By Jerry Klinger BOYNTON BEACH, Florida — My mother was never a pacifist, at least I do not remember her ever having taught me a code of values that suggested so. She never spoke of the right to fight or even worse to kill. Yet she did teach me much about the value of life, […]
The Holocaust lessons my mother taught me Read More »
International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, USA
Police reported on Friday that they had arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection with an attack on Saturday, Oct. 10. in which Rabbi Yonatan Halevy of Kehillat Shaar Hashamayim was clobbered on top of his head by an assailant who then rode off on his bicycle. The 31-year-old rabbi, whose Sephardic congregation is engaged in outreach as part of a Shiviti movement, was knocked down but not seriously hurt. At the time, Halevy was walking on Governor Drive in University City with his father, a stroke victim in his late 60s. The father was not assaulted. [Donald H. Harrison, Our Shtetl San Diego County]
Juvenile arrested for attack on rabbi Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA
Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-California) praise of her Republican colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), followed by a spontaneous show of appreciation, shocked her liberal colleagues by hugging Graham. This would have been a positive note to end the raucous debates we have seen and imbibed since the beginning of the hearings. Yet, we are living in a time when conformity to the Democratic status quo is considered more important than anything else. Surprisingly to most of us, Feinstein stirred a hornets’ nest and many of her fellow Democrats excoriated her for showing a token of civility. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Feinstein demonstrated civility at Barrett’s hearing Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
Adam and Eve were very special souls, created from the earth by the ‘hands’ of the Almighty. They were infused with the Divine Spirit as, ‘G-d blew into his nostrils a living soul,’ and from Adam fashioned Eve. G-d created the first humans in His ‘image,’ which means they were endowed with a G-dly spark to serve as their soul and the great gift of free choice. It is only by virtue of the fact that we have free choice that we are able to refine and uplift the world in a way that nothing else can. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: A New Beginning, Again Read More »
Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
Proposition 21 poses a philosophical question. In these hard times, do we vote to assure that renters will be able to remain in their homes, or do we, in the name of unrestricted capitalism, permit landlords to raise rents so high that their tenants are forced to find cheaper apartments, or in some cases, to become homeless? [Donald H. Harrison]
Yes on Proposition 21: Rachmanis for Renters Read More »
Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA
As an economic recession looms, migrants vulnerable to poverty, facing conflict, displacement, or unsafe working and living conditions require greater economic support as unemployment rises, access to PPEs, and legal assistance.Migrant workers have been at the forefront of the world economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, as essential workers. Yet, at the same time this comes with risk. [Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts]
Migrant workers hard hit worldwide by COVID19 Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
Next week, an online event organized by the human rights group “3 Generations” will feature New York Times op-ed columnist Roger Cohen, who sparked an international furor in 2009 when he visited Iran and announced that the oppressed Jews there were not really so oppressed, after all. Cohen’s assertion that Iranian Jews were “living, working and worshiping in relative tranquility” was met with scorn across the political spectrum. Jeffrey Goldberg, in The Atlantic, called him “credulous.” The Anti-Defamation League charged Cohen with viewing Iran through “dangerous rose-colored lenses.” J.J. Goldberg, in The Forward, characterized Cohen as “simply naive, and dangerously so.” [Rafael Medoff, Ph.D]
A new blow to Iran’s forgotten Jews Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
By Toby Klein Greenwald EFRAT, Israel — In April, the board members of the Alliance for Jewish Theater bit the bullet and decided to morph their annual autumn conference into a three-day Zoom event. Like everyone, they hoped for the best, but were being proactive and not assuming there would be a miracle. Theater makers
Virtual meetings spur Jewish theatre community Read More »
International, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Toby Klein Greenwald, USA
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D PETACH TIKVAH, Israel — On the morning of November 4 in the U.S, some people will smile and some people will cry. Hopefully, the aftermath of the election will not be as contentious as the months leading to it have been, and the president will be able to do his job
Morning in America, Nov. 4, 2020 Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA
By David Ogul SAN DIEGO — My daughter tried her best to talk me out of the trip. My brother thought I was nuts. Friends were somewhere between shocked and amused. But when Major League Baseball decided to conclude an unprecedented season by allowing a limited number of fans to witness the National League Championship
Pandemic, Shmandemic; This is Baseball! Read More »
David Ogul, Lifestyles, Sports & Competitions, USA
By Ira Spector SAN DIEGO — One of the classes I attended in graduate school was Conflict and Resolution. The instructor was the Dean of Men, his name long since forgotten, but what transpired is as fresh in my memory as if it were yesterday. The first night of the course, after we had settled
A class on conflict resolution with no professor Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education
By Marcia Berneger SAN DIEGO — The first book of the Torah begins with the Creation story. This story is read during Simchat Torah, the holiday celebrated last week that marks reading the end of the last book of the Torah and immediately starting over. (See last week’s description of the Creation story.) This week’s
Torah for Children: We Begin Again Read More »
Jewish Religion, Marcia BernegerNo on Proposition 20 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – When you boil it down, Proposition 20 seeks to keep felons in prison longer by changing the rules of parole, and would create a new class of “wobblers” – that is, crimes that could be treated either as a misdemeanor or a felony –
Treatment and diversion programs, not more prisons Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, USA
Compiled by Laurie Baron, Ph.D SAN DIEGO — All times are Pacific Daylight Time. Sunday, October 18 8 am Luca Ascoli, “The Jews of Italy,” Sephardic World. 8 am Yevilah McCoy, “Keynote Address,” Jewish Coalition for Racial Equity Virtual Conference. 8 am Moshe Halbertal and Jonathan Sacks, “Strange New World- Conversations in Times of Crisis- Religious
Streaming Jewish programs (Oct. 18-23) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA