By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two separate issues are telling us something about the status of Israel in international perspective. One is the visit of President Barack Obama, which has triggered hopes and fears of what he will do when he gets here, up to and including a timetable for the withdrawal of a half
International images at odds with Israeli reality Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Michael Hayutin SAN DIEGO — Inflicting pain on oneself is a rather strange phenomenon. Most of us have read about or seen images of religious fanatics intentionally hurting themselves. There was a tradition among some in the Philippines to reenact the crucifixion each Easter. Young men would volunteer to have nails pounded through the
Ritual flagellation, American Jewish style Read More »
USA
Editor Donald H. Harrison has recently returned from a roundtrip cruise between San Diego and the Hawaiian Islands. Following is his third in a series of stories. By Donald H. Harrison VOLCANO, Hawaii — The artist who created a Hawaiian Christmas ornament for the White House Christmas tree during the presidency of George W.
Jewish Hawaiian artist created White House Christmas ornament Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — Katori Hall was 28-years old when she wrote the imagined sequence of her play, ‘The Mountaintop’—now in its West Coast premiere at the San Diego Repertory Theater. Although she hails from Memphis, and recalls her mother’s anguish on the night of April 4, 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther
Play imagines the last hours of Martin Luther King Jr. Read More »
Travel and FoodVenezuela’s Chavez, Iran supporter and Israel adversary, dies of cancer (JNS.org) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, known for his close relationship with Iran and adversarial one with Israel, died Tuesday at 58 following a two-year battle with cancer. Chavez in 2006, during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, was the first head of
JNS news briefs: March 6, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –One of the most memorable experiences I had growing up in the Orthodox Jewish world, as a young man, was the sanctity the community placed on human life. In matters of Kashrut and Shabbat, there was little compromise among the Hassidic and Haredi communities. They live in
Our duty to one another supersedes ‘rules’ Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — “Words, words, words!”, he shouted at me. He was a young man, raised as an observant Jew, but now in rebellion against his traditional upbringing. His parents had asked me to meet with him for several sessions to see if I could at least temper his
Judaism not just ‘words, words, words’ Read More »
Jewish ReligionSAN DIEGO (Press Release)–The Jewish Federation of San Diego County will present a special Holocaust commemoration (Yom Hashoah) program at 1:30 p.m., Sunday, April 7. This Holocaust commemoration has been held in San Diego for more than three decades and last year, was the largest in the United States with more than 700 people in
Large Yom HaShoah gathering expected April 7 Read More »
San Diego CountyBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that Sheli Yachimovitch isn’t taking my advice that Labor should join the Netanyahu government. But can she survive as party leader having turned down the Shas guru, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who is said to have even been prepared to call on her
Better a government with Haredim than with settlers Read More »
Middle EastSenate foreign relations chair Menendez: No ‘blank check’ to Egypt (JNS.org) WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the new chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference that U.S. aid to Egypt should be contingent upon Egypt upholding its 1979 peace treaty with Israel. “American
JNS news briefs: March 5, 2013 Read More »
International
Editor Donald H. Harrison has recently returned from a roundtrip cruise between San Diego and the Hawaiian Islands. Following is his second in a series of stories. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — If you want the chance to meet someone and have an interesting conversation, involving hearing another perspective, take a cruise, like
On a cruise, one may encounter other points of view Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonReport: Hamas refused missiles with tracking devices (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Hamas refused to receive a shipment of missiles that were smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Libya across the Sinai desert, after it was discovered that they contained espionage and surveillance devices which would enable Israel to track the missiles, an Egyptian news website
JNS news briefs: March 4, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — An amazing letter written by 21-year-old Gabriella Labson from Munkarcs, Czechoslovakia, to Lord Josiah Wedgewood in London, resulted in the rescue of Gabriella and her younger brother from the Nazi scourge. Lord Wedgewood was a member of the British House of Lords, a gentile Zionist who had visited Munkarcs,
Documentary on San Diegan saved by Lord Wedgewood Read More »
Eileen WingardBy Stanley Tiger SAN DIEGO — Can you present 4,000 years of Jewish history in 5 minutes? No, but in the coming 5-Minute Play Festival, sponsored by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, we are promised a theatrical glimpse into some of the many facets of the Jewish life. The brain child of SDCJC producer D.
The 5-Minute Play Festival: Jewish & YouTube-ish Read More »
Travel and Food