By Ben Cohen (JNS) “BDS appears here as contemporary art’s foil. BDS undermines contemporaneity’s claims of autonomy and emancipatory effects, fixes its meanings in ways that might make artists bristle, and leaves it only with refusal: either refuse to be a perpetrator or refuse the request made by Palestinian civil society. At this juncture, the latter […]
BDS Versus Modern Art Read More »
International, Israel, Opinion
By Sarah Ogince (JNS) The lights are kindled, the shamash is returned to its place and the family breaks into song: It is a rousing, march-like melody that is the aural equivalent of the menorah’s light—energy, joy and hope in the depth of winter, a promise of rebirth. It’s a familiar, comforting scene, repeated in
Everyone Knows ‘Ma’oz Tzur,’ Except They Don’t Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
By Jordan Cope (JNS) The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has arguably become the most controversial to date, raising widespread indignation over myriad issues concerning its host, including Qatar’s decision to ban beer from stadiums and its mistreatment of the press, the LGBTQ+ community and migrant workers, 6,500 of whom have died since Qatar was
Blowing the Whistle on FIFA’s Systemic Antisemitism Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Sports & Competitions
By Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D. RICHMOND, California — Hanukkah is virtually here. You have no cards. Oy vey. Think creatively. Repurpose and recycle those New Year and Passover greeting cards you got as donation inducements from the myriad of worthy Jewish charities. Hanukkah is after all a holiday when you make do with what you
Making Cards for Jewish Holidays — Hanukkah Cards a la Carte Read More »
Jewish Religion, Oliver Pollak
Published by Reuters By Nate Raymond (Reuters) – A New York appeals court on Thursday ruled that Yeshiva University must formally recognize an LGBTQ student group, rejecting the Jewish school’s claims that doing so would violate its religious rights and values. The ruling by the Appellate Division in Manhattan marked the latest setback for the
Yeshiva University Must Recognize LGBTQ Club, New York Appeals Court Rules Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
Published by The Mercury News New attention shined on a decades old program at Stanford University this week, when a political writer raised questions about an internship named for a long-dead industrialist who used slave labor to support the Nazi regime and was convicted of war crimes. The Krupp Internship Program at Stanford University allows
Stanford Fields New Questions About Internship Program Named for Nazi War Criminal Read More »
California
Published by DPA Wheelchair users and those who are visually impaired can now access more of the winding streets of the Old City of Jerusalem. After work on a further 6 kilometres of the area, Via Dolorosa, the path Jesus is believed to have taken as he walked to his crucifixion, now is verified as
Jerusalem Gets Accessibility Upgrade Read More »
Israel
My friend Susan Ferraro, who lives in a rural part of Northern California. tells me that since about the age of 7, she had fantasized about becoming a Jew. It started, she said, when she read Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. As children often do, she imagined herself invulnerable; death being something that unfortunately happened to other people. If she had been born Jewish, and living at that time, she could have prevented those Nazis from hurting Anne and her family and those hidden with them in the secret annex. [Donald H. Harrison]
Postwar Encounters with the Holocaust Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Sesame Place San Diego, the only theme park on the West Coast based entirely on the award-winning show Sesame Street, is hosting a Hanukkah Celebration on Monday, December 19. The holiday daytime fun includes a menorah candle lighting ceremony led by local Rabbi Daniel Reich, a festive dance party with
(JNS) After arriving from France, 2-year-old Mademoiselle is acclimating to her new home before meeting her planned mate, Coresh. Staff at the Ramat Gan Safari, near Tel Aviv, had asked the public for suggestions for a name for the 2-year-old Persian leopard. She was previously in the Beauval Zoo in France’s Loire Valley, Ynet reported.
To Save a Species, Persian Leopard Moves to Israel Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
(JNS) The Office of Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Education (OCR) has launched a formal investigation into UC Berkeley Law School over a controversial anti-Zionist bylaw adopted by some of its student groups in August. The investigation comes in response to a Nov. 18 complaint filed by Gabriel Groisman, a Florida-based attorney and
Office of Civil Rights Opens Investigation Into UC Berkeley Law for Anti-Zionism Read More »
California, Israel, USA
Published by Radar Online Vladimir Putin’s troops were caught scrawling propaganda echoing the Russian leader’s false claims he is freeing Ukraine from Nazis, RadarOnline.com has learned. The shocking development was found this week when a Ukrainian satellite recorded images left behind by Putin’s forces in a recently liberated air base. “Death to the Nazis” read
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Winter has been reluctant to arrive here in Israel, and as I write this in mid-December we can enjoy the balmy sunshine (and not having to heat our homes), though our fields and gardens yearn for rain. However, the silver lining to the lack of clouds is that
A Kind of Coexistence Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Lifestyles, Opinion
By Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D. RICHMOND, California — COVID has changed how we mourn. Attending funerals in temples, synagogues, and decamping to the cemetery were often followed by a meal of consolation and sitting shiva. Out of town family labored to attend. Minyan and yahrzeit mark the calendar. COVID made zooming and streaming funerals commonplace
Daily Life, Obituaries and Last Rites in the Age of COVID Read More »
Lifestyles, Oliver Pollak