Pianist approves predecessor’s piano choice; plays all five Beethoven concerti

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO –Pianist Daniel Wnukowski performed the remarkable fete of playing all five Beethoven Piano Concerti on three consecutive nights with the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO) under the direction of David Amos. Attending the Monday and Tuesday evening concerts in the Cohen Social Hall of Tifereth Israel Synagogue, we were impressed

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Eileen Wingard

ACLU right to challenge U.S. targeting of American citizens overseas

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C — Having to choose between siding with the Obama administration and siding with the ACLU is tough — but the ACLU wins this one. The ACLU sued the CIA for information about the deaths of Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son, and Samir Khan in CIA/JSOC drone strikes in Pakistan. The

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Shoshana Bryen, USA

Latest peace agreement between P.A. and Hamas worrisome for Israel

By Rabbi Dow Marmur  JERUSALEM–On the face of it, the latest agreement between Hamas and Fatah, signed in Qatar by Khaled Mashaal (who left Damascus presumably because of what’s going on in Syria and announced his impending retirement as the leader of Hamas) and Mahmoud Abbas (the President of the Palestinian Authority) could be a

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Middle East

San Diego Jewish Film Festival’s ‘shorts’ program culled from 100 entries

 By Yvonne and Paul Greenberg   SAN DIEGO — Speaking about this year’s Joyce Forum in a recent phone interview, its founder, Joyce Axelrod, proudly pointed out that this year’s shorts program (Shorts in Winter) received a record number of submissions, 100, that almost overwhelmed the all-volunteer curating committee consisting of herself, Claudia and Mark

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Travel and Food

Book probes schism in Lubavitch world over messiah’s identity

Among Righteous Men: A Tale of Vigilantes and Vindication in Hasidic Crown Heights, by Matthew Shaer. John Wiley Press, 2012. 243pp. By David Strom SAN DIEGO — On December 29, 2007, the Crown Heights Shomrim (Hebrew for guards) Rescue Patrol answered a call for help from the Lubavitcher yeshivah student dormitory at 749 Eastern Parkway,

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Jewish Religion

Caucus formed to teach Knesset members about American Jews

 By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Members of the Knesset are discovering America, Jewish America to be precise. Prompted by Jay Ruderman of the Ruderman Family Foundation a dozen or so Israeli parliamentarians came together recently to form the Israel-American Jewish Knesset Caucus. The visit was preceded by a comprehensive US visit by six MKs

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Middle East

San Diego Jewish Film Festival preview: several movies have musical themes

By David Amos SAN DIEGO–We are very fortunate to have in San Diego a yearly film festival on Jewish subjects that never ceases to be interesting, provocative, educational, and entertaining. This year is no exception. Starting February 9 and ending the 19th,  there are many interesting choices available. Due to my various activities in the

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Travel and Food

Normal Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel goes unreported by media

  By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Despite rumors to the contrary, Israel is a normal country at least as far as retail therapy is concerned. Shopping malls are popping up with ever-increasing frequency wherever one looks. They incorporate many advantages for both vendors and shoppers, and the ambience in them varies from quiet

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

For Israel, anti-Iran sanctions far better than attacking

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The website of the British tabloid the Daily Mirror shows a detailed diagram of how Israel would attack Iran using sophisticated fighter planes, drones and missiles from its five ultra-modern submarines. It also predicts when: not later than April. The why is there, too:Iran could make four nuclear bombs within a

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Middle East