Blog

My running commentary on events: local, national, and international. Areas of special interest include Israel, Iraq, and dissidents in the Muslim world.

Jewish voices continue to ring out from the battleground state of Pennsylvania

November 24, 2020

by Heather Robinson

From The Jewish News Syndicate

Home to as many as 450,000 Jews, in many ways it is similar to Michigan, Wisconsin and even Georgia when it comes to the politics that led to it being so contested this election season.

No state loomed...

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Jimmy Weldon, a liberator of Buchenwald, has a lot to say on life

November 19, 2020

by Heather Robinson

From The Jewish News Syndicate

The 97-year-old speaks about his career, his wife, how to fend off naysayers and about the imprint that Holocaust survivors have had on his psyche and his service for others.

Jimmy Weldon, 97, is a voice actor and...

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Facing aging and COVID, Jewish veterans stay the course, as they did during wartime

November 19, 2020

by Heather Robinson

From The Jewish News Syndicate

David Hymes, 103, of Chicago, a veteran of World War II, retired public accountant and former national commander of the Jewish War Veterans, offers his “old geezer” advice: “Live right, eat a balanced...

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Pre-election perspectives from Pittsburgh

November 4, 2020

by Heather Robinson

From The Spectator

On the eve of the 2020 election, as President Trump and former VP Joe Biden are neck-in-neck, Pennsylvania is emerging as the most significant state. Pollsters and pundits predict that, as this crucial swing...

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Election 2020 Comes Down to the Keystone State

November 2, 2020

by Heather Robinson

Pittsburgh–On the eve of the 2020 election, as President Trump and former VP Joe Biden campaign neck-in-neck, Pennsylvania is emerging as the “Keystone State,” with pollsters and pundits predicting that, as this crucial swing...

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Honoring the two-year commemoration of Tree of Life shooting by building communal bridges

October 24, 2020

by Heather Robinson

From The Jewish News Syndicate

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers has led a movement to discourage vitriolic, menacing speech online—what he terms “H speech”—that he views as having been a contributing factor in the atrocity.

Rabbi...

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Tree of Life survivor: ‘There is so much goodness in the world, and we need to embrace it’

October 24, 2020

by Heather Robinson

From The Jewish News Syndicate

Andrea Wedner, who lost her mother in the 2018 shooting, focuses on the future and what she can do to help heal the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

Two years ago, Andrea Wedner was attending Shabbat-morning...

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Reflections of a Survivor on Second Anniversary of Tree of Life Shooting

October 4, 2020

by Heather Robinson

From The Jewish News Syndicate

Pittsburgh resident Judah Samet lived through the Holocaust and the assault on his synagogue, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

Judah Samet has been on the front lines of history...

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On 9/11, Remembering Officer Robert Fazio, Shield #667, 13th Precinct, Manhattan

September 11, 2020

by Heather Robinson

As any reporter knows, there exists between the press and government at best uneasy peace, at worst open conflict. Some tension is inevitable, because without the press, government is free of scrutiny (and corruption is not far off), and...

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Covid19 Survivor Followup: Shawn Cochran Feels Fine

August 24, 2020

by Heather Robinson

August 24–A spate of recent reporting on lingering symptoms among Covid19 survivors is prompting the question: to what extent are otherwise healthy people who recover from coronavirus developing chronic health issues related to it?...

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