The Arts

San Diego Dems Endorse Montgomery Steppe for City Council President

By a 4-1 margin, members of the San Diego Democratic Central Committee endorsed City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe to serve as the next president of the San Diego City Council, rejecting the candidacy of  her fellow Democrat, Dr. Jennifer Campbell.  Montgomery Steppe represents the 4th Council District, and Campbell represents the 2nd District.

The vote Tuesday night came after Montgomery Steppe was endorsed by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, Councilwoman Vivian Moreno, and outgoing Council President Georgette Gomez, The Voice of San Diego reported. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Israel demands CNN anchor apologise after comparing Trump years to Kristallnacht

Israel has demanded that a CNN anchor apologises for comparing US President Donald Trump’s actions to the Nazi pogrom against Germany’s Jews in 1938, also known as the Kristallnacht.”This week 82 years ago, Kristallnacht happened,” Christiane Amanpour said in a live broadcast on CNN on Thursday. “It was the Nazis’ warning shot across the bow

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

‘Mostly Mishegas’ Satirizes Trump’s Jewish Knowledge

The idea that Donald J. (“John,” not “Jewish”) Trump would even consider converting to Judaism is, on its face, outrageous. Then again, Joel H. (“Hugh,” not “Hebrew”) Cohen, has plenty of outrageous thoughts about the 45th president of the United States and has, in the past, humorously and unapologetically expressed them in these pages of the San Diego Jewish World in his column, “Just Kidding.” [Bruce F. Lowitt]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Bruce F. Lowitt, Donald H. Harrison, Joel H. Cohen, Trivia, Humor & Satire

‘Paper Bullets’ tells of lesbian resisters in Nazi-occupied Jersey

Avant-garde artists Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe advertised the fact that they were stepsisters, and hid the fact that they were lovers; their practice in deception  useful in hiding their World War II roles as anti-occupation propagandists in Nazi-occupied Jersey. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

SD Rep Lineup: Strom, Feldshuh, Felder

The San Diego Repertory Company is presenting two remarkable virtual music events this month.

JFest (Lipinsky Jewish Arts Festival) will be hosting  the 19th Annual Klezmer Summit at 7 p.m., Thursday evening, Nov. 19  featuring Yale Strom’s band, Hot Pstromi, in their first concert as a full band since the onset of Covid-19. Hershey Felder will be featured in Paris Love Story, streamed  from his home in Florence, Italy, for four performances, at 5 p.m., Sunday, Nov.22, and at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 23, through Wednesday, Nov.. 25. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Streaming Jewish Programs (Nov. 15- 20)

Following are academic and popular programs of specific Jewish interest that may be accessed via the Internet. [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, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Film Review: The Last Vermeer

The Last Vermeer – producer Dan Friedkin’s directorial debut – is a well-paced and thoroughly engaging World War II drama. Joseph Piller (played by Claes Bang), is a Dutch Jew who fought with the Resistance during the war; and is now commissioned with uncovering and redistributing art stolen by the Nazis. Enter the flamboyant painter and art dealer, Han van Meegeren (masterfully played by Guy Pearce) who is suspected of selling Dutch art treasures to Field-Marshal Hermann Goering and other top Nazi officials. Piller’s story is complicated by a fraught relationship with his wife (played by Marie Bach Henson), who remained in Holland during the occupation; and while she provided intelligence to the Resistance, the implication is that she was only able to acquire such intelligence by carrying on a romantic dalliance with Nazi officers. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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

Book is irreverent but useful guide to Jewish practice

Why Jews Do That, authored by Rabbi Avram Mlotek, co-founder and the Rabbi of Base Manhattan, a group described as an “organization aiming to be a pluralistic Jewish salon for the post-college set,” is occasionally irreverent, often amusing, and always succinct and to the point with its answers. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Alex Trebek, RIP

Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy since 1984, died this week after an 18-month battle against pancreatic cancer. The winner of seven Emmy Awards, Trebek was also known as an activist and philanthropist, supporting causes including World Vision Canada and the Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue at the University of Ottawa. One of the fun aspects of the Jeopardy program is that on many occasions, the categories are given clever names, often with puns. Which of the following is a real Jeopardy category that contained an answer and question of Jewish content? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

YAAANA offers courses on Yiddish language, songs

The Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA) is opening registration for its “Not Your Usual Intensive Winter Yiddish Language and Culture Program.” The first Yiddish winter intensive program in the San Diego area, it will run from December 6-20, 2020 virtually over Zoom. The winter intensive will include language and conversation (shmues) courses, as well as a cultural program, including Yiddish yoga, four different song workshops, and a special event by San Diego’s favorite klezmer musician, Yale Strom. YAAANA hoped to host this program in person, but in keeping with safety guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it moved the programming online. The organization expects that the virtual element to its winter intensive will make it possible for those from all around the world to take advantage of its offerings this winter. The teachers live both locally, in San Diego, and abroad, with instructors Zooming in from such cities as New York, Berlin, England, and Toronto. [YAAANA press release]

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Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Story of Nazi brutality published during WWII

This is not an easy, light-hearted read. Far from it. It describes in harrowing detail the experiences of George Heisler, who is one of seven men who escaped from a prison camp somewhere in rural Germany. The year is 1935, and anyone suspected of opposing the Nazi regime is liable to be summoned by the Gestapo, arrested and sent to a prison camp. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International