Jason Ellis of Poway pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to filing a false tax return as part of a years’ long tax-evasion scheme with former Chabad of Poway Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein. [U.S. Attorney news release]
Former Qualcomm Director Pleads Guilty in Chabad of Poway Tax Fraud Scheme Read More »
Travel and Food
Taiwan’s Jewish community announced the expected December opening of an extensive center to serve tourists and locals alike. [JNS.org]
Jewish Community Center Planned for Taiwan Read More »
International, Travel and Food
Published by Reuters LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A Los Angeles judge on Thursday rejected an attempt to throw out three sexual assault charges against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein ahead of his second trial later this year, the City News Service reported. Weinstein, 69, who was convicted of rape at a trial last year in
Harvey Weinstein loses bid to dismiss three LA sex crime charges Read More »
Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Published by AFP Los Angeles (AFP) – Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over its decision to release superhero movie “Black Widow” on streaming at the same time as in theaters, alleging a breach of contract which cost the star millions of dollars. Johansson, one of Hollywood’s biggest and top-paid stars, was entitled to a percentage
Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over ‘Black Widow’ streaming release Read More »
Theatre, Film & Broadcast
“This N….. voted for Joe Biden.” Brazen racism – by using the most despicable racial slur possible – is all we need to know about the low-lives who invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Capitol Rioters Displayed Their Racism Jan. 6 Read More »
Bruce Ticker, USA
Although not a fan of swashbuckling, derring-do literature, I was tempted to buy this book because its subject-matter combined ancient archaeology and the struggle to establish the modern State of Israel. An irresistible combination for me. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Book Review: ‘The Age of Exodus’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
The Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, informed Palestinian Authority senior officials of a rise in the number of Palestinians eligible to work in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday. [JNS.org]
Israel Issues Thousands More Work Permits for Palestinians Read More »
Middle East
Following the floods that recently devastated communities in Western Germany, the Israeli NGO IsraAID sent out a response team to help with relief distribution, clean-up efforts and psychological first aid. [JNS/Israel21C]
Israelis Aid German Flood Victims Read More »
International, Middle East
While one form or another of “Holy Inquisition” ravaged Europe and the Iberian Peninsula for at least two centuries before and after the discovery of the New World, the year 1492 is often considered significant in the Spanish Inquisition as in that year – and in 1502 for Muslims – Catholic King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain issued an ultimatum, El Decreto de la Alhambra (the Alhambra Decree) ordering Jews to convert to Catholicism, or else be expulsed from Castile. [Dorian de Wind]
Is Spain Backtracking on Its Promise of Citizenship for Sephardic Descendants? Read More »
Dorian de Wind, International, Jewish History
It’s a well-worn political observation that “it took a Nixon to go to China,” meaning because President Richard M. Nixon was identified as a staunch conservative, he was trusted to go to mainland China and open a dialogue with that nation’s communist rulers, a dialogue that led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two adversary countries. [Donald H. Harrison]
Former Israel ‘Hawk’ Tells of His Transformation to a ‘Dove’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East
The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, named for the late Jewish abstract expressionist artist, has granted $100,000 to the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park to upgrade its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system as part of the Foundation’s $5.1 million program to address climate change in behalf of the visual arts. [Timken Art Museum news release]
Frankenthaler Foundation Aids Timken Art Gallery’s Environmental Upgrade Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
Delta strain, why is Covid still our bane?
Could it be we will return to a lockdown?
And if I have my shots, can I go maskless inside spots?
Or will there be a mandate in my town? [Laurie Baron, PhD]
Satire: Delta Strain Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
The approximately 4,000 year old Babylonian tale “Gilgamesh” disturbs many religious people who feel threatened by the idea that a story that is very similar to the biblical flood story was written before the story of Noah and the flood. Gilgamesh was composed around 2000 B.C.E. and predates the scriptural version. A Jewish tradition dates the revelation of the Bible to 2448 years after creation, or about 1312 B.C.E. Both stories concern a flood caused by divinities: in the pagan myth by gods and in the Hebrew Bible by God. Both are saved by a boat and by using birds to discover if the flood water receded. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Two floods: Gilgamesh and Noah Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.
This year’s JFest had many unusual highlights. Some events seemed more fitting than others to be part of a Jewish Arts Festival. Although I savored the Hershey Felder offering, Nicholas, Anna, and Sergei –I love Rachmaninoff’s music–( reviewed in the May 19th San Diego Jewish World), I did not understand its place in a Jewish Festival, given that the subjects were all authentic or pretending Russian aristocrats, the class that often helped perpetrate pogroms. [Eileen Wingard]
Is JFest’s Programming Really ‘Jewish’? Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast