S.D. International Film Festival Features Flics For Every Palate

If you’re a fan of the silver screen, you are in for a treat! Block off your calendars for October 14th through the 24th for the 20th anniversary of the San Diego International Film Festival. This extravaganza of films contains a vast array of genres including narrative films, documentary films and short films. With great sensitivity to the pandemic and public safety the SDIFF is offering many of the films virtually, while other films will be presented all around San Diego’s beautiful and iconic backdrops including Balboa Park, the USS Midway and the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, paying homage to America’s Finest City. [Eva Trieger]

S.D. International Film Festival Features Flics For Every Palate Read More »

Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

San Diego Jewish Community Condemns AFT 1931 Resolution on Israel and Palestine

Jewish Federation of San Diego County strongly condemns the San Diego Community College American Federation of Teachers Guild Local 1931’s “Statement Regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” and we do so with the full support of our valued community partners listed below. We are dismayed to find that the union representing community college and continuing education faculty and other employees in the San Diego Community College District and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District voted in support of this misguided and simplistic statement that has caused sadness, fear, and anger as a result of its false claims and incendiary language. This statement creates an unsafe atmosphere for Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff, and other members of the San Diego and Grossmont Community College Communities. Consider how an anxious Jewish student might feel walking into the classroom of a professor who supported this statement. Consider the situation a Jewish junior member of faculty now finds themselves in with a department chair who supported the statement.  [Jewish Federation of San Diego County]

San Diego Jewish Community Condemns AFT 1931 Resolution on Israel and Palestine Read More »

Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Shooter at Chabad of Poway Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

John T. Earnest of San Diego pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to a 113-count hate crimes indictment, admitting that he set fire to an Escondido mosque and opened fire in a Poway synagogue because he wanted to kill Muslims and Jews. The religiously- and racially-motivated attacks resulted in the murder of one person and the attempted murders of 53 others. [U.S. Attorney’s Office, San Diego]

Shooter at Chabad of Poway Pleads Guilty in Federal Court Read More »

International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

Burlington, Vermont, Grapples with Israel-Palestinian Conflict

Twas two nights before Yom Kippur, when all through Burlington City Hall, a half-mile from Lake Champlain’s eastern shore, many a creature of sorts was stirring…stirring up unrest for Jewish Vermonters, 5,400 miles from the land that inspired a City Council resolution urging “justice and (a) peaceful end to (the) Palestine and Israel conflict.” [Bruce S. Ticker]

Burlington, Vermont, Grapples with Israel-Palestinian Conflict Read More »

Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

‘A Boy in Winter’ Brings Privation, Fear, Horror of Holocaust Graphically to Life

A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert; Virago UK, 2020; ISBN: 9781844-089963; 256 pages; £8.99 ($12.37). By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A Boy in Winter appears initially to be an firsthand account, told from the viewpoints of the various individuals involved – both directly and indirectly – in the roundup and murder of

‘A Boy in Winter’ Brings Privation, Fear, Horror of Holocaust Graphically to Life Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Four detained after threat to German synagogue on Yom Kippur

Published by DPA Investigators in western Germany say they have not discovered any bomb components during searches in connection with a suspected planned attack on the synagogue in Hagen. Four suspects were detained after what authorities described as an extremist threat to attack a synagogue in the western city of Hagen. Electronic devices such as

Four detained after threat to German synagogue on Yom Kippur Read More »

International

Jewish New Year Presents New Opportunities for Thousands of Young Adults from US and Worldwide

NEW YORK (Press Release) — On Thursday, September 2, an advertisement in New York City’s Times Square displayed a send-off message to thousands of Masa Israel Journey (“Masa”) Fellows who are starting their long-term, immersive experiences in Israel. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of young adults from around the world have arrived in or are

Jewish New Year Presents New Opportunities for Thousands of Young Adults from US and Worldwide Read More »

Middle East, USA

Pope Francis is Wrong: The Laws of the Torah Do Give Life

(JNS) Pope Francis’s recent claim that the Torah “does not give life, it does not offer the fulfillment of the promise” has raised hackles across the Jewish world. This week, Pope Francis sought to alleviate concerns over his comments; according to Cardinal Kurt Koch, who oversees Vatican relations with Jews, the pope made it known

Pope Francis is Wrong: The Laws of the Torah Do Give Life Read More »

Jewish Religion

Most US Teens Experienced Harassment When Gaming Online, ADL Survey Finds

NEW YORK (Press Release) — Sixty percent of children ages 13-17 have experienced harassment while playing games online, according to a first-of-its-kind survey of online gaming experiences released today by the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center for Technology and Society. Despite the significant percentage of young adults who reported experiencing harassment while gaming online within the

Most US Teens Experienced Harassment When Gaming Online, ADL Survey Finds Read More »

USA

Blinken to meet Israel, Arab states as US hails normalization

Published by AFP Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden’s administration will meet Friday with Israeli and Arab leaders to celebrate a normalization accord overseen by Donald Trump one year ago, calling it a step toward peace with the Palestinians. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s virtual meeting with his counterparts from Israel, the United Arab

Blinken to meet Israel, Arab states as US hails normalization Read More »

Middle East

Comparing Events in the Bible with Those in Former Ancient Documents

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — It should surprise no one that there are multiple examples of similar events in the Bible and former ancient documents, such as an early tale of the flood written long before the story of Noah, because as Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun,”

Comparing Events in the Bible with Those in Former Ancient Documents Read More »

Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion