Bringing to Life, Through the Arts, the Victims of the Holocaust

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — We Are the Tree of Life (WATTOL) founder and director, Jackie Gmach, is adept at recognizing talent and recruiting them to participate in her initiative. In Israeli-born dancer and circus performer, Tammuz Dubnov, Gmach struck gold. Dubnov is not only young, handsome and talented, but he is committed to

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Eileen Wingard, Holocaust, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Mar-a-Lago

By Laurie Baron (Melody: Oklahoma) Mar-a-Lago, where the lackies come to kiss Trump’s ring Where secrets are stored since he likes to hoard Believing that he owns everything. Mar-a-Lago, where agents confiscated files. And he felt maligned since in his mind They’re declassified, no grounds for a trial. We know they belong to the land,

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire

The Syrian-Born Jew Who Built a Banking Empire

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — I received a pre-publication copy for review of A Banker’s Journey: How Edmond J. Safra Built a Global Financial Empire, by Daniel Gross, from the publisher’s representative. It’s a fascinating look at both Sephardic Jews and the banking industry. “Rather than a biography of a single man this

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

Yom Kippur is not a Biblical Holiday

As with Rosh Hashanah, Orthodox Jews like me recognize that Yom Kippur is not mentioned in the Bible. It replaces another day known as Yom Hakippurim, mentioned in the Bible in Leviticus 16:29–31, 23:27–32, and Numbers 29:7–11. Orthodox Jews follow the Oral Law, the ways that the rabbis interpreted the Torah. This can be called Rabbinical Judaism in contrast to Biblical Judaism. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

The Self-Deceptions of a Drug Addict and Her Enabling Aunt

This memoir is about different kinds of self-deception.  One form is that of a drug addict who keeps telling herself and others that she is on the road to recovery and doesn’t need any 12-step programs or psychological help.  The other is about a well-meaning aunt, who enables her drug-addict niece by pretending not to know that she is still using. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Death Brought This Family Together

Herschel ran out on two marriages and three children.  After being convicted of smuggling marijuana, he fled to Sint Eustatius where he all but disappeared to the outside world, while building a reputation on the Dutch Caribbean Island as a pharmacist and a professor.  This memoir starts with a notice to his son Michael that he has died. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Israel-South Korea Free Trade Agreement Passes Final Hurdle

By David Isaac (JNS) South Korea ratified its free trade agreement with Israel on Tuesday. It’s the first FTA that Israel has signed with an Asian country. The agreement goes into force on Dec. 1. Israel exports about $1.5 billion annually to South Korea and imports $2 billion in goods. “South Korea is the 11th-largest

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International, Israel, Middle East

It’s Just Gold: Having Perspective on Idolatry and Materialism

By Kayla Swartzberg LA JOLLA, California — Take a second to look at the Second Commandment. It reads, “Thou shalt not make idols.” And I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Maybe once, maybe a thousand times. Our great rabbis, scholars, and sages tell us that the Torah is as relevant now as it was during

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion

Congregation Adat Yeshurun Grows Through Spiritual Connection, ‘Cohesive Diversity’

By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — Amid a return to relative normalcy following two-and-a-half years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congregation Adat Yeshurun of La Jolla is growing its community through what Rabbi Daniel Reich calls the “three Fs” — family, friends, and faith. “People are not feeling connected on a spiritual level and to

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Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — A Detroit congresswoman, an Australian student editor, and a sex-abuse survivor from Vermont escape from a sanatorium and regale us with stories confirming their standing as antisemites. The trio has entangled Judaism and Israel, proving once again that from their perspective anti-Zionism is indeed antisemitism. A congresswoman we know

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Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, USA