By Rafael Medoff/JNS.org The controversy over how to define the attack on the American consulate in Libya is not the first time the U.S. government has raised eyebrows by refusing to use the word “terrorism.” A similar dispute in 1989 sparked a major row between George H. W. Bush’s administration and Israel. American officials initially […]
Tongue tied on terrorism—again Read More »
USAPoll: 62% of Americans support use of force to stop nuclear Iran (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A significant majority of Americans would support the use of force, if necessary, to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to a recent national survey by the Foreign Policy Initiative. Asked in an open-ended question to name
JNS News Briefs: September 30, 2012 Read More »
InternationalBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–We can learn something about Israel and Palestine from the speeches at the United Nations by the so-called President of Palestine and the Prime Minister of Israel.. One should note the “so-called” status of the Palestinian, insofar as his term expired in January 2009, and the Palestinians of Gaza recognize someone else
Netanyahu contrasts with Abbas at U.N. Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Coming Home by Laurence Brown; ISBN: 978-1477591819; 431 pages plus appendices, retail price unlisted By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — This is Australian novelist Laurence Brown’s second novel. Previously he published Sicarri, a set of stories dealing with zealots and thugs who ruled through intimidation. Coming Home is broader in scope, tracing a family
Four-generation novel follows pogrom’s victims’ families Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO—Just recently my four-year-old grandson asked me if he would be wearing a space suit when he went into space as an astronaut. He didn’t ask if I thought he could become an astronaut. He assumed he would. For him, the world is his oyster. In a few years he will
‘Allegiance’ probes Japanese-American experience Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By David Brin ENCINITAS, California–Banned Books Week (September 30 – October 6) celebrates the freedom to read and to express ideas…even those that others might find objectionable. Classics that have been banned or challenged over the years include The Jungle, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, Beloved, Lolita, Clockwork Orange, Satanic Verses, I Know
In defense of free, even outrageous, speech Read More »
USA
By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK –It was advertised as one symposium at a major psychology conference. It was to be a discussion about memory and forgetfulness. But it turned out to be one of the most intense and instructive days that I have ever witnessed. The first speaker began by insisting that the
Repressing our memory of God Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California —Today in the news I came across the following article: · On September 18, 2012, Muhib Ru’yat Al-Rahman, a senior writer on leading jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, suggested that Muslims living in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.S. kill Westerners and display their decapitated heads
Religion like rain: sometimes soft, sometimes murderous Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By James Colbert WASHINGTON, D.C. — In his address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reminded the world that all attempts to persuade Iran to halt its progress toward developing a nuclear weapon have failed. He urged the world to impose a strict red line on Iran. “At this
The importance of a red line for Iran Read More »
Middle EastBy JNS.org NEW YORK—Faced with what he considers an existential threat to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spelled things out for world leaders in simple terms at the United Nations General Assembly. Actually, he drew things out. Providing a cartoonish diagram of a bomb during his Sept. 27 address, Netanyahu drew a red line across
UN Week: Iran at center of debate Read More »
Jacob Kamaras, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– Every once in a while, certain themes return to Israel’s headlines. One of them appears in Ehud Barak’s recent call to withdraw settlements from the West Bank, which was the subject of my last couple of columns. Another is the hand-wringing cry against Jews who leave Israel. Yom Kippur is a season
Perspective needed on Jews who leave Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastLA JOLLA, California (Press Release)– In a preview for the 2012 San Diego Jewish Book Fair, national Presidential campaign analyst, and UCSD Professor, Sam Popkin presents his in-depth and timely insights from his new book: The Candidate- What it takes to Win- and Hold the White House. Lecture and discussion begins 7:00pm in the Samuel
Popkin dissects winning and losing presidential campaigns Read More »
San Diego Calendar
By Natasha Josefowitz, PhD LA JOLLA, California — Learning the ropes, paying your dues, passing muster, earning your stripes—all terms we use to refer to the rites of passage from outsider to insider. Practical jokes, intentionally meaningless or humiliating tasks, and unnecessary assignments are all forms of hazing, and newcomers are hazed to test them
Hazing can have a positive result Read More »
Natasha Josefowitz, Travel and Food
SAN DIEGO — Okay, here’s one that is a “puzzlement.” If it read A 18, it would mean the owner was a member of the California Assembly from the 18th district. But this is 18 A. Melanie Rubin decided that since “18” is the numeric value of “Chai,” that 18 A must mean Chai-A, or
The secret of 18A? Read More »
Jewish Religion