SWU presses for Jewish history in Ethnic Studies Curriculum

The stories of Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews who came to the U.S. from the Middle East should be included in the Asian-American section of California’s proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum that goes before the State Board of Education on Thursday, March 18, panelists sponsored by the pro-Israel organization, StandWithUs, said Wednesday. (Donald H. Harrison)

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

The Pentagon Must Stop Using Off-the-Shelf Computers

Staying with commercial off-the-shelf systems (COTS) and the security solutions we have today is a guaranteed loser. No one can deny the appalling security record. Moreover, the public has a right to be outraged that DOD has had huge parts of its programs compromised by hacks. Take for example the F-35 and ask yourself why China has two stealth fighters (the Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang FC-31)? [Stephen D. Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Stephen D. Bryen, USA

Jewish Unity and Antisemitism, Part IV

Once they became a nation by vowing to unite “as one man with one heart,” the people of Israel set out to Canaan. Along the way, they had many internal struggles, as well as struggles with external foes. Their growing egos kept challenging them in new ways and they had to find new tactics to overcome them. However, as it is written in The Book of Zohar (BeShalach, item 252), “Anyone who wages a war in the Torah is rewarded with increased peace in the end.” In other words, the wars that the people of Israel fought were over keeping the vow of complete unity. [Michael Laitman, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion

USD Professor: Food factories May Be Next Source of Pandemic

University of San Diego Prof. Aaron S. Gross, a former president of the Society of Jewish Ethics, on Tuesday cited four reasons why industrialized farming of animals – especially chickens — is likely to be the cause of a future pandemic. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

West Coast Jewish Youth Recite the Poetry Within Them

Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices featured the poetry of young writers from San Diego, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon, last month.  The Internet audience for the Lawrence Family JCC sponsored event consisted of poetry lovers young and old from the entire West Coast. [Eileen Wingard]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Thriller Novel Tells of War, Rogue Operations on Israel-Lebanon Border

In his fourth appearance in a Joel Rosenberg fictional thriller, CIA Agent Marcus Ryker fights valiantly when he and two others making a peaceful inspection tour of the Israeli-Lebanese border are ambushed and captured by a unit of Hezbollah.  The operatives of the Radwan unit don’t know how big a prize Ryker is, thinking at first that he is an Israeli, and finding out belatedly that he is an American.  But, given that he provides them with his alias, they don’t know his real name of why such countries as Russia and Iran have put a big price on his head. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Three major controversies ahead of Israel’s election

What’s worse?

1) The decision of the Israeli Supreme Court, authorizing the conversions to Judaism by Conservative and Reform Rabbis in Israel? 2) The onset of investigations against Israel for war crimes by the International Criminal Court? 3) The opening of Israeli schools in all grades, as well as shopping centers, restaurants, coffee houses, bars, theaters, and halls for weddings and Bar Mitvot, as well as the opening of Israel’s borders to 4,000 per day of returning Israelis and the weakening of what had been screening by a government committee of applicants and allowing the return of some 600 per day? [Ira Sharkansky, PhD]

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International, Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East

Army Resistance to ‘Iron Dome’ Imperils Overseas Bases

The other day and yet again a US forward operating base (shared with the Iraqi Air Force) at Ain al-Asad was hit by rockets.  There was one death (allegedly from a heart attack during the attack) and six injured (5 contractors and 1 US service member).  There was no prior warning and, it appears, the air defenses at the base failed to detect the threat or respond to the incoming missiles. How do we know this?  There is drone video of part of the attack that shows 6 incoming rockets.  There are no interceptor rockets or tracer rounds from the ground trying to knock down the rockets.  Hence, there was no air defense response. The big question is this:  Why didn’t the Pentagon ask Israel to supply Iron Dome systems that could have defeated any rocket, drone, artillery, mortar or cruise missile attack? (Stephen D. Bryen)

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Middle East, Stephen D. Bryen, USA

Thomas Jefferson, Religion, and the Cancel Culture

Often when I hear people wanting to destroy statues of historical figures and burn books of authors who mentioned something they considered wrong, even though these men and women also did good things and are part of our history, I wonder what they would do with the Hebrew Bible if they found out that all the men and women mentioned in the Hebrew Bible arguably did something wrong, such as King David’s adultery. The only totally innocent good man in the Hebrew Bible is Job, and that story according to many rabbis and scholars is just a parable. By pointing out the wrongs, the Torah is telling us that the biblical heroes were humans like us. The Bible does not expect any human to never do wrong. We should learn from these narratives to strive to be as good as we can be. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, USA