Drama Depicts a Crisis of Conscience During the Civil War

The four-act play ‘Ben Byutler’ was written in 2014 by Richard Strand and conveyed the moral dilemma a Union lawyer-cum general (Richard Baird) confronted when faced with a fugitive southern slave, Shepard Mallory (Brandon Pierce), who appeared at the Yankee fort “demanding” to see the general. [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

What do we know about Abraham?

Most people think they know a lot about Abraham the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are mistaken. The events recorded about Abraham in scripture are generally if not always obscure. When the Bible does not clarify exactly what is happening, people tend to imagine details and come to think of them as really happening in the Bible. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Arab vs. Arab Homicides Increasing in Israel

Yes, there’s gang violence in Israel, but not nearly on the scale of American gang violence. Violent crime in Israel is predominantly found in Israeli Arab towns and in mixed Arab-Jewish cities. It’s often clan/tribal related, consisting of organized crime disputes and more personal, vengeance attacks. In addition, there’s a continuing problem with so-called honor killings, which are intra-family. (In general, Israel is a very safe place, with women not afraid to walk on city streets at night and children having few limits placed on their play time.) [Steve Kramer]

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Middle East, Steve Kramer

StandWithUs Releases Ethnic Studies ‘Tool Kit’

StandWithUs announces the release of a new Ethnic Studies Tool Kit. This resource is designed to educate the public about how K-12 ethnic studies courses can impact the Jewish community, and offer tools for activism on a state and local school district level across the U.S. The toolkit draws from StandWithUs’ unique experience working with students, partner organizations, and concerned citizens to remove hatred and bias from California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC). With ethnic studies set to become a graduation requirement in California and elsewhere in the coming years, working with school districts has become more important than ever. [StandWithUs]

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Both Parties Harbor Anti-Semites

Both political parties seek to hang onto base voters by tolerating anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry to some degree. Perhaps the right is a more dangerous threat to American Jews, but anti-Semites on the left are holding their own among Democrats. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, for those who brand her an anti-Semite, was even endorsed last year by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the Democratic primary for her congressional seat. [Bruce Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

Documentary Film Traces Life, Works of Yiddish Poet Avrom Sutzkever

Released in 2021, Ver Vet Blaybn? (Who Will Remain?), a documentary that follows one woman’s journey to understand her grandfather, Yiddish poet Avrom Sutzkever, is resonating with audiences and having success on the 2021–2022 film festival circuit, with screenings booked at upcoming festivals around the globe, including next February’s San Diego International Jewish Film Festival. [Yiddish Book Center]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History

Coffee, East and West

One of Jerusalem’s lesser-known gems is the Museum for Islamic Art, a handsome building situated not far from the Jerusalem Theatre complex and the President’s residence. As well as exhibiting a fine array of objects of Islamic art it houses a unique collection of clocks and watches amassed by the late David Solomons. A large part of that collection was stolen from the museum some forty years ago, but by a series of strange events and coincidences was returned to its rightful home about ten years ago. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

San Diego School Board Modifies Resolution Calling for ‘Unbiased’ Materials on Israel

By Jacob Kamaras (JNS) The San Diego Unified School District’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved, though modified, a resolution condemning antisemitism that would have also supported “unbiased and politically neutral” classroom materials pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the approved version of the resolution, the board stated that it “affirms the rights of Jewish

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Jacob Kamaras, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Enrollment in Jewish Day Schools Continues to Increase as Pandemic Lingers

By Faygie Holt (JNS) A Jewish day-school enrollment boost that began during last year’s COVID-19 school shutdowns is continuing, according to a new study from Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools. In the last two years, the report found that Jewish day schools and yeshivahs reported an enrollment increase of 3.7 percent with more than

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA