By Mimi Pollack LA MESA, California — Herb Alpert and Lani Hall do not rest on their laurels. At 81 and 71, they are still going strong and sound as fresh as ever. As a child in Mexico City in the 1960’s, I remember my older siblings listening to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana’s […]
Herb Alpert and Lani Hall: A Whipped Cream Life Read More »
Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” –Hillel By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — If you want to break into showbiz, you have to put yourself out there. You have to stand before judges and audiences with poise and confidence even though your insides are churning with nervous insecurity. That was
Musical stars light up our college campuses Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
NEW YORK (Press Release) — At a special concert fundraiser for Israel’s largest volunteer EMS service held at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on Sunday, United Hatzalah was honored by Jay Leno, who performed a long comedy set and offered on the spot to donate a $36,000 fully equipped ambucycle for the
Jay Leno fundraises for United Hatzalah Read More »
Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USABy Cynthia Citron BEVERLY HILLS, California — The name “Jesse Eisenberg” may not be as familiar as, say, Jerry Seinfeld—-yet. But if you saw him portraying Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network you may remember him being nominated for many prestigious Best Actor awards for his work in that movie. Or, more recently, you
The ubiquitous Mr. Eisenberg Read More »
Cynthia Citron, Theatre, Film & BroadcastSage Advice: Pirkei Avot Translation and Commentary by Irving (Yitz) Greenberg; Maggid Books, New Milford, Connecticut; ISBN 978-1-59264-444-5 ©2016, $24.95, p. 336 plus index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Pirkei Avot, literally meaning “Chapters of the Fathers,” but often translated as “Ethics of the Fathers,” is part of the Talmud, the written form
‘Sage Advice’ unlocks some Pirkei Avot mysteries Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionThurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, by Juan Williams, Times Books, 1998 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — There are pivotal moments in history when the entire culture and future of a people and/or a country are forever changed. The 1954 Supreme Court decision in “Brown v Board of Education” was such a moment. It overturned the
From the Jewish library: ‘Thurgood Marshall’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories
The Spy Who Fell To Earth: My Relationship with the Secret Agent Who Rocked the Middle East by Ahron Bregman; CreateSpace; © 2016; ISBN 13: 9781523339970; 120 pages including appendices. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Having read the San Diego Jewish World article by Joe Spier about the master spy Ashraf Marwan, historian Ahron
The spy Ashraf Marwan and the Yom Kippur War Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East
Max’s Diamonds by Jay Greenfield; © 2016; Chickadee Prince Books; 385 pages; ISBN 978-0-9913274-2-3; $15.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Paul Hartman is incredibly bright, extraordinarily calculating, and horribly conflicted about the diamonds that his cousin, Max, a survivor of Auschwitz, conferred upon his family before he committed suicide. Even as a boy, Paul
A post- Holocaust tale of ill-gotten diamonds Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Franchise blockbusters can often be vehicles for long-underrated character actors to reach a wider audience. After the release of the highly anticipated trailer for “Star Wars: Rogue One,” Ben Mendelsohn might be about to claim a bigger share of the spotlight. Mendelsohn appears in the new trailer as a white-caped Imperial officer. He appears in
Who Is ‘Star Wars’ Actor Ben Mendelsohn? Read More »
Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — We all have to do what we have to do to get by. Some of us have had it easier than others. Our privileged positions give us the luxury of looking down. Rain brings us to a boarding house in Western Samoa in 1924. A ship en route
Get caught in the ‘Rain’ at the Old Globe Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & BroadcastStockholm (dpa) – US author Meg Rosoff was Tuesday named winner of Sweden’s 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in literature for children and young people. Rosoff’s novels for young adults “speak to the emotions as well as the intellect,” the jury said, adding that her “brave and humorous stories are one-of-a-kind. She leaves no reader
Author Meg Rosoff wins Sweden’s 2016 Lindgren prize Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories
A Venetian Jewish woman who lived in London and spoke Hebrew is the actual author behind William Shakespeare, a leading expert claims in a 2014 book released in paperback this week. The English playwright’s mysterious identity even nearly 400 years since his death in April 1616 has stirred its fair share of rumors, including ones
Shakespeare was a Jewish woman, book claims Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History
The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levi St. Martin’s Press, 2016; ISBN 978-1-250-07816-2; 372 pages; $25.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– The heart rules supreme, or at least it should have, in this novel covering four generations of Ladino-speaking Israelis. Next time that you try to forbid a son or a daughter from
Marriage choice should be “right” not “in” nor “out” Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
When she decided to go into show business, iconic Jewish-American performer Barbra Streisand had to overcome tremendous odds, not the least of which was what some viewed as her distinctively Jewish appearance, according to an upcoming biography of the singer and actress. Long before she became a cultural icon, the Brooklyn-born Streisand was mocked, derided
How Streisand turned looking ‘too Jewish’ into stardom Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA