The owner of the Be With Me, The Children’s Playseum in Bethesda, Md. was told recently that no Montgomery public school would send children to her facility because her website mentioned the words “God,” “life,” and “family,” according to The Washington Post.

From her website:

“We Value

LIFE-Every child is God’s gift to this earth.

FAMILY-The most vital part of our community. We treasure the opportunity to offer you a place to create family moments and memories while using our proceeds to help a family far away.

GOD-Giver of breathe and we endeavor to honor Him in all of our affairs.”  Read more... (578 words, 1 image, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to justify the Jewish state’s contested claim on the city before a parliamentary session.

According to Reuters, Netanyahu said “Jerusalem” and its Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism’s core canon.

In the Christian New Testament, Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times, Netanyahu said. He noted that none of the 16 Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran.

However, in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.  Read more... (521 words, 1 image, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Liat Collins wrote in The Jerusalem Post that no other city in the world inspires its own medically recognized syndrome.  She refers to the Jerusalem syndrome, a psychosis where normally sane tourists begin to hear voices and believe they are people in the Bible.

The JTA mentioned an episode of The Simpsons, where Homer Simpson traveled to Israel, and was diagnosed with the Jerusalem syndrome.  Homer, dehydrated, believed he was chosen to bring Jews, Christians and Muslims together in a new religion called Chrisjumas.

JTA quoted Dr. Gregory Katz, a psychiatrist of Jerusalem’s Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, who said 30-40 patients a year are treated with the Jerusalem syndrome.  Read more... (402 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell will meet today with Israel leaders with hope to revive peace talks between Israel and Palestine after almost a year of deadlock.

Mitchell is expected to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak.  The visit comes after a row broke out between Israel and the U.S. recently over home construction plans by Israel in East Jerusalem.  Read more... (483 words, 2 images, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

Auschwitz buildings today. From Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as an annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Why Jan. 27? It was on this day in 1945 that the largest World War II concentration camp, Auschwitz, was liberated.

Auschwitz, a network of three camps, was operated in Poland under German occupation from 1940-1945. It probably accounted for the death of over one million Jews. Among other well-known “death camps” were Dachau, Treblinka and Bergen-Belsen.  Read more... (476 words, 2 images, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

How are we to account for stark differences in Obama's approval ratings between Jewish-Americans & those living in Israel?

Washington, D.C.–The latest data research and analysis polls from world renowned, Washington, D.C.-based Gallup Organization reveal the Jewish-American demographic to retain the highest approval ratings of President Barack Hussein Obama’s current administration, in comparison to other religious groups.

According to Gallup’s official Daily Tracking polls from the month of September, 64 percent of Jewish Americans said they agree with the president’s decisions and policies.  Read more... (502 words, 2 images, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)