeli conference (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) World-renowned theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking has joined the academic boycott of Israel and will not be attending the fifth annual Presidential Conference in Jerusalem in June, The Guardian reported Wednesday. Hawking, 71, had agreed to headline the conference, titled “Facing Tomorrow,” alongside other major international
JNS news briefs: May 8, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — On Sunday the vast bulk of Israel’s media was about Syria. By Tuesday, it had shifted to the budget that Finance Minister Yair Lapid would present to the government. The background was a sizable deficit in the budgets of recent years, and a greater deficit projected for the present year
Lapid’s budget draws fire and disappointment Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — I trace back my love of poetry to Mr. Perle. He taught freshman English in the high school I attended. I remember him as diminutive in stature, but not at all diminutive in his ability to inspire reluctant students to read, and to actually enjoy, fine literature.
Poetry for blooming deserts and faith Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Rachel Barton Pine informed us, as she opened her recital at San Diego State University, that she was not Jewish. In fact, with the exception of the Nigun by Bloch and the Hebrew Melody of Achron, she had never played any of the selections on the Jewish Studies program
Pine demonstrates universality of ‘Jewish music’ Read More »
Eileen WingardMortar shell lands in Israel from Syria for second consecutive day (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) For the second consecutive day, a mortar shell fired from Syria exploded within Israeli territory in the Golan Heights on Tuesday. Army Radio reported that the shell struck a minefield in the Tel Fares area around 8 a.m. No
JNS news briefs: May 7, 2013 Read More »
International
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM–Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held the weekly government meeting at Mount Herzl on Sunday in honor of Jerusalem Day which is to be celebrated on Wednesday (May 8). Israel will celebrate the 46th anniversary of the unification of its capital. Netanyahu stated during the special session that the liberation of
Jerusalem most populous and most visited Israeli city Read More »
Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—Jewish pioneer Louis Rose, who wondered upon his arrival in 1850 why the dusty little village of San Diego wasn’t more water-oriented like his hometown of Neuhaus-an-der-Oste in Germany, might have smiled with satisfaction on Monday, May 6, if he had witnessed a modern-day result of his successful campaign
Jewish pioneer’s legacy: German-U.S. ‘sister schools’ Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — On May 5th, 2013, in the Spreckels Theatre, City Ballet of San Diego finished its 20th anniversary season with a rousing program of “The Seasons” (Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”) and Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” Complimented by a live orchestra and 100 voice choir, the program encompassed both ends of
City Ballet in rousing ‘The Seasons’ and ‘Carmina Burana’ Read More »
Travel and Food
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — On June 26th, 2012, the District Court of the Federal State of Cologne ruled that ritual circumcision for children as required by the parents, constitutes an infliction of bodily harm to the child, and is therefore—a criminal offense. Fortunately, the Federal Constitutional Court shortly afterward overruled
The danger of metsita b’peh Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi: Iran may retaliate against Israeli, Jewish sites (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli embassies and major Jewish institutions around the world raised their levels of alert on Sunday over fears of terror attacks by Iran and Hezbollah in retaliation for reported Israeli airstrikes on Iranian missiles in Syria. “Everywhere there is an Iranian embassy, there
JNS news briefs: May 6, 2013 Read More »
International
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C.–The announcement by Secretary of Defense Hagel that the United States will “rethink all options” including arming Syrian rebel groups, was carefully hedged. “It doesn’t mean… you will” (choose any particular path). The statement however moves the U.S. closer to picking sides in a war with no good options and no
Sunni-Shia clash in Syria part of their global war Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Those who saw the promotional video, Israel: Seeing is Believing, might want to balance it with a BBC production, Israel: Facing the Future. It will take an hour of your time, but is worth it on several dimensions. It is as good as anything I’ve seen for displaying the variety
BBC portrait of Israel close to the mark Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East