X-Troop: The Jewish-British Secret Weapon of World War II

A new cemetery headstone was placed in the Manchester, U.K. Jewish Cemetery, September 2, 2021.Unveilings at gravesites of new memorial stones are not unusual.  This stone was different.  There was no formal unveiling. The memorial stone was placed in the cemetery by strangers who had nothing to do with the deceased nor had ever known him.  They were separated by great distances and many years from the events of his life and death. But… then again, they were not. [Jerry Klinger]

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Travel and Food

Haftorah Reading for September 25, 2021

Except for an opening prose sentence of introduction, this haftorah is entirely classical ancient Hebrew poetry/song. Nominally, it is David’s closing hymn of victory and thanksgiving to God who had ‘saved’ him from all enemies, particularly Saul. With minor textual variations, the whole hymn is also found in Psalm 18. [1] Historically we don’t know which text came first. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

Good News from Israel (September 19, 2021)

NETANYA, Israel — In the Sept. 19, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include: 
–3 million Israelis have had their Covid antibodies boosted tenfold.
–Israeli surgeons successfully separate twins conjoined by their heads.
–Israel’s first female Muslim IDF Major.
–An Israeli startup converts text into video read by an animated narrator.
–The value of Israel’s trade with Arab states in 2021 is triple that of 2020.
–Israeli pianist wins international record contract.
–The Land of Israel reveals more Jewish history. [Michael Ordman]

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Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

S.D. International Film Festival Features Flics For Every Palate

If you’re a fan of the silver screen, you are in for a treat! Block off your calendars for October 14th through the 24th for the 20th anniversary of the San Diego International Film Festival. This extravaganza of films contains a vast array of genres including narrative films, documentary films and short films. With great sensitivity to the pandemic and public safety the SDIFF is offering many of the films virtually, while other films will be presented all around San Diego’s beautiful and iconic backdrops including Balboa Park, the USS Midway and the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, paying homage to America’s Finest City. [Eva Trieger]

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

San Diego Jewish Community Condemns AFT 1931 Resolution on Israel and Palestine

Jewish Federation of San Diego County strongly condemns the San Diego Community College American Federation of Teachers Guild Local 1931’s “Statement Regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” and we do so with the full support of our valued community partners listed below. We are dismayed to find that the union representing community college and continuing education faculty and other employees in the San Diego Community College District and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District voted in support of this misguided and simplistic statement that has caused sadness, fear, and anger as a result of its false claims and incendiary language. This statement creates an unsafe atmosphere for Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff, and other members of the San Diego and Grossmont Community College Communities. Consider how an anxious Jewish student might feel walking into the classroom of a professor who supported this statement. Consider the situation a Jewish junior member of faculty now finds themselves in with a department chair who supported the statement.  [Jewish Federation of San Diego County]

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Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Shooter at Chabad of Poway Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

John T. Earnest of San Diego pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to a 113-count hate crimes indictment, admitting that he set fire to an Escondido mosque and opened fire in a Poway synagogue because he wanted to kill Muslims and Jews. The religiously- and racially-motivated attacks resulted in the murder of one person and the attempted murders of 53 others. [U.S. Attorney’s Office, San Diego]

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International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

Burlington, Vermont, Grapples with Israel-Palestinian Conflict

Twas two nights before Yom Kippur, when all through Burlington City Hall, a half-mile from Lake Champlain’s eastern shore, many a creature of sorts was stirring…stirring up unrest for Jewish Vermonters, 5,400 miles from the land that inspired a City Council resolution urging “justice and (a) peaceful end to (the) Palestine and Israel conflict.” [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

‘A Boy in Winter’ Brings Privation, Fear, Horror of Holocaust Graphically to Life

A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert; Virago UK, 2020; ISBN: 9781844-089963; 256 pages; £8.99 ($12.37). By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A Boy in Winter appears initially to be an firsthand account, told from the viewpoints of the various individuals involved – both directly and indirectly – in the roundup and murder of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Four detained after threat to German synagogue on Yom Kippur

Published by DPA Investigators in western Germany say they have not discovered any bomb components during searches in connection with a suspected planned attack on the synagogue in Hagen. Four suspects were detained after what authorities described as an extremist threat to attack a synagogue in the western city of Hagen. Electronic devices such as

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International

Jewish New Year Presents New Opportunities for Thousands of Young Adults from US and Worldwide

NEW YORK (Press Release) — On Thursday, September 2, an advertisement in New York City’s Times Square displayed a send-off message to thousands of Masa Israel Journey (“Masa”) Fellows who are starting their long-term, immersive experiences in Israel. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of young adults from around the world have arrived in or are

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Middle East, USA