Proliferation of Antisemitism Draws Santa Barbara’s Jewish Community Closer Together

By Faygie Holt (JNS) On a windy day last Sunday, more than 200 people gathered in Santa Barbara, Calif., for a “Walk to Remember” commemorating Holocaust victims and to address the importance of condemning antisemitism. That community has seen a fair share of the latter recently. A Jan. 30 University of California, Santa Barbara class […]

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California, Israel, Science, Medicine, & Education

Pink Floyd Feud Erupts Over Antisemitism

Published by Ultimate Classic Rock David Gilmour and Roger Waters are once again feuding. Polly Samson, Gilmour’s novelist wife who has written lyrics for Pink Floyd, recently posted a Tweet in which she called Waters “antisemitic” and a “Putin apologist,” as well as a “lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy megalomaniac.” Gilmour shared his

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International

Omar’s Removal is a Frightful Omen for Israel-Bashers

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — As the competing votes tracked upward on the Congressional scoreboard last Thursday, my memory summoned up a moment more than two decades ago when I spotted an anti-Israel sketch posted on a bulletin board. It featured a message that compared Israel to the civil rights struggles in the South.

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Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA

Light and Obliquity: Edward Hopper at the Whitney Museum

By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — Clement Greenberg once observed that Edward Hopper was a “bad painter. But if he were a better painter, he would, most likely, not be so superior an artist.” “Edward Hopper’s New York,” a major retrospective currently on view at the Whitney Museum, confirms this judgment. There is occasionally a

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

Parashat Yitro: The Importance of ‘Do Not Covet’

Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — In this week’s parasha, Yitro, one of the six portions named for an individual, the Ten Commandments (not suggestions), the Aseret HaDib’rot, are revealed to Moses and to the Israelites in the wilderness. We may learn from this pinnacle experience that the Torah can be learned anywhere, even

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

The Biblical Portion Yitro: Is ‘Ten Commandments’ a Misnomer?

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — As usual, the biblical portion Yitro is named after the first significant word in the portion, the name of Moses’ father-in-law Yitro. His name in English is Jethro with a J. German scholars began to transliterate some, but not all, names that start with the Hebrew

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Digitization of the Papers of Chaim Grade, Inna Hecker Grade Now Publicly Available

NEW YORK (Press Release) – The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the National Library of Israel (NLI) are delighted to announce the completion of the digitization of the Papers of Chaim Grade and Inna Hecker Grade. Making this collection available online will enrich the lives of lovers of Jewish and Yiddish literature throughout the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, USA

Many Jews Receive Mentions in Brief History of 17 US Presidents

Ronald Gruner, who spent his working career as a CEO of three different tech companies (Alliant Computer; Shareholder.com; and Sky.Analytics), is a lay historian deeply interested in economic policy and outcomes.  His book, analyzing the presidencies of the 17 U.S. Presidents from Warren G. Harding to Donald J. Trump, focuses largely on issues like unemployment, interest rates, and inflation.  But along the way he also makes mention of significant geopolitical events that occurred during those presidencies. I will leave it to economists to determine the value of Gruner’s economic analyses.  They are beyond my depth.  What I did take notice of was how often our fellow Jews, and issues of direct relevance to the Jewish community, cropped up in the book.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Israel Offers Humanitarian Aid to Turkey and Syria

Published by DPA Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered humanitarian assistance to Turkey and Syria, announcing the dispatch of search and rescue teams as well as medical teams “in accordance with a request from the Turkish government.” The precise nature of the assistance to Israel’s northern neighbour, with which it remains at war, was

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Middle East

Substantial Opposition and Continued Uncertainties in Israel

By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Israel’s government has an edge in the Knesset, but it’s only four seats. And there is substantial opposition to what its extreme members are proposing to do with the judiciary. One option is for a Knesset majority able to override the Supreme Court’s opposition to a Knesset law or

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Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Opinion, USA

Israel: A Democracy

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — There’s way too much hysteria from the left wing over proposed legislation in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. Where do world leaders like Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron get the chutzpah to lecture Israel’s elected representatives? It’s bad enough that the leaders of Israel’s

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Israel, Opinion, Steve Kramer, USA

‘A God of Our Invention’ Shines Light on Contemporary Political-Religious Agendas

Daniel Kohanski, A God of Our Invention, How Religion Shaped the Western World (Hannacroix, NY: Apocryphile Press, 2023) 285 pages, $26.00 By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California — Daniel Kohanski graduated from Colgate with a degree in philosophy and received an MS in computer science from Rutgers. He spent many years as a computer programmer

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish Religion, Oliver Pollak, USA