Odds & Ends

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS. FDR wanted Jews ‘spread thin’ and kept out of U.S., documents reveal New documents revealed by the FDR library shows the president's secret plans to resettle Jews out of Europe. By Daniel J. Roth - May 2, 2018 ‘No sensible American wants this country to be made a dumping ground for foreigners of any nation … a little new European blood of the right sort does a lot of good in every community.’ —FDR, 1925 NEW YORK - New evidence suggests that as the Jews of Europe were being slaughtered across continent during the Holocaust, President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not want them seeking refuge on American shores. Tucked away in a secret vault inside the White House during his 12 year tenure…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS. Published on February 7th, 2018 | by LedgerOnline Point/Counterpoint TWO STATE | ONE STATE | NO STATE Which solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict works best…or works at all?   Trump’s No-State Solution By the Jewish Ledger Editorial Board Early on in Michael Wolff’s controversial but totally plausible tell-all book Fire and Fury, there appears a conversation from January of last year between Roger Ailes, lately head of Fox News, and Steve Bannon, newly named White House strategist.           “Does he get it?” asked Ailes suddenly, pausing and looking intently at Bannon.           He meant did Trump get it…Did the playboy billionaire really get the workingman populist cause? But it was possibly a point-blank question about the nature of…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS. THE RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY PESAH GUIDE1 The Committee on Jewish Law & Standards (CJLS) Kashrut Subcommittee2 Introduction by Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, Chair, CJLS Stories play a key role in identifying a religion or nation, especially the ones at the center of a community’s history and ritual, the ones taught to members of the community from an early age and repeated often by adults in rituals and prayers. Such master stories express in easily understandable and emotionally compelling terms a community’s understanding of its origins, its values, and its goals. If one were to compare the view of life and humanity embedded in the master stories of, for example, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism – and the United States, China, and Israel – one would…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS. Should Jewishness be determined by a genetic test? By ILANIT CHERNICK - November 25, 2017 The pros and cons of using DNA to prove and define Jewish identity       Relatives look at a baby after his brit milah in Jerusalem September 24, 2012. . (photo credit:REUTERS) For thousands of years Judaism and its traditions have been passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth and belief.“I am a Jew because my mother is a Jew, she is a Jew because her mother was a Jew… my parents kept the Torah because their parents kept the Torah,” and so on. However, with recent breakthroughs in genetic testing, experts have found that there could be a way of testing Jewishness through…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS. KOLOT – Today’s Jury Room: A Safe Haven for Bigotry? Published on August 30th, 2017 | by LedgerOnline By Susan K. Feigenbaum, Ph.D. Few people may know that civil rights laws that have made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin do not apply to the jury room. Even fewer realize that earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court took a first step in addressing this injustice by setting aside a verdict in a criminal case because of racially charged comments made by jury members during their deliberations (Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, 2017). Finally, many readers may be surprised to learn that one of the cases cited by the U.S. Supreme Court involved this former Jewish…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS. 'If you’re healthy at age 100, life is beautiful' Want to live till 120? This professor works on drugs that could get you close. In what could be a medical revolution, Dr. Nir Barzilai and colleagues are working with the FDA to assess drugs that target aging, not just a particular disease. By Simona Weinglass - an investigative reporter at The Times of Israel. - December 22, 2015   In Israel, a popular birthday blessing is “until 120,” meaning you should live until the age of 120. It is based on the Biblical verse in which God says “my spirit will not abide in man forever, for that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years (Genesis…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS. ‘Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels’ A tropical story of diamonds and Holocaust survival Under Gen. Fulgencio Batista, Cuba took in some 6,000 Jewish diamond cutters and families. New film explores the forgotten era when the Caribbean island became a temporary gem hub after opening its doors to thousands of European Jews fleeing the Nazis By Larry Luxner August 14, 2017, The Times of Israel   HAVANA, Cuba — On a hot and steamy Shabbat afternoon in early July, 50 or so Jews gathered in the social hall of Cuba’s largest synagogue to relive a little-known piece of their own history. The island’s premiere screening of “Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana” didn’t disappoint. This poignant 46-minute documentary by co-directors Judy Ann Kreith and Robin…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS.    Long-silenced songs of Holocaust survivors are rediscovered PBS NewsHour - Published on Jun 15, 2017   When the death camps and ghettos of Europe were liberated at the end of World War II, a psychologist from Chicago visited former prisoners and recorded their interviews. Unheard for decades, a long-missing reel of songs has been rediscovered, offering a haunting document of the horrors of the Holocaust. David C. Barnett of PBS member station WVIZ reports. Click the triangle on the picture to view and listen. {source} <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/g3V83GdHYNA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> {/source}  

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS.    First two volumes of 'Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos' released By JTA June 5, 2017 When all seven volumes are published, the “Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945” will contain more than 42,500 sites.   A street in Warsaw destroyed during the failed 1944 uprising against Nazi occupiers. (photo credit:WIKIMEDIA)   The first two volumes of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s comprehensive record of Nazi-established persecution sites are now available.The first two volumes of the Museum’s “Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945,” are now freely accessible in their entirety on the Museum’s website, the museum announced. Printed editions of the Encyclopedia will still be offered through the publisher, Indiana University Press.Together, the two volumes cover more than 2,200 sites, many of…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS.    Islamist moderates, Swedish hardliners and Islamist Islamophobia By Seth J. Frantzman -Jerusalem Post - February 14, 2017   The reality is a world becoming more religious and hateful every day – and almost all of this hate is driven by Islamists.       Shi'ite Muslims march on streets with swords during Ashura procession in downtown Manama, Bahrain. (photo credit:REUTERS) Everyone is a “moderate” these days. The Economist used the word “moderate Muslim” in three articles in its January 28 edition. In Malaysia there was “moderate Muslim culture.” Indonesia has “moderate Muslim leaders.” Morocco has a “moderate Muslim” political party. The moderate-hardliner spectrum is one of the most facile media clichés.Hamas’ new Gazan leader is a “hardliner,” while Iran’s president, enforcing the…