What does Judaism say about leaking confidential information?

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California–Recently someone asked me, “Does Judaism have any thoughts on the Wikileaks fiasco? Where does freedom of the press and the public’s right to know become a security threat, or worse, in Jewish thought?” This issue is not only concerned with the arrest and trial of Julian Asange;

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

A military coup in Egypt

By Barry Rubin  HERZLIYA, Israel — The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court has just invalidated the parliamentary election there. The parliament, 75 percent of whose members were Islamists, is being dissolved. The military junta has taken over total authority. The presidential election is still scheduled to proceed. In short, everything is confused and everything is a

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Middle East

San Diego area colleges to focus on ‘Silent Spring’

EL  CAJON,  California (Press Release) — Students in classrooms across the Grossmont College campus will be discussing Silent Spring, the book credited with helping to launch the environmental movement of the 1960s, during the 2012-2013 academic year. Grossmont College will be participating with five regional universities and several organizations in a collaboration studying similar themes from

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Science, Medicine, & Education

Philanthropist memorialized in sanctuary named for her family

  By Donald H. Harrison POWAY, California –Jeanne Feldman, 96, was memorialized Thursday, June 14 in the Ner Tamid Synagogue sanctuary that bears her name and that of her husband, Morey. Noting that the couple lived unassumingly while giving generously to philanthropies, Rabbi Nadav Caine said the Feldmans personified a Talmudic teaching that what people

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Donald H. Harrison

Prestigious U.S. universities not worth their extra price

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The United States has the least centralized government, with the strongest norms in behalf of individual freedom among well-to-do democracies. Among its detailed traits are –Variations in public policy between states and localities –Commendable indications of research and innovation in  science, medicine, and technology –High flow of immigrants–not all of them legal–seeking individual

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Ira Sharkansky, Science, Medicine, & Education

A son’s personal account of the White House fete for his father, Israel’s President Shimon Peres

    By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — I received a phone call from a happy Yoni Peres on Wednesday night, June 13, a few hours after his father, Israel’s President Shimon Peres, was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. Yoni, a veterinarian who occasionally

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Donald H. Harrison, USA

Multiple meanings of pre-school and grade school graduations

    By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– Earlier this week, my 11-year-old grandson Shor participated in a ceremony marking his promotion from elementary school to middle school.  Next week, his 5-year-old brother Sky will participate in another ceremony commemorating his advancement from pre-school to kindergarten. Like most parents, grandparents and occasional great-grandparents, we were

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Donald H. Harrison