Leaders of other religions should not tolerate burning of Quran

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel   CHULA VISTA, California–The German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) once wrote, “Those who begin by burning books will end by burning people.” Heine’s admonition certainly became a prophetic portent in the days of the Holocaust. However, his words are no less an admonition for the future we are now—once

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

‘El Joint’ serves the Jewish community of Cuba

By Raquel Benguiat SAN DIEGO –Participating in Shabbat services at El Patronato, a beautiful synagogue in Havana, Cuba, was the highlight of my last traveling adventure. My experience included chanting Shabbat prayers among dozens of Jewish locals and visitors, weaving in sections in Spanish sparkled with a charming Cuban accent. The services were led by

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San Diego County

‘Little Women, The Broadway Musical’ a farewell valentine from Kathy Brombacher

By Carol Davis VISTA, California–When Kathy Brombacher retires this year she will have been at the helm of Moonlight Stage Productions for seventeen years having produced over 200 shows. In other words, she has been there from the beginning. She has been a pioneer for the arts in the North County. It was she who

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

Artist Breceda and philanthropist Avery team up for history, fantasy and joy of sculpture in Borrego Springs

-First in a series- By Donald H. Harrison BORREGO SPRINGS, California –Diana Lindsay’s excellent illustrated book Ricardo Breceda: Accidental Artist prepared my wife Nancy and me to see the amazing giant sculptures of prehistoric and imaginary animals standing, feeding, nursing, or fighting in vast private stretches of land  owned by Dennis Avery,  heir to the

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Donald H. Harrison

U.S. need for ‘hard evidence’ on Iran is political nonsense

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSAELM — The latest nonsense to come out of the summit of American government is that there is “no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb.” By some reports, American analysts are talking about “absolute certainty” as a standard for concluding that Iran is intent on nuclear weapons.

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Ira Sharkansky, USA

Rubenstein’s biography of Trotsky is informative and balanced

Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary’s Life by Joseph Rubenstein. Yale University Press, 2011, 225pp. By David Strom SAN DIEGO — In his book, A Revolutionary’s Life, Joseph Rubenstein wrote a well-researched biography of Leon Trotsky that is neither a fawning nor a completely derogatory view of this twentieth century revolutionary. His book is rich in detail

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Travel and Food

Israel Film Festival to honor Jonah Hill, screen over 30 films

HOLLYWOOD (Press Release)–Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill will be honored with the 2012 IFF Achievement in Film Award at the 26th Awards Gala of the Israel Film Festival taking place on Thursday, March 15 at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California.  Restoration, which was directed by Yossi Madmoni, will have its Los Angeles premiere as the

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Travel and Food

‘The Grey’ is an irresponsible attack on wolves

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Liam Neeson has always been one of my favorite actors in Hollywood. His films have often been stimulating, entertaining, and often contemplative. His latest film, The Grey, disturbs me for many reasons. It is surprising to see Hollywood produce a movie that portrays

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Commentary: Filner chooses lives of pigs over those of Marines

By Bruce Kesler ENCINITAS, California –Congressman Bob Filner, together with PETA, wants to replace with simulators military Corpsmen’s “live tissue trauma training” on pigs. Filner’s proposal is a “pig in a poke”, experience and science does not support his drastic change in military training. But, Filner is running for mayor of San Diego and this

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Travel and Food

Free speech vs. religious sensibility at issue in Pennsylvania case

  By Rabbi Michael Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Last Halloween, two atheists decided to poke some adolescent fun at the expense of Catholicism and Islam. One person dressed up as “Zombie Pope” and the other dressed up as “Zombie Mohammed.” Their behavior was outrageous. This is what happened afterwards. A Muslim man named Talaag Elbayomy

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA

Israel, U.S. must find common ground on Iran’s nuclear threat

By James Colbert WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel, the United States, and Europe share grave concern over the Iranian theocracy’s politics and its serial use of violence in pursuit of its goals. The Islamic Republic formally declared war on the west and is the major state sponsor, funder, and trainer of terrorism, including plotting terror in

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Middle East

‘In the Wake’ or The Girl Who Wants It All

By Carol Davis        SAN DIEGO—Lisa Kron is a political animal. I can identify with that. When her leading character, Ellen, smartly played by Aubrey Saverino, is glued to CNN and/or MSNBC to catch all the political talking heads speaking her language, I get it. And it becomes abundantly clear, as the projections of the still

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