Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI) is urging President Donald Trump to demand that the Palestinian Authority surrender the killers of 16 Americans who are being released in the Gaza agreement. [Press Release]
Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher–three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023—were returned to Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, amid worldwide media coverage of the first phase of a Middle East ceasefire in which Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners from Ofer Prison. [SDJW Staff]
Three Women Hostages Freed in Ceasefire Deal Between Israel and Hamas Read More »
International, Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir, under the direction of Pastor Ken Anderson, performed Saturday night, Jan. 18, at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Gospel rhythms prompted the Jewish audience to join through singing, dancing, and clapping. [Robin Dishman]
MLK Community Choir Performs for a Jewish Audience Read More »
Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Poet Allisa Cherry is entranced by Hebrew Scriptures, turning to them to express her anguish over the tragic lives of the members of a Mormon family. A grandmother had a double mastectomy; a father died of radiation poisoning caused by nuclear testing in the desert; a brother died in a car accident before he was 20; and a wife, caught in a loveless marriage, divorces her ne’er-do-well husband. [Donald H. Harrison]
Biblical Imagery Brightens Poet’s Bleak Account of Life in the Arizona Desert Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
This weekend we honor the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wasn’t around when he was and as far as I can remember, it was always a school holiday. [Cailin Acosta]
Remembering the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
The 35th annual San Diego International Jewish Film Festival will take place in-person from Jan. 27 through Feb. 8 and will continue virtually. Film enthusiasts can attend in-person screenings at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, while virtual film screenings are available on demand beginning on Feb. 9 and will remain available through Feb 11. [Hoa Quach, Times of San Diego]
Some Highlights of the Upcoming San Diego International Jewish Film Festival Read More »
San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Something ignited when Debbie Mishek, M.D., traveled to Congregation Beth Am in Los Angeles to attend a presentation about Kol Tefillah (The Voice of Prayer) a few years ago. The program was about “reimagining Jewish prayer and making it more relevant and more inspiring,” the developmental pediatrician recalled. “There is something about music and prayer that is so spiritual. I access my spirituality through music.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Kol Tefillah Band Specializes in Music for Praying and Reflecting Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Israel will have a less conditioned ally, and with this new administration, the political scene of the Middle East may be transformed. This will stop Iran from bragging and showing its strategy of military allies (proxy armies), and finally, it will bring peace. Shalom. [José Galicot]
OpEd: Predicting the International Impacts of Trump’s Second Term Read More »
International, Israel, Jose Galicot, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
“The WJC has worked closely with the UN in the development of this Action Plan, and we value the genuine cooperation and willingness of Mr. Moratinos and his team to listen to the voices of Jewish communities worldwide. The inclusion of Jewish organizations in the process has been crucial in ensuring that the plan reflects the needs and concerns of those most affected by antisemitism.” [WJC]
Struggling against American xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism in the 1930s, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins—the first woman to serve in a President’s Cabinet – sought in several ways to spare German Jewish refugees from annihilation by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. [Donald H. Harrison]
Frances Perkins, Nation’s First ‘Madam Secretary’ Tried to Help European Jewish Refugees Read More »
Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
In a big city, a little girl notices that a swing has become unhooked on one side so that it hangs limply. Another swing has some off both hooks and is lying on the ground. She wants to fix them. With the help of her grandmother, she rehooks the swings. [Donald H. Harrison]
Good Deeds, Even Little Ones, Change the World for the Better Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined ContributorsThey return them to us broken but alive; it doesn’t matter, we will rebuild them. We have already done it before with the beating of the concentration camps; how many of them will we revive with love? [José Galicot]
OpEd: We Will Help the Hostages Rebuild Their Lives Read More »
Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jose Galicot, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Since we live in California, the civil law and Jewish law are both in agreement that it is legal to possess and use marijuana. [Cailin Acosta]
Torah Study and Halakhah Regarding the Use of Cannabis Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Sometimes a play transports you back in time to another era, and this is especially true for Broadway San Diego’s Back to the Future. The play is literally about time travel, and those who were around in 1985 when the movie starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd came out will especially feel nostalgic. [Sandi Masori]
‘Back to the Future’ Transports Broadway San Diego Audiences Read More »
Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast