Neither the British government nor the leaders of Germany and France wish to join Netanyahu’s bid to stay in power. That’s how I see the news that has just reached us in Israel. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]
European leaders give cold shoulder to Netanyahu Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
[A]n Israeli startup named REE has brought its own ingenuity to auto design. What is the unique feature of the automobile they are developing? [humor column by Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish trivia quiz: Israeli cars Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
rom December 5-8 at The Diplomat Resort & Hotel in South Florida, the 2019 Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit will bring together nearly 4,000 attendees from around the world for critical dialogue and inspiring sessions as part of an event that shapes the Jewish communal conversation. [Press Release]
A ‘living bridge’ between U.S. and Israel Read More »
Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, USA
Everyone needs a vacation, even people who run daily websites. Accordingly, my wife and co-publisher, Nancy Harrison, and I plan to take a three-week breather from this exciting and enjoyable task of putting out San Diego Jewish World. We will suspend publication after our report is filed on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, and will resume publication on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. [Donald H. Harrison]
San Diego Jewish World to vacation Dec. 19-Jan 8 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County
In response to my recent article on Noah’s Flood, reader Turk Hill wrote with a question that I answered. Dear Rabbi Drazin, After the flood, Genesis recounts G-d in a state of regret, “His heart was saddened.” This has caused some scholars to ask the question, “Does G-d regret?” Certainly, G-d is all-knowing and knew the future. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Can God regret? Is God all-knowing? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
[BDS advocates] have persuaded the European Union to introduce a labeling policy on Jewish produced products and services from Judea and Samaria in Israel, frequently called “the West Bank,” and in diplomatic circles the “disputed territories.” In a unique policy, the EU is insisting that Israeli products emanating from Jewish towns, villages, and industrial areas in these areas can no longer be labeled “Made in Israel” but must be designated some other description. [Barry Shaw]
EU’s Blatant Anti-Semitism Read More »
Barry Shaw, International, Jewish History, Middle EastBack in the days when I was the politics writer for The San Diego Union (1972-80), things were a lot different. Campaigns were delighted if supporters would put up yard signs, or ruin their car bumpers with political stickers. They were only too happy to give such materials to you, and while they were at it, give you even more for your friends and neighbors too. [Donald H. Harrison]
Now candidates want to sell campaign giveaways Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA
Undeterred and full of confidence, I’ve launched the first-ever ”cli-fi movies initiative” to try to get the “cli-fi” term into the ears, eyes and minds of major Hollywood players in the 2020s. My long-term goal: to make cli-fi a genre term that everyone in Hollywood knows by the year 2030. [Dan Bloom]
Activist pushes Hollywood to adopt cli-fi genre Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
One is reminded of the saying “to save life is to save a world” when viewing the family tree of Sa’adi Besalel Ashkenazi a-Levi (1820-1903), who was a publisher during the 19th century in the Ottoman empire city of Salonica, known today as the Greek city of Thessaloniki. He has over 100 descendants spread across nine countries, and that doesn’t count spouses of the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so forth. [Donald H. Harrison]
Sephardic family spread over nine countries Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History
It’s been said that the hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. Chinese wisdom teaches, “When you drink from the stream remember the spring.” Research has shown that people who regularly practiced grateful thinking were more than 25 percent happier, slept better, suffered lower levels of stress and even spent more time exercising. People sure like to complain. According to one recent author, Prof. Richard Emmons, who wrote a book on Gratefulness, “Preliminary findings suggest that those who regularly practice grateful thinking do reap emotional, physical, and interpersonal benefits. […] Grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and optimism […] The practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed, and bitterness.” [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
After Thanksgiving it’s still time to be thankful Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
While his critics have often characterized President Trump as a “divider,’ recent glorification by admirers may have changed the description to ‘uniter.’ But not necessarily the way he might prefer. [Satire by Joel H. Cohen]
His admirers believe God chose Trump Read More »
Joel H. Cohen, Trivia, Humor & Satire
Humans have always been storytellers, whether around a firepit in some jungle or around a fireplace in an urban apartment, the children and grandchildren listen to the stories. They learn the sagas of their parents, their grandparents, and their grandparents’ grandparents, who became Indian chiefs or generals or were jailed and escaped or who started a business or a university. [Natasha Josefowitz, PhD]
Connecting to ancestors and descendants Read More »
Jewish History, Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz
The idea of the barren woman caught my attention, as it occurs numerous times in the Tanakh. I checked the internet for how the issue was handled by others in former times. There is much on the topic, actually universally throughout history, and often in an unkind way toward the woman who doesn’t conceive. Commonly she was considered to have sinned. In the Fertile Crescent, because of its fertile land, there was a large focus also on the fertility of animals and women. A near complete absence of true scientific knowledge prevailed. Pregnancy was attributed to a gift from the gods, and its absence a punishment by gods. [By Irv Jacobs,MD]
Religious misconceptions about women’s infertility Read More »
International, Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
There will be an emphasis on Holocaust education in December and January. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum of Washington D.C. puts on a presentation Dec. 5 at Congregation Beth El about the experience of deaf people under the Nazis. The main Chula Vista Library prepares for an exhibition that begins Jan. 12 on Survivors who immigrated to the South Bay. [Donald H. Harrison]
Holocaust education planned throughout county Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast