S.D. Jewish Men’s Choir To Debut Album Dec. 6

Talent and technology will be put on display at 5 p.m., PST,  Sunday, Dec. 6, when the San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir posts on line its ten-track legacy album featuring songs in Ladino, Hebrew and Yiddish.  The free concert, accompanied by a Power Point presentation, will be carried on the choir’s Facebook page, which may be accessed via this website. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Mapping the Bible, Correcting Misconceptions

The book Places in the Parasha is a very good book, with chapters for each of the more than fifty Torah readings in synagogues on the Shabbat as well as the special readings on holidays. It identifies the location of places mentioned in the portions and gives us information about these places. As a result, we learn more about what the Torah is saying and get a deeper understanding of the events that are mentioned. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Rebuilding lives in a TB Sanitarium

The main theme of ‘The Dark Circle’ is the battle with TB (tuberculosis) of the characters depicted in it, just as the miracle medicine of antibiotics, known then as Streptomycin, is beginning to appear on the world stage, bringing with it the promise of salvation from diseases formerly considered incurable, even fatal. While the wider context of the book is 1950s Britain, with its entrenched class differences, prejudices and post-war restrictions, the immediate environment in which the narrative develops is a custom-built sanatorium intended to cure its inmates, or residents. [Book review by Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & Education

Watershed Moment for the Middle East

Israel’s new agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, new agreements for airline overflights of countries with which Israel has no new peace or economic pacts, a new aviation agreement with Jordan and general Saudi and Egyptian approval have brought what many are calling a “watershed moment.” That “watershed” is the potential splitting of the Arab consensus on “Palestine,” as Arab countries weigh continued rejection of the state of Israel against the realities of life in the Middle East. [Shoshana Bryen]

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Bahrain urges Israel-Palestinian peace in historic Jerusalem meet

Bahrain’s foreign minister called for fresh Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during a landmark meeting Wednesday in Israel with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Pompeo – President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, on a farewell visit to close ally Israel – did not address Israel’s dispute with the Palestinians, who have protested his

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Middle East, USA

US imposes new Iran sanctions ahead of Biden presidency

President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a major Iranian foundation and the country’s intelligence minister, further stepping up pressure before Joe Biden is sworn in.The Treasury Department said it was freezing any US interests of the Foundation of the Oppressed, officially a charitable organization for the poor that has sweeping interests across

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Middle East, USA

Pa. Supreme Court intervenes in Trump effort to disqualify mail ballots filed incorrectly by legal voters

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court moved Wednesday to intervene in an ongoing court fight over challenges filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign to more than 8,300 mail bail ballots in Philadelphia.At the urging of city elections officials, the court’s Democratic majority voted to exercise “King’s Bench” authority over the case, which permits the justices

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USA

San Diego Dems Endorse Montgomery Steppe for City Council President

By a 4-1 margin, members of the San Diego Democratic Central Committee endorsed City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe to serve as the next president of the San Diego City Council, rejecting the candidacy of  her fellow Democrat, Dr. Jennifer Campbell.  Montgomery Steppe represents the 4th Council District, and Campbell represents the 2nd District.

The vote Tuesday night came after Montgomery Steppe was endorsed by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, Councilwoman Vivian Moreno, and outgoing Council President Georgette Gomez, The Voice of San Diego reported. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Jesse Gabriel new chair of Legislative Jewish Caucus

The California Legislative Jewish Caucus announced today that Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) has been elected by members of the caucus to serve as Chair for the 2021-2022 legislative session. Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has been elected Vice Chair. In recent years, the Jewish Caucus has grown into an influential voice in the State Legislature, and will expand to at least 17 legislators following the election of Senators-Elect Josh Newman (D-Diamond Bar) and Josh Becker (D-San Mateo). [California Legislative Jewish Caucus]

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USA

GOP Has Become a Danger to U.S. Democracy

While I cheer Biden’s victory in the presidential election, I lament the state of the union Trump is leaving behind. Sadly, Biden’s victory has not been a repudiation of Trump, as he received more votes than any Republican candidate before him, which shocked millions of Americans. Why? Trump is a creature of our own making. He may be seen as an aberration, but he is not. Unless we pay more attention to the tens of millions who voted for him, among many other despairing Americans, and address their grievances and frustration, a hypocrite just like Trump will rise and feed on the public discontent—another rebel in Trump’s image who appeals to the masses sickened by being ignored, another demagogue who personifies Trump and thrives on hatred, division, and contempt. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Alon Ben-Meir, USA