By Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — In the Middle East, the Jews defeated a superior enemy force in six days. In Europe, a Jew could only hold the head of state for six days. A 25-year-old poet, a Jew by nationality, was president of a European country for six days. The rule of philosopher kings […]
Ernst Toller: The Six-Day President Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion
By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) There is something about the story of the eight Jews who spent more than two years hiding in the secret annex on Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam that is irresistible to readers, as well as audiences for plays and movies. The travails of Otto Frank and his family, who were trapped
Miep Gies and the Quest for a Lasting Holocaust Lesson Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Opinion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — “They love him in Israel.” Do they love him in Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami Beach, the main cities and their suburbs where most Florida Jews live? Or, for that matter, Floridians generally who live in those areas? Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade county voters consistently vote for
DeSantis Visit to Israel Not All That Kosher Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — There were 150,000 Israelis demonstrating in support of judicial reform. That’s about as big of a crowd as provided by opponents. So it’s close to a tied score. Right-wing extremists are excited. Yari Levin, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Simcha Rothman are pressing for action. Reports from before this
Close to a Tied Score on Judicial Reform Protests Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It was with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension that we bought tickets for the concert of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in which the first half consisted of the performance of an unknown work entitled “Twelve Tribes” by an unfamiliar composer, Benjamin Yusupov. The attraction of the second
‘Twelve Tribes’ and Music as a Source of Hope Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — The shock value of the spectacle that General Dwight D. Eisenhower witnessed at the Ohrdruf concentration camp on April 12, 1945, is now being revived on a smaller scale with the Tree of Life trial and a grisly attack in Las Vegas. In early April 1945, the army’s dreadful
Jewish PTSD…From Pittsburgh Shul to Vegas School Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USABy Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Last week was Yom HaShoah, Israel’s day to remember the Holocaust. There are fewer each year who tell their stories. For the most part, they were very young. Some did not realize what was happening. Christian families received them, and their parents went elsewhere. Christian Churches helped, including the
Israel’s Painful Holidays Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Opinion
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — If you ever wondered how the U.S. would react should another Nazi Germany threaten the democratic world, stop wondering. You’re seeing it right now in the Middle East…Let’s jump back to 1932, when the U.S. was in isolationist mode and in Germany, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party
Time for Reflection Read More »
Holocaust, International, Israel, Opinion, Steve Kramer, USA
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara are said to have demanded that son Yair stop posting on social media, and avoid speaking with politicians. Apparently, those demands came after Yair ignited tensions within Israel and overseas, especially with the United States. Whatever? Yair was last seen walking
A Problem in the Netanyahu Family: Limiting Dad’s Capacity to Manage? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Opinion, USABy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — It happened in Berlin, of all places. On behalf of those poor Palestinians, they chanted “Death to the Jews,” “Death to Israel” and “Tel Aviv, the answer will come.” The day before, an Italian tourist was murdered on Tel Aviv’s boardwalk and a woman and two of her daughters
No Antisemitism Here… Read More »
Bruce Ticker, International, Israel, Opinion
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Something that never ceases to amaze (and annoy) me is the extent to which various euphemisms are used to describe what happened in the Holocaust to 6 million Jews. Why is everyone — whether individuals, politicians or scholars — so reluctant to use the correct term: murder? For
Died, Disappeared, Perished Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, Opinion
By Gedaliah Borvick JERUSALEM — Many schools across Israel distribute yahrzeit candles for students and their families to light on the evening of Yom Hashoah. Affixed to the candle is the name of a Holocaust victim and a QR code (a type of barcode) which one can scan to learn about that person. As 6
Heroism in the Warsaw Ghetto Read More »
Gedaliah Borvick, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, OpinionBy Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Israel is currently in an interim period of religious and national holidays which will be over by the end of May. The Knesset is on vacation while hopefully intense negotiations are being held in President Herzog’s residence, seeking to compromise on the proposed judicial system legislation. These negotiations
Israel’s Reaction to Iran’s Plan to Destroy the Jewish State Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer, USABy Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — On December 21, 1935, the German writer and publicist Kurt Tucholsky passed away in the Swedish Gothenburg. He was 45 years old. Kurt Tucholsky, a satirist writer, the owner of a brilliant pen, a songwriter, did not write a single line during the last four years of his stay
Heinrich Heine’s Doppelganger Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion