President Trump threatened to bomb Iran’s cultural heritage sites as reprisals for its anticipated revenge attack for Qasem Soleimani’s assassination. Iran considered strikes on Trump golf courses, resorts, and towers as an equivalent response. [Satire by Lawrence Baron, PhD]
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How Iran might respond to cultural destruction Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
StandWithUs, a national organization combating anti-Semitism on American college campuses, has congratulated San Diego State University for blocking a speaking invitation to Ava Muhammad, who is a spokeswoman for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan. [Donald H. Harrison]
SDSU wins plaudits for blocking anti-Semitic speaker Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Besides food, water, sleep, and shelter, there is another crucial ingredient for survival—the need for friendship, for a connection with other humans. This need starts early in life and lasts throughout it. There are at least four stages in our lives with different friendship needs. School years, parenting, empty nesters and old age. Some friends can last a lifetime, however they need to grow with us over the years as our life circumstances change. My best friend from high school still calls me; she is the only one who remembers my parents. [Natasha Josefowitz, PhD]
Friendships: welcome at any age Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz
One of the most remarkable traditions that has developed over the last 97 years is the Daf Yomi (a daily study of a page of the Babylonian Talmud), that was first introduced by R. Meir Shapiro. This Polish rabbi wanted to see more laypeople of the Orthodox Jewish communities engage in the Talmud study cycle that takes seven years to complete provided one studies a full page every day. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Daf Yomi: A page of Talmud each day Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
Effectively a Holocaust “witness” since she was 8, East Coast photo and video journalist Shira Stoll has composed videos and texts to keep the memories of survivors alive. [Joel H. Cohen]
Filmmaker a Holocaust ‘witness’ since she was 8 Read More »
International, Jewish History, Joel H. Cohen, USA
ason Isaacson, the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC’s) chief of policy and political affairs, delivered five strong policy recommendations to members of Congress to combat the epidemic of antisemitism in New York and across the United States. “We all need to send the message that antisemitism in any form is unacceptable, that there is no room in these United States for bigotry or prejudice,” said Isaacson in remarks before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism. Isaacson was invited to brief members of the panel ahead of the subcommittee’s January 15 hearing on Antisemitic Domestic Terrorism and Government’s Response. [American Jewish Committee news release]
AJC offers 5-point plan to combat antsemitism Read More »
USA
Although I rarely go to rummage sales, I love rummaging through the autobiographies of great physicists, not so much for the scientific formulas, which require more math than that possessed by us mere mortals, but for the nuggets of insight or comedy that can be unearthed. [Stan Tiger]
Just what is in a name? Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education, Trivia, Humor & Satire
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan has presented Holocaust Survivor Rose Schindler with an award naming her as a Community Justice Champion. [Donald H. Harrison]
Rose Schindler named a Community Justice Champion Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, USAHistory has a way of repeating itself. In 1962, I was a young boy of nine years old when the Soviet Union decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. It was a scary time at school; I could remember the old “duck and cover” as we rehearsed hiding under our desks and covering our heads just in case of a nuclear attack. The “Duck-and-Cover-Drill” was a plan originally initiated by President Harry S. Truman in the 1950s. Nobody really believed the duck-and-cover exercise would help, but it did offer a modicum of psychological comfort, which was better than no comfort. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
Iran confrontation like Cuban Missile Crisis Read More »
International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USA
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has notified StandWithUs and Zachor Legal Institute on January 3rd that it has accepted each of their respective complaints alleging that UCLA violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) and has opened the matters for full investigation on the merits. StandWithUs and Zachor Legal Institute both alleged that the UCLA administration repeatedly failed to prevent a hostile campus environment for its Jewish campus community in direct violation of the school’s Title VI obligations. [Press Release from StandWithUs]
Office of Civil Rights to investigate bias at UCLA Read More »
Travel and Food
Lorraine Fisher, Jan Gist, and Joel Guadarrama will be the three local writers featured at the second evening of the current series of Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices. The free program will take place in the Astor Judaica Library, Lawrence Family JCC at 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 21. The first of the series, last December 17, featured poets Lucy Lehman, Adam Greenfield and Anna Abraham Gasaway. Their poetry was spellbinding. Below are samples of their talent. [Eileen Wingard]
Jewish poets reflect on their parents Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, San Diego County
Zvi Weiss, former Head of School at the Yavneh Day School in Los Gatos, California, will succeed the retiring Chaim Heller as Head of School at the San Diego Jewish Academy, it was announced by Heidi Gantwerk, SDJA board chair. [Donald H. Harrison]
Weiss named SDJA’s new Head of School Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Shor M. Masori, USA
From the outset, Grafton Thomas’s mother and attorney harped on his 20-year history of mental illness. They said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia long ago and ceased taking his anti-psychotic medication two months before he allegedly drove to a Chanukah party at a rabbi’s house in Monsey, N.Y., on Dec. 28, and wounded five or more Orthodox Jews with a machete. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Insanity defense for anti-Semites is itself insane Read More »
Bruce Ticker, USA
Amid the angst, anticipation and anxieties felt by an awaiting audience in the lobby of the Civic Theatre downtown at the performance I attended of the long awaited national touring production of Dear Evan Hansen, now playing through Jan. 12th; there is a young man on stage, seventeen year old Evan Hansen (Stephen Anthony Christopher) with complex issues that frame his isolated life. [Carol Davis]
Teen loneliness, suicide probed in ‘Dear Evan’ Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast