By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson 1938 A young couple fled Nazi Germany, found refuge in England and survived the war. Their parents were left behind and murdered. Four years later I was born, thus making them my parents. 1944 V2 rockets fired on London caused the evacuation of children from the city. My two-year old self was […]
Timeline: Why the War in Israel Feels Like Déjà Vu Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Opinion
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — “Does the whole world hate the Jews?” The question was posed by a self-identified Democrat from Waterbury, Conn., who called into C-Span Saturday morning to confess that he believed white nationalists owned antisemitism in America. With reports of the dreadful Hamas raid dominating the news, the caller said he
Hamas Defenders Can’t Handle the Truth Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, USA
The Matzo Chronicles By Karen Galatz RENO, Nevada — I come from a long line of Morton Coarse Kosher Salt users. My mother bought it. My grandmother bought it. My sisters-in-law bought it. Even my non-Jewish mother-in-law bought the salt with the little girl under the umbrella. But lately, I haven’t been able to find
What’s Shakin’ in Your Saltshaker? Read More »
Karen Galatz, Lifestyles, Opinion, Travel and Food
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — More than a week has gone by since the infamous sneak attack by Hamas terrorists from Gaza on October 7. I have reported that Michal and I are doing ok, with no missiles striking Kfar Saba and only a few short periods in our in-house shelter. Well, we
Gaza: The Hellhole Read More »
Israel, Opinion, Steve Kramer
As Morocco rebuilds in the aftermath of a horrifying earthquake that struck High Atlas Mountain ranges last month, this article considers the guiding premises for sustainable societies established in the first chapter of the Torah, “In the Beginning.” [Yossef Ben-Meir]
‘In the Beginning’ in Morocco Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Yossef Ben-MeirBy Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Many times Israel has “won” in Gaza and then soon found itself fighting Hamas again. Deterrence and “mowing the grass” doesn’t defeat Islamic terrorists; you must liquidate them, one way or another. The Islamists who run Iran, Gaza, and Lebanon have a total disregard for the citizens of
Gathering Our Forces Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer, USA
By Teresa Konopka SAN DIEGO — Amid the war in Israel and all the atrocities being committed, it is easy to get depressed. Missiles fired, bombs blasted, homes destroyed, innocents killed. It is beyond atrocious. Horror like this has not been seen since the Yom Kippur War almost 50 years ago. Similar to that attack,
Hope in Times of War Read More »
Israel, Opinion, Teresa_Konopka
By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — In San Diego and across the Jewish world, this past Simchat Torah holiday won’t be forgotten anytime soon. While I was on volunteer security duty at Congregation Adat Yeshurun during Shabbat/Shemini Atzeret, bits and pieces of the devastating news in Israel began to emerge. We heard that 100
Editor’s Notebook: Navigating an Unforgettable Sense of Limbo on Simchat Torah Read More »
Israel, Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, Opinion, San Diego County
By Alex Traiman (JNS) Many questions and few answers abound as Israel has suffered its worst homefront attack, and perhaps its worst security and intelligence failing in the past 50 years. Instead of peacefully celebrating the completion of the yearly Torah-reading cycle, Israelis awoke to sirens and explosions on one of the holiest days of
From Yom Kippur to Simchat Torah: What Led to the Attack and What Will Happen Next? Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USABy Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Let me say ahead of my remarks that Michal and I are fine at this time. We’ve spent time in our bomb shelter when sirens clamored, but Kfar Saba was spared any direct hits. I went shopping this morning. The only stores open in the small mall near
(Press Release) San Diego County’s U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), who is Jewish, on Wednesday issued the following statement on the removal of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) as Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dear Friend, By now, you’ve probably heard that Kevin McCarthy is no longer Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Sara Jacobs: Why I Voted to Remove the Speaker of the House Read More »
Opinion, San Diego County, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I first participated in a demonstration when I was an impressionable sixteen-year-old, some 65 years ago, in those far-off days when England was a nuclear power and still held on to most of its empire. My friends in the youth movement (Bnei Akiva) were going to the CND
Demonstrations, Past and Present Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Shame on Rice Pride. A gay student group in Houston bashes a nation that protects, sustains and facilitates gay rights while shielding a society that slaughters its own inhabitants who engage in same-sex relationships. Not only that, but they send a forceful signal that antisemitism propels their behavior. In
Rice Pride’s Shameful Antisemitism Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USA
By Barrett Holman Leak SAN DIEGO — I have always appreciated Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a British comedy series which delivers skits of surreal humor. As you watch, you know the sketches are packed with a form of humor grounded in incongruity, non-sequiturs, irrational or absurd situations and other intentional violations of causal reasoning —
Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Mishegoss Read More »
Barrett Holman Leak, Opinion, San Diego County