Berdichevsky’s Yiddish Stories Collected and Retold in English

Journalist, scholar and author M. Y. Berdichevsky (1865 – 1921) wrote for two different audiences. For the intelligentsia he wrote in Hebrew and German; for unsophisticated Eastern European Jews, he chose Yiddish, the language of the shtetl, small towns comprised mostly of Jews. Raised in Medzhibozh, western Ukraine, by his Hasidic father, the town’s rabbi, he spent his youth immersed in Judaism, but also began reading books produced in the Haskalah, Jewish Enlightenment, whose goals included preservation of Jewish heritage, revival of Hebrew, and integrating Jews into the ambient secular culture. [Fred R. Reiss, Ed.D]

Berdichevsky’s Yiddish Stories Collected and Retold in English Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, International

ADL Joins Civil Suit Against Proud Boys, Oath Keepers

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) joined with D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, States United Democracy Center, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Dechert LLP on Tuesday in filing a federal lawsuit to hold two violent groups accountable for the role they played in planning and carrying out the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. [Anti-Defamation League]

ADL Joins Civil Suit Against Proud Boys, Oath Keepers Read More »

USA

Brandeis Center Contests Duke University’s Non-Recognition of Pro-Israel Group

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law on Tuesday called on President Vincent Price to formally recognize the Duke chapter of Students Supporting Israel.  According to the Brandeis Center, formal recognition is the “only way to ensure the University’s compliance” with federal law.[Louis D. Brandeis Center]

Brandeis Center Contests Duke University’s Non-Recognition of Pro-Israel Group Read More »

Travel and Food

Autism is Frequently Misdiagnosed, Israeli Psychologist Asserts

Dr. Shoshana Levin Fox has authored a book that will hold you spellbound. Section I is titled “Children.” These first eight chapters are the stories of Jack, Sasha, Annie and others (all the children’s names used are pseudonyms) – children who came into the Feuerstein Institute after having been diagnosed as autistic. They exited with new hope, not only for themselves, but for their parents, who were usually devastated by their children’s diagnoses and needed their own emotional propping up. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

Autism is Frequently Misdiagnosed, Israeli Psychologist Asserts Read More »

Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Toby Klein Greenwald

Elon Musk wants to take a ‘futuristic Noah’s ark’ to Mars

Published by BANG Showbiz English Elon Musk wants to bring animals and humans to Mars “like a futuristic Noah’s ark”. The 50-year-old billionaire entrepreneur’s dream is to reach the Red Planet via spacecraft and ultimately create an intergalactic “self-sustaining city”. In order to fulfil his vision, Musk believes he needs to bring animals into outer

Elon Musk wants to take a ‘futuristic Noah’s ark’ to Mars Read More »

Travel and Food

Autonomy and the Moral Obligation to Get Vaccinated

To date, nearly two hundred million Americans – just over 60 percent of the population – have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Recent reports indicate that unvaccinated adults are more than three times as likely to lean Republican. In other words, for every unvaccinated Democrat there are roughly three unvaccinated Republicans. An important question then not only for bioethicists but for all of us is whether there exists a moral obligation to vaccinate. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

Autonomy and the Moral Obligation to Get Vaccinated Read More »

Lifestyles, Sam Ben-Meir, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

New friends – UAE de facto ruler, Israel’s Bennett in “historic” meeting

Published by Reuters ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan hosted Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday in the first-ever public meeting between the United Arab Emirates’ de facto ruler and an Israeli leader. Israel’s ambassador to Abu Dhabi, speaking ahead of the meeting, said the issue of

New friends – UAE de facto ruler, Israel’s Bennett in “historic” meeting Read More »

Middle East

Yale Strom’s Search for Jewish Music throughout Eastern Europe

In retrospect, ethnomusicologist Yale Strom probably owes a thank you to the local klezmer band members who turned down his request to play violin with them.  That rejection prompted him to decide to form his own band.  However, he resolved that before doing that, he ought to search for material that other klezmer musicians weren’t playing. [Donald H. Harrison]

Yale Strom’s Search for Jewish Music throughout Eastern Europe Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Travel and Food

A Feel-Good Black Family Christmas Story

With Chanukah just in the rearview mirror and Christmas and Kwanzaa on the horizon, New Village Arts has gifted us with one beautiful story about family, connection, and love. 1222 Oceanfront  A Black Family Christmas proves that regardless of ethnicity or faith we are all part of a family and all of the plusses and minuses that attend that structure. This sensitively written and supremely acted show is one of New Village Arts finest offerings to date.  [Eva Trieger]

A Feel-Good Black Family Christmas Story Read More »

Eva Trieger, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

A Trip to Tiberias on the Kinneret’s Western Shore

With about 45,000 residents, Tiberias is a relatively small town located on the western side of Lake Kinneret. The lake is one of Israel’s most popular holiday destinations, for tourists and Israelis alike. Named for the Roman Emperor Tiberius, the city is famed for the legendary rabbis who resided there, for its hot springs, and for Tiberias’ colorful lakeside promenade. [Steve Kramer]

A Trip to Tiberias on the Kinneret’s Western Shore Read More »

Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food