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 Temple Beth Sholom.Speaker: Yaakov Kirschen, Visiting Fellow (Artist in Residence), YIISA; Cartoonist, Dry Bones Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2010 Location: The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA), Yale University, New Haven, CT Click on the arrow to start. After Mr. Kirschen begins to speak, the sound is much less choppy. View the presentation in full screen by clicking on the X symbol to the left of the word "vimeo".

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 Temple Beth Sholom. William Ury is a mediator, writer and speaker, working with conflicts ranging from family feuds to boardroom battles to ethnic wars. He's the author of "Getting to Yes." He offers an elegant, simple (but not easy) way to create agreement in even the most difficult situations -- from family conflict to, perhaps, the Middle East.Click on the triangle or the picture to start the video.

Raul Castro Attends Celebration of the Jewish Community of Cuba by ALBERTO NUNEZ BETANCOURT Havana, Monday, December 6th, 2010 A happy coincidence, Army General Raul Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, described the date of the celebration of the Jewish people and important passages in our history, when meeting with members of the Jewish Community of Cuba in the Synagogue Board headquarters, during the fifth night of Hanukkah, the traditional celebration also known as festival of lights, which in Hebrew means consecration. Raul recalled that on 5 December, 54 years ago, the Granma expedition, having landed, they were surprised and had their first combat, which was a great opening loss. But thirteen days later they met up with a group of men with Fidel in Cinco Palmas, where the Commander in Chief, with only seven rifles and a great conviction of victory, said: Now we can win…

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 Temple Beth Sholom.Jewish Theological Seminary Hosts Islamic Triumphalists by Alan Jacobs American Thinker November 14, 2010 http://www.meforum.org/2781/jewish-theological-seminary-islamic-triumphalists Audience members in the packed Jewish Theological Seminary auditorium just down the block from Columbia University might have been gratified to see hijabs and yarmulkes adorning the heads of Muslims and Jews coming together for interfaith dialogue on the evening of October 25. The title of the event, "Islam in America: Assimilation and Authenticity," drew a large, mixed crowd, perhaps three hundred strong, eager for interreligious conversation. The anticipation of imams and rabbis in reserved front seats, or students filling other rows to the brim, was understandable -- isn't this, after all, the conversation Muslims and members of other faiths need to start having? This optimism at…

click triangle to start video... 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 Temple Beth Sholom. In November 2010, Alice will celebrate her 107th birthday. She is looking forward to the party!

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 Temple Beth Sholom.Professor Yisrael Aumann won a Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005 for his work on conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis.  Although he lives in Israel (his son was a soldier killed defending the country) the Israeli government has never asked his opinion or his help in negotiating with the Palestinians.  Below, Prof. Aumann explains just what Israel is doing wrong. Biography at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aumann---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Israel's Conflict as Game TheoryBy Prof. Yisrael Aumann Nobel Prize Laureate Two men—let us call them Reuben and Simon—are put in a small room containing a suitcase filled with  bills totaling $100,000.  The owner of the suitcase announces the following: “ I will give you the money in the suitcase under one condition…you have to negotiate an agreement…

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 Temple Beth Sholom.If over the years you enjoyed the political cartoons of Yaakov Kirschen in the Jerusalem Post, you can see and hear him at Yale this Thursday, October 21st, 2010  from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. at ISPS, 77 Prospect Street, Room A001, New Haven.Kirschnen is the Visting Fellow (Artist in Residence) of YIISA, The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism. He will be presenting a seminar on “Memetics and the Viral Spread of Antisemitism Through 'Coded Images' in Political Cartoons”.For a recent example of his work, see Jewish Defamers of Israel - The Trading Cards.Free to the public.

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 Temple Beth Sholom.The cuckoo lays its egg in the nests of another bird. When the cuckoo egg hatches, the alien chick that emerges kills its nest mates and thrives on the care provided by the confused, naïve and unsuspecting owner of the nest. Israel's Jewish Defamers are the “Cuckoos in Our Nest”.

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 Temple Beth Sholom. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and Hayom announce the successful completion of the second Strategic Planning Commission meeting Please Note: This is a summary report of the commission’s current thinking. All are welcome to write to us at 4tomorrow@uscj.org to provide input on the process. This summary is not finalized, but rather a work in progress. In twelve hours of meetings on August 23 and 24, the USCJ/HaYom joint strategic planning commission continued to make substantial progress in the effort to chart a bold new direction for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The Commission met in Chicago with the UAI consulting team of Dr. Jacob “Jack” Ukeles, Professor Steven M. Cohen, and Dr. Ron Miller. Most of the meeting…

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 Temple Beth Sholom. By Dennis PragerAugust 10, 2010When I was a kid in yeshiva, we played a game during davening (prayer services) called siddur (prayer book) baseball. We mostly played this at Orthodox summer camp during Shabbat services — because it was baseball season, and because Shabbat services were much longer than the daily service. It was a game that demanded no skill. When it was your turn to bat, you closed the siddur and opened it up to any page. If the first letter on the page was an aleph, you had hit a single; if the was a bet, it was a double; a gimmel meant a triple; and a daled was a home run. Entire rows of kids — we sat…