The opera ‘Moby Dick’ a visual sensation with strong new music

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO— The West Coast Premiere of Jake Heggie’s long waited Moby-Dick finally anchored at The Civic Center for at the opening night production on Feb. 18  and from my seat in row U it was a visually splendid sensation. From the time the theatre went dark and Donald Holder’s brilliant light […]

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Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Calls to Israel to delay attacking Iran a ‘good cop’ p-r ploy?

 By Yaakov Lappin      WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senior officials from the Obama administration have begun descending on Israel once again to ensure that Jerusalem holds off on an attack on Iran. That, at least, is the message the White House is seeking to generate. “The national security advisor [Tom Donilon] and the American intelligence head [James

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Middle East

Violence against Baptist Church in Jerusalem, mosques elsewhere, reprehensible and should be denounced

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–When the founders of modern Zionism hoped that having a country of their own would make Jews like all other nations, they didn’t think that the Jews would adopt any of the despicable traits of the anti-Semites among whom they lived in dispersion. The aim of Zionism was not only to

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Middle East

University of Haifa to accept Cal State University students from all campuses on ‘study abroad’ programs

HAIFA, Israel (Press Release) — Almost a decade after suspending its study abroad opportunities for students wanting to study in Israel, California State University has reinstated the program and chosen the University of Haifa as its location of its study abroad students in Israel. The Cal State Study Abroad Program is being reinstated in Israel

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Science, Medicine, & Education

Is ‘faithism’ as dangerous as ‘racism’? Columnist seeks input

By Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, TAIWAN — If racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination, then faithism is the belief that belief in different gods or Gods justifies spiritualism discrimination in terms of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, among other religious beliefs. In the

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Jewish Religion

Play depicting Simon Wiesenthal worth a standing ovation

By Cynthia Citron VENTURA, California– It’s well worth the trip to the Rubicon Theatre, believe me. Tom Dugan is absolutely brilliant as the Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal. And completely Standing Ovation-worthy. Dugan’s one-man show is set in a replica of Wiesenthal’s office at the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna on the day of his retirement. As

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Cynthia Citron

Remembering Gunther Plaut

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –Had the Nazis not come to power in his native Germany, W. Gunther Plaut would have become a judge. But being barred from pursuing a legal career because he was a Jew, he dedicated himself to serving God and his people. That brought him to the Hebrew Union College in

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Jewish Religion

Feb 19 calendar postings

SAN DIEGO — Numerous press releases cross our desk concerning upcoming events in the Jewish community. As we get them, we’ll pass them onto you so you can add them to your personal calendars. POETRY CONCERT– Poet Jerome Rothenberg teams up with Yale Strom’s sextet to present a free concert,  “The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising,” commemorating

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Travel and Food

Spinoza’s trial and excommunication subject of new play

By Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — A few days ago, the West Coast premiere of a play by David Ives demonstrated that that imposition of certain religious convictions on the differing beliefs of another person has been going on seemingly forever. Ives’ play is called New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza at Talmud Torah

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Cynthia Citron

Is El Al security particularly hostile to Arab passengers?

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –Not being one of them, I find it often quite uncomfortable to walk in ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods inIsrael, e.g., Meah Shearim in Jerusalem, especially in the company of women. And when I read the notices and the graffiti on the walls, I become depressed by their often hysterical anti-Israel tone. It’s

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Middle East