By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There is an old rule of politics, which you can find in one or another textbook, that a ruling party or a coalition that is too big is bad. Small is better, insofar as its members are afraid of losing the whole game if they wander off the reservation. When […]
Bibi’s coalition has many fault lines Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Few things ought to be as urgent as keeping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, yet the West – led from the front by the United States – has fallen into the “peace process” trap that considers talk to be progress and, once a conversation has begun, that there is
Iran’s talk-talk strategy is working Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — I cannot see the future and I’m no prophet, but I have seen the future — so to speak — and it’s dank, dark and dystopian. In 500 years, if we do not tame climate change and global warming worldwide, Israel will be no more and the entire Middle
Is global warming a major Jewish issue? It should be Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — The current issue of Western States Jewish History is devoted to the Jews of neighboring Orange County. One very familiar San Diego name is included, that of Dr. Abraham Nasatir, (1904-1991), who grew up in Santa Ana and learned Torah from his father, Morris, long before settling here
A San Diego voice from Orange County’s past Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Isaac Yetiv, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Two factors make these elections different from the past: the outrageous amounts of money spent on both sides, passing the billion mark, (and its corollary, the unending and repetitious campaign,) and the excessive use of ad hominem attacks rather than a reasoned debate on the issues (and its corollary, a cynical demagoguery
Positions sadly get twisted in U.S. elections Read More »
USA
By David Amos SAN DIEGO — I find pleasure in planning concerts that have a particular theme. I feel that audiences also sense continuity and satisfaction when the entire program has a unifying element, as was the case in concerts of last April, when the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra presented Hebraic Voices. This time, the
Summers conducts Autumn and other music of Nature Read More »
Travel and Food
By Donald H. Harrison DEL MAR, California — As a group of us walked into the press party Friday evening, June 1, at the San Diego County Fair, we were confronted by the old and the new. The old, in the sense of what expects to see at county fairs, was represented by a
The fair, politics, a Thai-Mandarin restaurant and the U-T Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonCompiled by San Diego Jewish World staff Press Notes Southwestern Jewish Press, December 28, 1956, Page 3 Time Covers and Uncovers: Lanes and roads overgrown during years of disuse are once again open for men and women in pursuit of knowledge. Five years ago when the California Western University took over 117 acres of wooded
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, December 28, 1956, Part 2 Read More »
Adventures in SD History, Jewish HistoryBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — It can’t be said that the U.S. is doing nothing about Syria. The administration created the “Atrocities Prevention Board,” which failed the test at Houla. It is supporting the feckless Kofi Annan, who is adding to a resume that includes the genocide in Rwanda and massacres in Bosnia. It
Why is the U.S. doing military exercises with Lebanon, Pakistan and Egypt? Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenEditor’s Note: Although San Diego Jewish World endorsed Bob Filner in the San Diego mayoral race, we are delighted to open the matter up to comment from members of our Jewish community. The following appeal by former Congresswoman Lynn Schenk was sent out by the mayoral campaign of Bonnie Dumanis for mayor. By Lynn Schenk
Schenk tells her reasons for supporting Dumanis Read More »
San Diego Calendar
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–One of the critiques against fixed prayer (i.e., reading the same prayer book selections over and over) is that it can become boring and monotonous. How can one possibly pour out one’s heart before God by repeating the same words three times a day, seven days a week? Where is
Approaching fixed prayer with spirituality Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Almost 28 years ago, our youngest child was born. Due to our advanced age, we gave him the name Mattan. The English translation of mattan (מתן) is “gift.” Some time later, when in a US college book store, I happened on a Bible Dictionary, looked up the name, and found
The politics of religion and vice versa Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish ReligionBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Following are the endorsements of San Diego Jewish World in contested races on the June 5 ballot. We chose not to endorse in some contests, anticipating in some cases the opportunity to do so in the November general election. FEDERAL U.S. Senate — Dianne Feinstein U.S. Congress, 49th
San Diego Jewish World endorsements Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
The Biblical Outlook: Topics in Jewish Philosophy by Rabbi Shlomo Polachek; Penina Press, Jerusalem, 2012; ISBN-10: 1936068273; 463 pages. $29.95. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The concept the author wishes to present is an important one. He wishes to show the various strands of biblical passages that can be used by a
Book on biblical philosophy needs better sources Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi