Judaism

Nine Who Survived the Holocaust as Children Narrate Their Stories

This is a cross-section of Holocaust stories selected for young readers in cooperation with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.  The recollections of juvenile Holocaust survivors who resettled in the United States after World War II are compelling reading.  Youngsters can easily empathize with the nine narrators. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Dumisani Washington Rebuilds Bridge Between San Diego’s Black and Jewish Communities

The weekend of February 21-23 was one to remember for me as an African American, as a Jewish American, as a woman. It was deeply rewarding to be affirmed on multiple levels by the teaching and preaching of Dumisani Washington, Pastor and CEO of Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel on the Stronger Together Weekend. [Barrett Holman Leak]

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Antisemitism, Barrett Holman Leak, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

The Media and Gaza

The phrase used by the announcer to describe the event was that the three victims “died in captivity.” Yes, those were her exact words! Not ‘murdered’ but ‘died.’ Those words were obviously a feeble attempt to be ‘politically correct,’ and not to point a finger of blame at Hamas. How pathetic can you get? [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Israel, News Media, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Israelis Line the Streets to Mourn Bibas Family

The procession commenced in Rishon LeZion, with mourners lining the streets, many holding orange balloons—a symbol representing the red hair of the Bibas children. The route passed through several towns, culminating in a private burial ceremony near their family home in Sha’ar HaNegev. [Miriam Gershenson]

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Israel, Miriam Gershenson, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Mountain Climbing Mother and Daughter Celebrate Pesach on Top of the World

This is the true story of a Jewish mother-daughter team who have been summiting the world’s mountains ever since Nikki, at the age of 5, climbed Mount Masada in Israel following her mother, Cheryl Bart. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Common Sense Teachings in Terumah

The idea established by Jewish ancestors to read the entire Pentateuch yearly and derive benefits from it is very sensible. But very few people take advantage of this gift. They pay scant attention to the Torah reading in the synagogue, do not bother to read it at home, and get as much out of the portion as people who never open the Bible and mock people who read it. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jason Nevarez on Grief, Mourning and Jewish Tradition

In Jewish tradition, this recognition of personal grief is supported by rituals that provide comfort and connection at every stage of loss — before a person’s passing, in the moment of transition, and throughout burial and mourning. [Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego]

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Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Times of San Diego

Jewish Biography: Paul Ehrlich, Discoverer of a Drug to Battle Syphilis

Paul Ehrlich performed pioneering research work in chemistry, medicine, physiology, histology, bacteriology, hematology and oncology and became the founder of immunology and pharmacology and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on immunology (1908). He invented the first effective drug against syphilis. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

American-Born German Countess Defied Nazis, Helped Jews, U.S. POWs

Although she was not immune to the antisemitism that was characteristic of socialites at the time, she evolved.  Evidence of her change of heart was recorded by Norman Ebbut, a Berlin correspondent for The Times of London, who quoted a portion of a 1937 conversation with a Nazi party official during a dinner in honor of Tom Watson, chairman of IBM. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jews and Blacks are Natural Allies, IBSI Founder Tells Ministers and Rabbis

In contrast to Black-Jewish amity, Dumisani Washington said, Arab Muslims have historically enslaved millions of Africans, a practice that still goes on today.  The Palestinian Liberation Organization and its political rival, Hamas, have cynically cozied up to Black leaders to portray themselves as interested in civil rights, but “they couldn’t have cared less; they just wanted other people to think that they did,” Washington declared. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Our Twins’ Birthday Celebration Saddened by News of the Bibas Family

Devasting this must be for Yarden Bibas, the father, who was released from captivity on Feb. 1. The coffins carrying his children, Kfir and Ariel, were paraded through the streets like it was a festival.  So was a coffin that Hamas said contained the remains of Yarden’s wife, Shiri, but which Israeli authorities discovered not to be Shiri, but an unknown Gazan woman. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Kemp: Arafat, Abbas Were KGB Agents

Kemp provided a fascinating historical perspective, revealing that both Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas were KGB agents, each assigned ID numbers and code names. He explained how the concept of ‘Palestinians’ was a Soviet creation, with Russia acting as the mastermind behind the movement. [Miriam Gershenson]

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Albert Kreimerman, International, Israel, Jewish History, Miriam Gershenson, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors