By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) In February, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it had developed what it called an “online hate index” to monitor antisemitism on social-media platforms. The effort was conceived as a way to adequately measure the amount of hate speech being posted on sites like Twitter and Reddit, which the group thinks […]
Should Everyone Be Afraid of Elon Musk Buying Twitter? Read More »
Opinion, USA
By Sam Glaser LOS ANGELES — I love the connection of numbers and Torah. In macro terms, Torah is the blueprint of the universe. What is the secret of six? According to the famous Passover song, Who Knows One?, one is God, two are the tablets, three are the forefathers, four are the matriarchs, five
From PJ Library comes two Passover-related books suitable for reading to children. Meet the Matzah is the kind of silly story that children will giggle over. In this case, different kinds of breads and matzah have been anthropomorphized as students in a classroom where they learn about all kinds of holidays and the breads that are served. For example, one might eat naan during the Hindu festival of Diwali and tortillas on the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos. [Donald H. Harrison]
PJ Library Serves Up Stories About Passover and Mimouna Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East
By Elior Amar (JNS) On one Tuesday night in February, a small group of Jewish students at UC Santa Cruz, where I serve as a shaliach (Israeli emissary) for the Jewish Agency for Israel, logged into the weekly Zoom meeting of the Student Union Assembly to support the adoption of a working definition of antisemitism. The
Parents: Encourage Your Children to Participate in Student Government Read More »
California, Middle East, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
By Yaakov Lappin (JNS) Iran is gradually assembling the building blocks necessary to construct ballistic missiles with very long ranges, an Israeli missile and space expert has said, adding that Islamic Republic’s elite military Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “can reach space.” Iran’s space program uses ballistic-missile technology to launch spy satellites into orbit around
Iran Assembles ‘Building Blocks for Long-Range Ballistic Missiles’ Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
(JNS) Antisemitic fliers blaming Russia’s nearly two-month-long war in Ukraine on Jews were left in front of homes in Beverly Hills, Calif., on the first day of Passover. “Every single aspect of the Ukraine-Russia war is Jewish,” said the flier, which included photos of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It also
Beverly Hills Residents Wake Up to Antisemitic Fliers on First Day of Passover Read More »
California, USA
Almost all arguments about Israel revolve around one or more of the following themes: security, collective identity, freedom, and territory. Authors Gringras and Sterne help us to conceptualize these arguments with a series of analogies. They challenge us to argue, in the classic sense of the word, about right and wrong in the hope that we may learn from each other. Arguments are different from fights; they are mental exercises, not physical, and they are laid out methodically, with each side trying to educate the other using such tools as logic and empathy. [Donald H. Harrison]
Reframing the Arguments in Israel and the Palestinian Authority Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — The Temple Mount is an area a bit less than 40 acres and seen as holy by Muslims, Jews, and Christians. With the confluence this year of Ramadan, Passover, and Easter, it’s the focus of active conflict, especially between extremist Muslims and Jews. Recently there has been conflict, with
The Temple Mount: Small Area, Intense Conflict Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, Opinion
(JNS) More than a thousand people gathered in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on April 15 to celebrate the Passover seder, the largest one to ever take place in the UAE. “Our community continues to grow and prosper here in the UAE, coupled with the renewed flow of Israelis and Jews
Passover in UAE: 1,000 People Take Part in History-Making Seder Read More »
Middle East
By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Jews worldwide celebrated Passover this weekend. Many held family seders, some joined with friends, and others participated in larger events with their synagogues or other Jewish organizations. Some Jews are celebrating the holiday in more luxurious ways, such as at Magical Passover in Orlando, the Luxury Pesach
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Passover Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Preface: Russian Jews revere me, but I worry that their traditional Seder might evoke analogies between the unjustly vilified Pharaoh and my benign leadership. To avert this, I have supplied them with a Haggadah from his perspective to guide their Seders. Seder means order, and they are ordered to
Pharoah’s Seder by Vladimir Putin Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
The International House of Pancakes at the Bay Plaza Shopping Center in National City was built in conformance with the shopping center’s architectural guidelines, rather than in IHOP’s usual configuration. However, it still has a trademark blue roof, and its menu is fairly typical of some 1,500 other establishments in the family restaurant chain created by two Jewish brothers. Al Lapin Jr. and Jerry Lapin started IHOP in 1958 in the tony San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Toluca Lake. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Brothers Al Lapin Jr. and Jerry Lapin Founded IHOP Chain Read More »
Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA
By Heidi Gantwerk SAN DIEGO — Almost 30 years ago, my husband and I moved from New York to San Diego for a quick two-year post-doc. Clearly, our plans changed, and we have made a rich, rewarding life for our family here in San Diego. Through our synagogue, chavurah, the JCC, San Diego Jewish Academy
The Special Relevance of Passover This Year Read More »
Heidi Gantwerk, San Diego County
By Sandi Masori SAN DIEGO — My friend Ami and I went to see Tootsie produced by Broadway San Diego at the San Diego Civic Theatre on Wednesday night. We had both seen the movie starring Jewish actor Dustin Hoffman back in the 1980s, so we really weren’t sure what to expect. How could they adapt
Civic Theatre’s ‘Tootsie’ Proves the Movie Was Worth Adapting Read More »
San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast