Israelis Efraim Gordon and Yehuda Guetta learned too late that they were not safe whether waiting for a bus in the West Bank or visiting relatives in Baltimore. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Terror in Baltimore and the West Bank Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA
Last month there was a brief kerfuffle when a copy of Vice President Kamala Harris’ book for children, Superheroes Are Everywhere, was spotted among materials being handed out to migrant children at the Long Beach Convention Center. There was only one copy that someone had donated, but the New York Post reported that the book was being given to all the children. Subsequently, that newspaper retracted the story, but not before other right-wing media jumped on it including Fox News. [Donald H. Harrison]
What Kamala Harris’ Book Teaches Children Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, USA
Israeli actress Gal Gadot tweeted about the current military crisis between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, “My heart breaks. My country is at war. I worry for my family, my friends. I worry for my people. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on for far too long. Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation, Our neighbors deserve the same. I pray for the victims and their families, I pray for this unimaginable hostility to end, I pray for our leaders to find the solution so we could live side by side in peace. I pray for better days.” In response, Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, criticized her for her comments. What did he say? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Gal Gadot Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Trivia, Humor & Satire
Published by New York Daily News Actor Charles Grodin, whose dry wit and everyman persona led to long-running Hollywood success in films like “The Heartbreak Kid” and the unlikely family movie hit “Beethoven,” died peacefully Tuesday at his Connecticut home. The 86-year-old Grodin died at his Wilton, Connecticut, residence of bone marrow cancer, his family
Scene-stealing actor Charles Grodin, star of ‘Beethoven’ and ‘Midnight Run,’ dead at 86 Read More »
Theatre, Film & Broadcast
In this week’s parasha, Naso, the longest in the Torah, we are introduced to the Birkat Kohanim, the “Priestly Blessing.” We’re all familiar with it. We’ve heard it said, recited it ourselves, and offered it to others, many times: (Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D)
A Deeper Look at Judaism’s Priestly Blessing Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
Published by Reuters By Matt Spetalnick, Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With his muted response to the Gaza conflict, President Joe Biden is largely sticking to a time-worn U.S. playbook despite pressure from progressive Democrats for a tougher line toward Israel and from America’s allies for a more active role to end
Analysis: Biden sticks to Israel-Gaza playbook, irking progressives and allies Read More »
Middle East
Published by AFP Washington (AFP) – The United States on Tuesday sharply criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for what it called “anti-Semitic” remarks amid his denunciations of Israel’s strikes in Gaza. “The United States strongly condemns President Erdogan’s recent anti-Semitic comments regarding the Jewish people and finds them reprehensible,” State Department spokesman Ned Price
US condemns Erdogan ‘anti-Semitic’ remarks Read More »
Middle East
Israel’s battle with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza exceeds one week. It may not end soon. The citizens of Israel most impacted by the daily rocket attacks (3300 and rising) are those who live in the “Gaza envelope,” very close to the Gaza borders, but towns across Israel have also been hit, some many times. Are Israelis physically exhausted, psychologically exhausted, and scared? Yes. Do they want Israel to sign a ceasefire today or tomorrow? No. What Israelis want is a different paradigm in their country, which will lead to a better, more peaceful relationship with the Gazan Arabs. [Steve Kramer]
Responding to the ‘Proportionality’ Argument Against Israel’s Actions in Gaza Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA
I jumped into this book without reading the introduction and believed right through the end that I was reading a well-crafted, highly believable suspense novel. In fact, Daniel Levin had written a memoir about his efforts to find out what had happened to a young man who had disappeared in Syria. He didn’t know the young man, but as a favor to a friend, he had promised to make inquiries. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Proof of Life,’ though a memoir, reads like a suspense novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East
Associated Press (AP) CEO Gary Pruitt penned a complaint against Israel for destroying the office building in which the AP, and other foreign media outlets, were renting space. The building was owned and being used as an operations center by Palestinian Hamas. [Barry Shaw]
An Israeli Response to the Associated Press Read More »
Barry Shaw, Middle East
‘The Rabbi and the Painter,’ a children’s book imagines a fictional friendship between the Mannerist painter Tintoretto and Rabbi Leon of Modena, whose most famous work, Historia de gli riti Hebraici, describing for non-Jews the rites and customs of the Jewish people, was written more than 40 years after Tintoretto’s death.
Children’s Literature: ‘The Rabbi and the Painter’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction
The pandemic, which has taken over three million lives and continues to ravage parts of the world; the rise of Trumpism, culminating in the January 6th attack on the Capitol; the degradation of the environment and the threat posed by anthropogenic climate change; these things, and others, have served to alert many of us that the comfort we take in the notion that what has always been the case one’s whole life will always remain the case is nothing more than a pleasant fiction. Several centuries ago, a Scottish philosopher made a similar observation, and notably took it quite a bit further. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]
The Lasting Significance of David Hume Read More »
Sam Ben-Meir, Science, Medicine, & Education
Lots of missiles coming from Gaza to Israel. Lots of damage in Gaza. And something close to civil war within Israel, with Arab mobs attacking Jews and their property in what had been peaceful settings with two communities; plus Jewish mobs doing the same to Arabs and their property.Overall, leaving aside the actions of the security forces in Gaza, it’s not too different from occasional bursts of racial violence in the US and some European cities. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
Wartime Chaos and Speculation Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Saturday, May 15th was Teacher’s Day in Mexico. Teachers were celebrated all over the country. As a retired teacher, I found it the perfect day to go to Tijuana on a delivery run to a migrant shelter built on a canyon in a poorer neighborhood. My friends, Alba Orr who is retired from Grossmont College and Juan Martin Sajche, a Spanish teacher at Morse High School, and I met at my home at 9 a.m.. We filled two cars up with large bags of stuffed animals, different snacks, mandarins, juice boxes, and school supplies. [Mimi Pollack]
Tikkun Olam: Adventures in Tijuana Read More »
International, Lifestyles, San Diego County