I started reading academia novels in the 1960s with Edward Albee’s tempestuous boozy Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, then the jocular Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis, a hoot, a romp, filled with junior faculty insecurities. [Oliver B. Pollak]
A Jewish Academia Novel Set in 1960 Still Resonates Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Oliver Pollak
By Eliana Rudee (JNS) The Guatemalan president and regional Parliamentarians convened virtually on July 29 to display a united front against antisemitism and celebrate ties with the Jewish state. At the inaugural Central America Forum for Israel, the leaders issued a joint declaration calling for a united stance against surging global antisemitism, including support for
Central America unites in show of solidarity against antisemitism Read More »
International
Published by Reuters By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI (Reuters) -Hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took the oath of office before parliament on Thursday, with the Islamic Republic’s clerical rulers facing growing crises at home and abroad. The mid-ranking Shi’ite cleric formally started his four-year term on Tuesday when supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed his victory
Hardline cleric Raisi sworn in as Iran president amid tensions with West Read More »
Middle East
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — “If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.” — Adlai Stevenson “During the 1948 war,” says letter-writer Bob Holden of Los Angeles, “the Israelis expelled more than half the Palestinian population (some 700,000) and seized their land and businesses
Telling the Truth About the Palestinians Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA
By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — Is your glass half empty, half filled, or as mine is, filled with 6 ounces of water and the rest, air? Yes, “the link is what you think,” and this week’s Torah reading underscores this idea with its words, “See, this day I set before you a
Parashat Re’eh: Finding the Right Sight Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Eva Trieger SOLANA BEACH, California — What a sweet ride! San Diego Rep’s end-of-summer offering, 57 Chevy, provides not only a cruise down Memory Lane, but reveals the immigrant experience of one man’s family as they assimilated to life in the United States. Cris Franco and co-writer Valerie Dunlap’s story vrooms to life in this one-man
San Diego Rep’s ‘57 Chevy:’ A True Celebration of Immigration Read More »
Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
(JNS) A new report by the Center to Counter Digital Hate (CCDH) revealed that five major social media companies failed to act upon 84 percent of antisemitic posts on their websites, despite promising to double down on antisemitism. Researchers from the non-governmental organization examined 714 racist anti-Jewish posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok that
New report slams social media giants for ‘failing to act on antisemitism’ Read More »
International
By Josh Hasten (JNS) Three Israeli documentary filmmakers arrived home safely from Nigeria at the end of last week, after what they described as 20 “hellish days” detained under inhumane conditions by the government’s Department of State Services (DSS) security agency. Rudy Rochman, David Benaym and Noam Leibman had set off for the African country
How three Israeli filmmakers wound up becoming the story in Africa Read More »
Middle East
Torah reading is Re’eh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17); Haftorah reading is Isaiah 54:11-55:5 By Irv Jacobs, M.D. LA JOLLA, California — These simplistic short poetic passages extracted from Isaiah II (c. 538-530 BCE) comprise the third haftorah of consolation, leading up to the Sabbath before Yom Kippur. It has no connection to the corresponding Torah parsha. The
Haftorah Reading for August 7, 2021 Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — When it came to planning my family’s summer vacation this year, the process could be summed up by a Yiddish proverb: Der mentsh trakht un Got lakht. Man plans and God laughs. Initially scheduled to depart for Hawaii on August 24, we later realized that we booked that
Published by Reuters By Dave Graham and Laura Gottesdiener MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico sued several gun makers in a U.S. federal court on Wednesday, accusing them of negligent business practices that generated illegal arms trafficking which led to deaths in Mexico. The lawsuit alleges that units of Smith & Wesson; Barrett Firearms; Colt’s Manufacturing
Mexico seeks $10 billion in damages from gun makers in U.S. lawsuit Read More »
USA
Published by DPA Israel warned on Wednesday that its arch-enemy Iran is weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade nuclear material. “Iran has violated all of the guidelines set in the JCPOA and is only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon,” Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said, using the acronym
Israel: Iran weeks away from weapons-grade nuclear material Read More »
Middle East
Israeli artillery units shelled targets in Lebanon on Wednesday, after three rockets were fired at northern Israel from across the border, according to the Israel Defense Forces. [jns.org]
Israel Returns Fire From Lebanon Read More »
Middle East
Israel’s ministerial committee approved new restrictions on fighting the spread of COVID-19, announced the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday. They are set to be instituted on Aug. 8 as a result of the uptick in Delta-variant infection rates in the country, according to the PMO. [jns.org]
Israel Adopts Tighter Rules in Response to COVID-19 Resurgence Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food