By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — If I’ve learned anything in a half-century of studying politics, it is that those who demand everything risk getting nothing. Currently there are two examples of major players who haven’t gotten that message. One is the Republican Party of the United States, which, according to reports, is likely to include […]
Demands of U.S. Republicans, Palestinians go too far Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — One problem is that too many extraneous people, agencies, synagogue officials, evangelicals, ambitious US office-seekers, Israeli legislators, and—in some cases—our own parents and grandparents, are telling us what to think. The other problem is that a generally small element of “the Jews” (a famously fractious and contentious people
What do Jews really think of Palestinians? Read More »
Middle East
Young Israel At 100: An American Response to the Challenge of Orthodox Living, 1912-2012; by Yaakov Kornreich, Joel Saibel, Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald Strober; National Council of Young Israel, New York; ISBN 978-1-4751-5792-5 ©2012, $24.95, p. 237 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — To believe that during most of its history, Judaism represented
Movement still ‘Young’ Israel at 100 Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Gerald M. Steinberg/JNS.org RAMAT GAN, Israel (JNS) –Given Iran’s illicit drive for nuclear weapons and penchant for anti-Semitism and hatred, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon—who is going to Tehran for the Aug. 26 conference of the “non-aligned movement”—should have avoided the fate of former UN Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and stayed away from the
Tehran’s ‘Non-Aligned’ Conference: Another U.N. Debacle? Read More »
Middle East
By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — A recent, fascinating recent study is Decoding Animal Languages, by Con Slobodchikoff. At one level, it is an inspiring demonstration of how new technologies can liberate us from preconceptions and open new avenues of empathy, helping humans to understand the other species who co-inhabit this planet with us. As
Can animals improve their natural vocabularies? Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
By Carol Davis LA JOLLA, Callifornia—To quote Bertrand Russell “War does not determine who is right- only who is left”. Imagine wandering around the world telling the same story, singing the same song for three thousand years? Now imagine how tiring it must be after pouring your heart out telling this story, this tale of
Adaptation of ‘Iliad’ makes case against wars Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The head of the U.S, Joint Chiefs of Staff caused a mini-row in Israel by remarks about Israel’s capacity to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. According to one view on a prominent Israeli web site. “Once every few years Israel needs a slap in the face to remember where it
‘Iran gap’ between U.S. and Israel seen as widening Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastEditor’s Note: The following briefs were compiled by Jewish News – JNS.org and are reprinted with permission on San Diego Jewish World : Abbas, citing ‘alleged’ Temple, denies Jewish connection to Jerusalem (JNS.org) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said a “series” of attacks on the Temple Mount “under the nose of the Israeli occupation authorities” seek “to
JNS news briefs: August 22, 2012 Read More »
International
By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — It is at this point in time that we all begin to realize that the summer is ending. There is something about mid-August that says, “The summer is waning.” School children begin to experience the anxieties that come with the anticipation of the return to school; vacationers
A parsha for judges and kings Read More »
Jewish Religion
Third in a Series Story and photos by Donald H. Harrison TECATE, Mexico — Looking at a ceramic ‘Tree of Life’ in the gift shop of Rancho La Puerta, I discerned that it depicted Noah on his Ark. In the Administration Building was another ‘Tree of Life,’ this one picturing God, the Archangel Michael, and
‘Trees of Life’ provide windows to Mexican culture Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO–Our license plate spotter-in-chief, Melanie Rubin, clearly loves Fiddler on the Roof , so when she saw this ambiguous license plate, she read it as if the heart substituted for an “O” in Goldis. Tevye, you remember, after 25 years loves Goldie, and she loves him too. Our editor, Don Harrison, read the
Jewish-interest license plate: G-ldis Read More »
Jewish Religion, Melanie Rubin
By Shoshona Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –While noting in The Washington Post that Israel “cannot afford to outsource its security to another country,” Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, former chief of Israeli Military Intelligence, contends that President Obama can/should frame “a nuclear-armed Iran as an impermissible threat to the national interests of the United States and its
Obama should explain how Iran endangers U.S. interests Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –We can imagine a conversation, not too far from here, among people more important than us, about an Israeli attack on Iran and the American presidential election. Among the questions likely to be debated Will the attack lead Obama and Romney to compete in what they offer to Israel, with the
The political calculus of an attack on Iran Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Hatred and xenophobia are two of the oldest diseases afflicting the human condition. For many people living in unenlightened societies, hatred of the Other is almost as natural as mother’s milk. Jewish history bears witness to how our adversaries have vilified us, dehumanized us, persecuted us,
Anti-Arabism as sinful as anti-Semitism Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East