By Ira Sharkansky ATHENS — It’s never been easy governing an empire. So many cultures, and so many problems of communication across distances, languages, and local efforts to evade dictates from the center. Cyrus, the Persian emperor of the 6th century BCE, has an esteemed place in Jewish tradition, and helped to define the way of
The difficulties of empires, American and ancient Read More »
International, Ira SharkanskyBy Ilene Lerner BOSTON –I first saw Tai Chi being done one sunny morning in the early eighties as I walked on the outskirts of a city park in San Francisco’s Chinatown. From the first moment, I was attracted and then transfixed as a large crowd of Chinese adults, many of them seniors, performed intricate
Tai ‘Chai’ — Chinese art helps a nice Jewish lady! Read More »
Travel and Food
SAN DIEGO — Melanie Rubin, who spotted this gem, asks: “Does it take chutzpa to put chutzpa on your license plate?” In our opinion, not at all. Just a sense of humor.
Jewish license plate: Chutzpa Read More »
Jewish Religion, Melanie RubinBy David P. Goldman The Obama administration has utterly failed to convince the world that it is serious when it says the U.S. would attack Iran if it does not halt its nuclear weapons program. Analysis of energy markets reveals that crude oil is trading today with no greater risk than stocks and currency. Even
World does not take Obama’s Iran threats seriously Read More »
USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — The historian Thomas Cahill published an exalted and cogent book in 1998 entitled The Gifts of the Jews. This is the season that especially proves his point. Passover is the best gift we ever gave to the world; nobody who was ever a human being could turn down
The song of Passover Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Peter L. Rothholz/JNS.org Journalist Steven Pressman first learned of the 50 children rescued by Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus in 2002 from his wife Liz Perle, the Krauses’ granddaughter, who had possession of a formerly hidden and unpublished manuscript written by Eleanor decades earlier. That manuscript spelled out in detail the Krauses’ mission to rescue
HBO movie tells of 50 rescued children Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Maxine Dovere/JNS.org NEW YORK—Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai recently came to New York City to talk about his city of sun, sand, skyscrapers, and start-ups. With “just two minutes” on a winter afternoon to introduce the city and its entrepreneurs, he began his presentation with a weather report. Noting the damp, cold conditions, Huldai
Huldai: Start up city now city of start ups Read More »
Middle EastIsraeli general: Assad has already used chemical weapons against Syrian rebels (JNS.org) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army has likely already used small amounts of chemical weapons against rebel forces, Israel Defense Forces Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan told Israel Hayom. “He hasn’t crossed the Rubicon yet. What I think he has done, if he
JNS news briefs: March 25, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Rabbi Michael Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Children have an unusual ability when it comes to confronting our spiritual hypocrisy as parents and as adults; very often they get to the essence of the problem as they perceive things. Frequently, as parents, we often fail to hear the questions our young people ask of us;
Pushing the seder leader’s buttons Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — From a student-invented device to strengthen tongue muscles, and thereby battle some speech impediments, to a survey to determine how familiar Ashkenazi Jews are with the threat posed to them by Tay-Sach Disease, I found there was much to learn at the Greater San Diego Science and
Much to learn at Science and Engineering Fair Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonErdogan says Gaza blockade must be lifted before full normalization with Israel (JNS.org) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Israel to compensate flotilla victims and end its blockade of Gaza before full normalization of relations can be restored. On Friday, as U.S. President Barack Obama was about to depart Israel, Israeli Prime
JNS news briefs: March 24, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Ira Shakansky Jerusalem and Athens. Two cities, two cultures, both at the roots of defining elements in Western civilization. In the vast writing on each, we can rest with the summary that Jerusalem is a source of much that is spiritual, and Athens much that is philosophical, rational, and ultimately scientific. Each affected the
Lessons to be drawn from Athens, Jerusalem Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky
In One Era, Out the Other: A Memoir of a 20th-21st Century Jewish Life by Michael Kaufman, Mekor Press of Menucha Publishers, 2012, 564 pages including glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms, and endnotes; ISBN 978-1-61465-060-7; Price unlisted on cover. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — There is much in this book that
Book extols Orthodoxy over other forms of Judaism Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Turkey’s response to Israel’s apology over the Mavi Marmara incident some three years ago was swift and remarkably enthusiastic. Israel is likely to be less pleased, but apparently Prime Minister Netanyahu realized that President Obama deserved a parting gift, and so he made the call to Prime Minister Erdogan.
Turkey and Israel effect a rapprochement Read More »
Middle East