The Arts

Middle East, anti-Semitism subjects in V.P. debate

  By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — In their first and only televised debate this election season, Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) clashed Wednesday evening, among other topics, over the U.S. role in the Middle East and whether President Trump has condoned white supremacists, and by implication anti-Semitism. While […]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Bullied as a student? Here’s how you can recover

  By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO —  The short-term and long-term psychological effects of bullying – on either side of the bullying fence, as a victim or as an aggressor – are well documented. Sadly, Jewish day schools, synagogues, youth groups and camps are not necessarily free of children and teens intentionally and

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Michael Mantell

Material Ecology: Neri Oxman at MMA

By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — The Museum of Modern Art is currently exhibiting Material Ecology, a tantalizing sample of the truly astounding and path-breaking work of Neri Oxman and her team, Mediated Matter group, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Oxman is an American-Israeli architect and designer – yet these designations conspicuously fail to

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

Streaming Jewish Programs (Oct. 4-9)

By Laurie Baron  SAN DIEGO — All Times Are Pacific Daylight Time Sunday, October 4 10 a.m.  Moshe Halbertal and Eva Illouz, “Can Home Be a Shelter in Times of Pandemic?” The Reading Room, National Library of Israel. Monday, October 5 8:30 a.m.  Yossi Beilin and Ido Aharoni, “The Future of Middle East Peace,” Temple

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

We endorse Joe Biden for President

Other items in today’s column include *Political bytes *Jewish organizations *In memoriam By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This publication proudly endorses Joe Biden for President. We will give credit to President Donald Trump where it is due. We applauded his decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize the Golan

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, USA

New documentary tells life of Bess Myerson

By Teresa Konopka SAN DIEGO — The One and Only Jewish Miss America premiered Sept.8  at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.  This marked the 75th anniversary of Bess Myerson winning the Miss America pageant.  As the name implies, she was and still is the only Jewish woman to win the prestigious

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International, Sports & Competitions, Teresa_Konopka, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

A brief encounter with Groucho

I completed a presentation to a client in Beverly Hills whose suite was on the top floor of a swanky high rise office building. I entered the elevator and pressed the first floor button. The elevator descended only one floor and the doors opened. In walked Groucho Marx, the world famous comedian, and his financial manager. They moved to the back of the elevator and talked in quiet calm even tones. [Ira Spector]

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

A fictionalized account of a well-known Righteous Gentile

The story of the late Irena Sendler, who is credited with saving the lives of as many as 2,500 Jewish children, is already well known.  She was honored by Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem as a Righteous Gentile more than 50 years ago.  Books and movies have been written about her, with more to come, including one in which Israeli actress Gal Gadot, known as “Wonder Woman” to movie goers, has been signed to portray her.  In this novel by James D. Shipman, we meet an Irena drawn from both the historical record and Shipman’s imagination.  Some of the characters are real, but Irena’s chief antagonist, a Gestapo major called Klaus Rein, is fictional.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

IPO on YouTube an experience in musical mastery

The past three Sundays, the Israel Philharmonic Chamber Music Series featured some of their leading players: principal oboist, Dudu Carmel, on September 6; principal flutist, Guy Eshed, on September 13 and four principal string players — violinists David Radznisky and Dumitru Pocitari, violist Miriam Hartman and cellist Emanuele Silvestri — with their new conductor, Lahav Shani, at the piano, September 20. All these programs, as well as the first two, August 23 and 30, are still available on YouTube. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

GI Film Festival spotlights a Jewish violinist

When Enlisted Man Stuart Canin boarded a  European-bound U.S. Army transport ship near the end of World War II, he carried with him his barracks bag, rifle, and a violin. Challenged by an officer about what he thought he’d need a violin for, Canin, then a teenager, replied “You Never Know.” He was so right. [Donald H. Harrison, “Our Shtetl San Diego County.”

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Melanie Rubin, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Chronicler tells of Jewish rescuers during Holocaust

Jews who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust is an extraordinary initial publication of the compiled research of Moshe Gromb. The work is precisely summarized, factual, clinical, telling the stories of 100 of the over 2,000 harrowing stories he has collected. [Jerry Klinger]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Middle East

‘Extra Innings’ is not only a baseball story

Released today on a variety of streaming services , Extra Innings is the story of a boy who was a very talented baseball player, whose Orthodox Jewish parents not only discouraged him from this pursuit, but also refused to attend any of his games. This was sad because the young man, modeled on writer/ director Albert Dabah’s own life, had natural talent, both as an outfielder and as a batter. [Movie review by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast