By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson TEL AVIV–Going to gala concerts isn’t really our thing, but when the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra announced that in honor of its return to the refurbished Heichal Hatarbut (Palace of Culture), its home in Tel Aviv, it would be performing Mahler’s fifth symphony, along with Beethoven’s violin concerto (with Itzhak Perlman as soloist)
Ahhh, Mahler, Beethoven, Perlman and Mehta! Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Things have never been better for many of us. Europeans are quarreling rather than killing one another. Jews are capable of reaching the top of virtually all professions, with decent housing and no worry about gentlemen’s agreements or restrictive covenants, and safe from plunder and pogroms. Life expectancy and other good stuff
Coping strategies serve Israel, South Korea Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California–As even the Supreme Court takes up the issue of same-sex marriage, and the issue finally appears to have captured the heart of humanity in every sense, some folks are again presuming the mantle of Dr. Martin Luther King in the name of something he actually never addressed. If one
LGBT advocates should not claim MLK support Read More »
USA
By Donald H. Harrison DEL MAR, California — Will a large number of the San Diego County Fair’s expected 1.5 million visitors this year want to take a break from carnival games, cotton candy, and this year’s bacon specialties to see a 42-poster exhibit detailing the Holocaust from its origins to its conclusion? Leaders of
S.D. County Fair previews a Holocaust exhibit Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Della Elliott EL CAJON, California–Conscripted into the Israeli military at 18 and assigned to a unit specializing in clearing mine fields, Nir Shtern knows a thing a or two about performing under pressure. Now a 22-year-old Grossmont College student, the San Diego resident remembers the practically overnight transition from carefree teen to combat soldier
Former IDF soldier honored as student leader Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
Black Jews in Africa and the Americas by Tudor Parfitt, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; ISBN 978-0-674-06698-4 ©2013, $29.95, p. 170, plus notes and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel, fell after a two-year siege under the command of its king, Sargon II in 722 BCE. The
Author tells of Black Jewish diaspora Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
SAN DIEGO –Melanie Rubin, who remembers her Israeli geography, spotted this license plate. It doesn’t exactly say “Beit She’an” but it is close enough. According to the Bible, that was the area in Israel where the Philistines hung the body of King Saul from a wall. Now, we don’t know this is what the car’s
Jewish license plate: Bet Shan Read More »
Jewish Religion, Melanie Rubin
State Department report: Iran terror activity surges (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism and Hezbollah’s terrorist activity have reached a tempo unseen since the 1990s, according to the U.S. State Department’s annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2012, released Thursday. The report noted that on Feb. 5 this year, the Bulgarian government
JNS news briefs: May 31, 2013 Read More »
International
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — The BDS’ers (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) are at it again. Alice Walker, author of the The Color Purple is urging singer Alicia Keys to cancel a concert she has scheduled in Israel in July. Walker wrote, “It would grieve me to know you are putting yourself in danger
BDS campaign defames Israel, ignores others Read More »
Middle East
By Isaac Yetiv, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — On May 13, 2013, the miracle occurred: all media exploded , denouncing another”avalanche of scandals” in the Obama administration. It was a triple whammy, affecting three cabinet departments, (State, Treasury, and Justice), a perfect trifecta. The media which, shamelessly, kept silent for eight months after the Benghazi
Three scandals undermine Obama’s credibility Read More »
USA
By Eva Trieger ENCINITAS, California -Upwards of 150 people were treated to a rare and wonderful talent Wednesday night, as the the Lipinsky Family Jewish Arts Festival featured Klezmer vocalist Elizabeth Schwartz, husband, Yale Strom and bassist Gunnar Biggs. The packed room at the recently remodeled Encinitas Library was a testament to the renown of
Lipinsky audience thrilled by Romanian music Read More »
Eva TriegerTEL AVIV (Press Release)— Though marijuana is a well-known recreational drug, extensive scientific research has been conducted on the therapeutic properties of marijuana in the last decade. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms. Now Prof.
Extremely low doses of marijuana may protect the brain Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
SAN DIEGO — Melanie Rubin, the queen of Jewish license plate hunters, found this one, which means repentance. Perhaps the driver is a ba’al tshuvah, which means a person who has embraced Orthodox Jewish ways after a life that was more secular. Or perhaps, the driver wants the people in cars following too closely to
Jewish license plate: Tshuvah Read More »
Jewish Religion, Melanie Rubin
Story and photos by Anav Silverman JERUSALEM– A small, but increasingly vocal number of Muslims are rejecting radical hate speech and combating anti-Semitism in the Muslim world. In the recent Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism held this week in Jerusalem, Palestinian Media Watch director, Itamar Marcus and Dr. Boaz Ganor organized a panel discussion with
Muslim panelists decry anti-Semitism Read More »
Jewish Religion