Category Archives: News
Bay Area Jewish groups offer new twist on old holiday, Shavuot
The traditional way to celebrate the Jewish holiday remembering when God handed down the Ten Commandments is studying ancient script all night in a room with a rabbi. The new way ain’t your Bubbe’s holiday. Several young, hip Jewish groups are trying to reclaim Shavuot (SHAH-Voo-OAT), by spicing things up. Next week, Hillel of Silicon Valley is hosting a “Death by Cheesecake” party. (It’s a custom to eat dairy on this holiday.) Outdoorsy “Wilderness Torah” types are camping under the stars Tuesday night for a “night of revelation” — not on Mount Sinai, but atop the closest sacred high point they can find: Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais. And perhaps the most avant-garde of them all: Reboot, a self-proclaimed group of culturally Jewish “thought leaders and tastemakers,” is renting out the California Academy of Sciences on Saturday night to host a star-studded evening they’re calling “Dawn 2010.”
Silicon Wadi Meets Silicon Valley
On February 8, 2010, more than 150 students and members of the San Jose State University community came together to learn about the enormous impact that Israel has had on the technology sector. The event kicked off with an overview on Israel and technology delivered by Akiva Tor, the Israeli Consul General for the Pacific Northwest. Tor’s presentation led into a panel discussion with David Perlmutter, executive vice president of Intel; Karen Alter, vice president of marketing for Better Place, and Sagi Rubin, investment manager at Virgin Green Fund, which examined the high-tech sectors in the U.S. and Israel. In the course of the conversation, moderator David Steele, dean of SJSU College of Business, posed the question: Why has Israel has emerged as a leader in the high-tech field? Perlmutter pointed to Israel’s lack of natural resources — unlike her neighboring oil-rich countries — as one factor that has pushed Israelis toward innovation. Rubin offered a simpler reason for Israel’s high-tech success: chutzpah. In Israel, “you can’t be afraid to fail,” Rubin said. It’s Israelis, he said, who have the nerve to knock on a CEO’s door with a crazy idea and not fear the consequences. And according to Alter, Israelis’ inherent intellectual curiosity and drive for wealth have helped fuel its tech boom. Finally, the panelists took questions from the audience and dished advice on creating successful start-ups.
http://sfjcf.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/conversation-on-israel-and-technology-draws-san-jose-students/
This letter is in response to “Obama’s double standard on nuclear weapons” that was published on Oct. 13.
I’m writing this letter in response to the article, Murphy’s Law: Obama’s double standard on nuclear weapons. I believe it’s unfair and wrong to call United States’ stance on nuclear weapons a double standard. Israel is recognized as the only democracy in the Middle East, and has been a close ally and friend to the United States.
Most important, Israel has never showed any intent to use nuclear weapons to harm other countries. Several Iranian officials, including the current president, have made direct threats to wipe countries off the face of the world, including Israel and other U.S. allies.
The standard is not to disarm all countries with nuclear weapons, but to allow responsible members of the international community to have such weapons. If Israel were to publicly threaten nuclear force against another country, the United States would surely step in under this standard.
Evidently, the U.S. is willing to tolerate nuclear weapons in the hands of trustworthy, responsible allies such as Great Britain and France.
Obviously, when it comes to countries with long history of involvement in terrorism, irresponsible policy and extremism, as well as making open and direct threats toward other countries, the U.S. and the world community should not tolerate nuclear abilities in the hands of such countries.
Sincerely,
Maya Kostyanovsky
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
Campus Representative
Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Opinion Spartans Daily.
Gay Israeli soldiers are asked and do tell
Gay Israeli soldiers are asked and do tell
Twenty-one people filled the Almaden Room in the Student Union on Thursday to listen to a talk about gay rights in Israel.
“We’re a pro-advocacy group for Israel on campus, and we want to teach the campus community that there’s more to Israel than just the conflict,” said Michelle Salinsky, a senior political science major and president of Spartans For Israel.
The groups Spartans For Israel and Queers Thoughtfully Interrupting Prejudice worked together with Hillel of Silicon Valley to bring Moshe Alfisher’s story to SJSU, according to the Hillel of Silicon Valley Web site.
“Israel is sometimes perceived as a very Orthodox, or old-style country in terms of gay rights,” said Nadav Shem-Torv, an Israel fellow from Hillel of Silicon Valley. “We just thought it can be a great story to bring.”
