In Meeting with German President, Bennett Emphasizes New Government’s ‘Different Voices’

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Jerusalem. The two leaders first had a private meeting and then participated in a wider forum. President Steinmeier congratulated Prime Minister Bennett on forming Israel’s new government and said that he was pleased it was established. Prime

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International, Middle East

U.S. Supreme Court gives states more leeway to restrict voting

Published by Reuters By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier for states to enact voting restrictions, endorsing Republican-backed measures in Arizona that a lower court had decided disproportionately burdened Black, Latino and Native American voters and handing a defeat to Democrats who had challenged the policies. The 6-3 ruling,

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USA

Conservative Media’s Echo Chamber Sees All America as ‘Woke’

By Chris Jennewein SAN DIEGO — Are you terrified by “critical race theory.” Is America on the verge of “socialism.” Is “The Squad” ready to take over? Is everyone around you “woke” and hiding the truth about the “lab leak” origin of coronavirus? If so, you’re likely lost in the echo chamber of conservative media,

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Chris Jennewein, USA

Biden in Florida to comfort families as search at collapse site paused over safety concerns

Published by Reuters By Katanga Johnson and Steve Holland SURFSIDE, Fla. (Reuters) – President Joe Biden visited Florida on Thursday to comfort the families of those killed and missing in last week’s condominium collapse, as the search-and-rescue operation was temporarily suspended due to concerns about the stability of the remaining structure. Biden, whose personal experience

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USA

‘The Princess Bride’ Was a Jewish Fantasy Film

While the sixties saw a boom in Jewish culture (the Fiddler and Yentl movies, the Anne Frank play, Woody Allen, Barbara Streisand, etc.) the tradition of covertly Jewish characters continued for decades more. And that brings us to The Princess Bride. Blond, British Wesley and his peasant-to-princess Buttercup read as goyish. They’re the heroes, fighting the spoiled prince who won’t let them fall in love. However, basically every other character reads as a European ethnic minority –if not Jewish then honorary mishpucha. [Valerie Estelle Frankel]

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Miss Nevada USA becomes first openly transgender woman to receive title

Published by NJ.com Kataluna Enriquez made history Sunday when she became the first openly transgender woman to be crowned Miss Nevada USA. Enriquez defeated 21 other contestants to win the title of Miss Nevada USA. By winning the title, Enriquez has become the first openly transgender woman to win a competition in Miss Nevada USA

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USA

Haftorah Reading for July 3, 2021

This extract, more prose than verse, from the opening chapters of Jeremiah’s book (52 chapters), was selected by the rabbis as the first of Haftorahs of admonition, to be read during the three shabbatot between the fast of the 17th of Tammuz and that of Tish-a b’Av. The former of these two dates (in 586 BCE) recalls Babylon’s breach of Jerusalem’s wall, the latter the actual destruction of Jerusalem, shortly later in 586 BCE. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

One-of-a-Kind Biography about Author of ‘All-of-a-Kind Family’ Books

When the Association of Jewish Libraries evaluates a book with Jewish content that it finds particularly good, it awards the author its Sydney Taylor Book Award after the author of the All-of-a-Kind series of books that introduced a Jewish family, with siblings who dressed alike, to America’s non-Jewish children and to their parents.  The Jewish series was the first put on the market by a general publisher, thus breaking a barrier in children’s literature. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, USA

An Excellent New Commentary on the Biblical Book Samuel

The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel – Samuel, published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem in 2021, is one of the best Bible commentaries in English. I say this because of its massive, easy-to-read, scholarly material on many far-reaching subjects, contributions by 20 renowned scholars.  I see the value of this book after I used over a hundred such books while writing my own books on the Bible, such as my many volumes on the differences between the Hebrew Bible and its Aramaic translation called Onkelos, and after I have reviewed over 8,100 books, many dealing with the Bible. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Teachers Union Campaign Against Israel Threatens Jewish Students

This campaign run by members of United Teachers Los Angeles campaign signals not just a willingness to foster war but also distresses Jewish students and employees, mocks the very idea of seeking social justice, lies about opposing antisemitism, singles out Israel and distracts from their fundamental role to educate the school district’s 465,000 students. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Motion, Violence are Elements of MMA’s Cézanne Exhibit

The Museum of Modern Art is currently presenting an exhibition devoted to an in-depth review of Paul Cézanne’s drawings. If there is any criticism to be made of this extraordinary show, it is that it is frankly overwhelming: with roughly 280 pencil, ink and gouache drawings and watercolors (and even a handful of oil paintings), there is so much to take in that two or three visits to the exhibition may be required to do it justice. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

If Only She Had Remained in Pre-State Israel

I read this in ebook form as I was told it dealt with Chortkow, the town in Poland (now Ukraine) from which my in-laws came. As I read on I found many similarities between the two stories – both Syma, the heroine of the book, and my in-laws came from a medium-sized town with a large Jewish population, many of whom were assimilated and prosperous. The crux of the story takes place in the port town of Haifa in pre-State Israel, which is also where my in-laws lived. But they fortunately remained there, whereas the heroine of this (real-life) story returned to Chortkow, where the Holocaust caught up with her, leading to her tragic death. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Middle East

Censorship a Hallmark of the ‘Woke’ Society

I must confess. I am a sci-fi fan. One of my favorite films of all time is the Matrix series. People like me cannot help but feel excited that Matrix 4 will soon be coming out. When I first saw a Matrix film, it made me think about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.[1] In my younger years, I wondered whether this world is a simulation–God’s video game, as it were. But now, my appreciation for the film has morphed into something more political. Now I think the Matrix offers a remarkable lesson about today’s political reality. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA