Dr. Rosemary H. Cohen

Today I was reading the Torah portion B’shalach, the story of Israel crossing the Red Sea to freedom. Afternoon prayers start at 4:10, and I left home at 3.30 to be there on time. While I was driving west on Pico, I saw a couple with two dogs, walking east on Crescent Heights, on the north side of the street. One dog had light brown hair, the other black. The black dog got my attention because...

Fourth in a series. There are criminals who have slaughtered people and yet they play golf and enjoy life. What a heartbreaking situation for victim’s families. We hear that there are the special women or men who fall in love with criminals. They get married in jail, and even bear the child of a convict. Our justice system seems more concerned with pitying criminals than with protecting, honoring victims. This is why many, including the families of victims, have found...

We were present in court on the day the drunk driver who killed our daughter Liana arrived with some members of his family. I expected he would walk to us, especially to my old grieving mother, and say only: “I am so sorry”. This never happened.

The Jodi Arias murder trial is the first time in many years that I have followed a court session so carefully. I had completely lost my faith in the justice system after a series of celebrity cases where justice was not served because of the defendant’s fame or wealth or power. What attracted me to the Arias case was seeing...

About the Ten Commandments: For Jews, the 49-day Counting of the Omer – a Torah-based ritual, starting the second day of Passover – ended last week. Counting the Omer each day, after sundown, represents spiritual preparation and anticipation for the receiving of the Torah, which was given by God on Mount Sinai at the beginning of the month of Sivan.

In the wake of last month’s Boston Marathon bombings, allegedly by two immigrant terrorist brothers, we ask, Who are Americans? Americans are made up of individuals from all over the world. Eagerly, they have come to this country of their free will. We immigrants are here because this is a blessed country, the land of opportunity and freedom. If some are not happy living in this country, they always can return from where they have come.

Fourth in a series. When new refugees arrive in this country, there always are people who “fish in the muddy waters,” managers of Section 8 housing who ask for bribes to facilitate the rent for a family. I heard of one case where the tenants should pay a couple hundred dollars every month. If they don’t, the concierge...

The children of refugees receive free education at any age. College students receive financial aid, and they do not have to pay back the money because it is not a student loan. They all receive free medical coverage and all healthcare supplies free of charge. In addition, they have access to free dental and eye care.

Second in a series. After the 1970s, many countries and governments collapsed. Some were engaged in civil wars or multiple revolutions. Others battled religious and racist discrimination wars. As usual, millions looked to America as their best hope for rescue, especially as an ideal place to raise their children. Enriched by a booming economy, Americans became...

First in a series. We are refugees, the Americans who are hated by extremists around the world – and yet all of them want to come to America. In the streets of their countries, they burn our flag. They cry “Death to America!” Yet, at any given occasion, they are in the offices of the attorneys who specialize in immigration laws, paying huge fees in order to come to the U.S.