By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Vince McMahon Jr. of World Wrestling Entertainment announced his retirement last week. This came a month after he resigned as the organization’s chairman and CEO, following allegations that he had paid millions of dollars in hush money to female WWE employees with whom he had sexual encounters. The Jewish […]
Jewish Trivia Quiz: WWE Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — It’s relatively rare for the top lay leader of a Jewish organization with national or continental reach to be based on the West Coast, let alone in San Diego. That makes the leadership trajectory at the JCC Association of North America all the more unique. In late May,
San Diego Finds Itself at the Center of the Jewish Community Center Universe Read More »
Jacob Kamaras, San Diego County, USA
By Liora Berkstein SAN DIEGO — My experience at the Maccabiah Games was unforgettable. I had the extraordinary opportunity to be a part of the iCenter’s Educational Cohort’s “Israel Connect Week,” which took place July 5-12, 2022, the week before the opening ceremonies of the Maccabiah games in Israel held July 12-26. The iCenter focuses
My Week With the Maccabiah Team USA Delegation Read More »
Middle East, Opinion, Sports & Competitions, USA
The Book of Jewish Knowledge, Rabbi Yanki Tauber, ed., The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, Brooklyn, NY, ©2022, ISBN 978-1-63668-012-5 p. 432, plus Appendices, $69.75. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Is it feasible to adequately convey the skills, information, and wisdom acquired by the Jewish people who, after nearly 4,000 years of living in
Surveying the Full Range of Jewish Life Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
By Jerry Klinger Adolph Sutro was the 24th mayor of San Francisco, 1894-1896. He was a Jewish-American immigrant from Germany, a brilliant mining engineer, entrepreneur, real estate developer, art and literary collector. Sutro was a self-made millionaire who made his first fortune in Nevada’s Comstock silver boom, constructing the famed Sutro Tunnel outside Virginia City.
By Laurie Baron The House of Representatives passed the Right to Contraception Act to protect “a person’s ability to access contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.” The text of the bill, however, was considerably abridged from the original
Satire: The Unexpurgated Draft of the Right to Contraception Act Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
A member of the Jewish community, known for his self-deprecating sense of humor, Kolender grew up at the Reform Congregation Beth Israel. However, when it was time for his bar mitzvah, he honored his grandfather’s wishes and had it at Beth Jacob Congregation, which is Orthodox. “The rabbi there was Baruch Stern, and it was the first bar mitzvah for him after the war,” Kolender told me back in 1996 when I profiled him for the now defunct San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage. Rabbi Stern’s children “had been killed in front of him by the Nazis, and he started crying and I started crying, and I’m not sure if we ever did get through the whole thing. It was something I never will forget.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Kolender Was City’s First Jewish Police Chief, County’s First Jewish Sheriff Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA
(JNS) The land of Israel is “the most misunderstood country on earth,” according to Israeli actress, producer, author, and activist, Noa Tishby, who was recently named the Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism & the Delegitimization of Israel by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As one of the nation’s most popular “positively Israel” keynote speakers,
(JNS) Israeli exports are on track to reach an all time record of $165 billion in 2022—a 15 percent increase from 2021. In 2021, Israeli exports hit $143 billion, which itself was a record, according to figures released by Israel’s Foreign Trade Administration and presented by Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivai, Israeli business daily
Israeli Exports on Track to Break Record in 2022 Read More »
Middle East
By Howard Blas (JNS) Some doctors and lawyers of a certain age spend their days working at the office. Others fly to Israel to participate in a Maccabiah martial-arts event—or stay at home counting the days until they recover from a hip transplant and can compete in the 2025 Maccabiah triathlon in three more years—at
Never Too Late (Or Too Old) to Be in the Maccabiah Games Read More »
Middle East, Sports & Competitions, USA
By David Isaac (JNS) Underscoring the warming ties between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Iran on Tuesday. This was the third time since the start of the year that Putin has met with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi. Israel is closely watching the strengthening Russian-Iranian alliance. “We really don’t know what
Israel Watches Warily as Russia, Iran Build Stronger Ties Read More »
International, Middle East
Published by AFP Washington (AFP) – Britain’s spy chief voiced doubt Thursday that a landmark 2015 nuclear accord with Iran can be revived, saying Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remained opposed despite marathon diplomacy with the United States. “If we can get a deal it’s probably the best means still available to constrain the Iranian
UK Spy Chief Doubts Iran Supreme Leader Will Back Nuclear Deal Read More »
Middle East
By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — The musical Witnesses was conceived by Jordan Beck a decade ago, after his reading of Jacob Boas’ book, We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died In the Holocaust. Of the five diarists quoted in the book, Beck was familiar with only one, Anne Frank. He found the
‘Witnesses’ Brings Voices of Teenage Holocaust Victims Back to Life Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Holocaust, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
(JNS) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced on Wednesday that it had unearthed an ancient Jewish ritual bath (mikveh) dating back to the Late Second Temple period, or the first century C.E. The ritual bath was found inside a private village, the University’s statement said, “hewn into the bedrock and featuring a vaulted ceiling with
Ritual Bath Dating to Eve of Second Temple’s Destruction Uncovered Near Temple Mount Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education