The Arts

Good News from Israel (Dec. 6, 2020)

In the 6th Dec 20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
Israel’s top hospitals all use Israeli AI technology to analyze CT-scans.
Israelis are helping Honduras hurricane victims and Italian coronavirus patients.
New Israeli vegan milk is regular milk without the cows.
A satellite build by students from Israel’s newest university is now in orbit.
Citizens of Arab states will soon be drinking Israeli-produced water from the air.
Israelis won international gold medals in gymnastics, windsurfing and taekwondo.
Hundreds of new Ethiopian citizens have arrived in Israel.
Two 100-year-old Israelis prove that age is not a barrier in the Jewish State
[Michael Ordman]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, International, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

‘Laverne & Shirley’ star David L. Lander, aka Squiggy, dies at 73

David L. Lander, the Jewish comic actor best known for his over-the-top portrayal of 1950s greaser Squiggy on “Laverne & Shirley,” has died at the age of 73. Lander passed away Friday from complications from multiple sclerosis at a Los Angeles hospital, his wife, Kathy, told TMZ. Variety confirmed Lander’s death on Saturday. Kathy Lander

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Authors Tell Stories of 15 Israelis’ Resilience

In “Isresilience,” we meet 15 Israelis who overcame difficult challenges in their lives and went on to praiseworthy accomplishments.  The sketches are of Israeli sabras and olim, men and women, young and old.  Through the entire narrative, authors Dickson, who is executive director of StandWithUs in Israel, and Baum, a PhD known for her studies of resilience, examine how these Israelis were able to overcome the obstacles that life put in their way.   They suggest that there are three important ingredients to resilience: empathy, flexibility, and meaning making, which might be better understood as a sense of purpose. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East

Anarchism and the Avant-Garde

The Museum of Modern Art is currently presenting Félix Fénéon: The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde – From Signac to Matisse and Beyond, examining the immense influence of this art critic, editor, publisher, collector and anarchist. Fénéon (1861-1944) saw the critic as a channel between the artist and the public – a role which had particular significance because art could further the cause of social justice and harmony. As Paul Signac would proclaim: “Justice in sociology, harmony in art: same thing.” [Sam Ben-Meir]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir

Jewish Poets, Voices to Feature Salovey, Thall, Gottleib

Todd Salovey, Lorraine Thall and June Gottleib are the three local poets to be featured in Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices’ opening program of its  2020-21 season. The virtual event will be streamed on Zoom Tuesday evening, December 8 at 7 p.m. There is no cost for this Astor Judaica Library offering. [Eileen Wingad]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard

Good News from Israel (November 29, 2020)

The November 29, 2020 edition of Good News from Israel includes such stories as the following.

• An Israeli-developed eye scanner can detect early signs of Alzheimer’s.
• Israel is the top country in the world for women entrepreneurs.
• Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2020 include 5 Israeli innovations.
• An Israeli supermarket chain is to grow fruit and vegetables at its stores.
• The 3-day Israel-Dubai business conference was a huge success.
• An Israeli judoka won Gold in the European championships.
• A 9-year-old boy found a 1st Temple period gold bead in Jerusalem. [Michael Ordman]

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Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

TV Series on Yom Kippur War drives home peace necessity

Valley of Tears, the dramatic series currently being shown on Israeli TV about events in the Golan Heights at the outbreak of the Yom Kippur war, has had me and many others spellbound each week. Although several of my friends and acquaintances have told me that they are unable to watch it as it brings back too many painful memories, I find myself compelled to watch. I quite understand their attitude, and am almost surprised at my own ability to persist through every graphic scene. I admit that I find it difficult to sleep afterwards, but some obsessive preoccupation with the events of that traumatic time brings me back to the screen every week. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

The Saga of the Sammy Sculpture

I’ve never known a bad guy named Sam. I said that in the early 1960s, and many years later it is still true. Sam’s are warmhearted with a faint, off-beat nature. They are comfortable with their lives, competent in their work, devoted husbands that don’t cheat on their spouses; they usually work for large organizations and don’t complain.
My observation of these people inspired me to design and build a nine-foot tall stucco sculpture for Helen and Mike and named “The Essence of Sammy.” [Ira Spector]

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Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Why do we love books about presidents? Obama’s ‘Promised Land’ is next and there’s a stack about Trump

CHICAGO — In the early 1930s, Ralph Newman was walking through the Near North Side when he noticed a bookstore going out of business. He had left Northwestern University after a semester to play minor league baseball in the Southwest — only to be injured and leave baseball. He was in his 20s when he

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA

Streaming Jewish Programs (Nov. 29-Dec. 4, 2020)

Following are programs of scholarly and popular Jewish interest that can be accessed via the Internet from Nov. 29 through Dec. 4, 2020.  All times are Pacific Standard Time. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA