Byliners

Like Iran, U.S. is arming Lebanon for war against Israel

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The UNIFIL political officer, meeting with the JINSA Flag & General Officer delegation on the Israel-Lebanese border, mentioned a “donors’ conference” in Beirut dealing with the issue of providing arms, funding and training to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).  She mentioned anti-tank missiles.  When asked against whose tanks the […]

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Shoshana Bryen, USA

Lebanese government conspiring with Hezbollah to arm against Israel

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — It could not have been more explicit.    Standing next to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak said if the situation in Lebanon flares into warfare as it did in 2006, Israel would not just blame Hezbollah. “The main responsibility lies with the

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

San Diego County’s Historic Places: Bancroft Ranch House

By Donald H. Harrison   SPRING VALLEY, California—Speculation was popular from the 17th through 19th centuries that Native Americans might have been descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. In this community off State Route 94, there once lived a famous historian who was among those who investigated the Lost Tribe theory and then dismissed it as being

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Donald H. Harrison

Little optimism as Mideast 'peace talks' start anew

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–It is not starting well. One commentator described the talks between Israel and the Palestinians as “beginning on the left foot.” Another called them a “farce.” Several estimated their chances of success as “close to zero,” and attributed their plight to American bumbling. Neither the Israeli Prime Minister nor the Palestinian President

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA

For refugees, policies of host countries make all the difference

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–“Refugees.” That word means many different things to many different people. The readership of the magazine of the Association of Jewish Refugees (the British publication for which I also write)  is loosely defined as having once fallen into that category. By today, however, most of those who once sought refuge from a

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

Tovah Feldshuh, a must see in ‘Golda’s Balcony’

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO—There is something magical about seeing Tovah Feldshuh playing Golda Meir in her one-woman show, Golda’s Balcony by William Gibson now playing at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park through May 30th. From the moment she walks on to the stage, to the time she takes her last of many

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Carol Davis, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Palestinians will be disappointed by hope U.S. or Arab League can deliver Israeli concessions

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The wet dream of the Palestinians is that someone else will solve their problems by forcing Israel to do what is right. They are told time and again by their leaders that it is only they who have suffered, and only they whose claims are just. To their own harm, much of

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA

San Diego County’s Historic Places: California Surf Museum

  By Donald H. Harrison   OCEANSIDE, California – Surf historian Jane Schmauss vividly recalls the day she waited expectantly as the telephone rang at the home of Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, a legendary figure in the development of surfing as a popular sport. “Hello?” responded the voice on the other end. “Hello,” said Schmauss. “Is this

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Donald H. Harrison

San Diego’s Historic Places: San Diego Automotive Museum

  By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—There are many automotive museums around the world, interpreting their missions in a variety of fashions. Some collect, wanting to obtain representative automobiles of every make, nationality, or year. Others love to show the marriages of art and technology, form and function, and marketing and self-perceptions all shaping people’s

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USA

Mideast proximity peace talks to start up again

  By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Here we go again. Maybe. The stage is set for the beginning of indirect talks between Israel and the abbreviated Palestine National Authority (West Bank without Gaza). The Arab League has provided its endorsement. Palestinian leaders carried that decision on the basis of “assurances” received from the Americans. They are warning

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA