The Arts

Katz’s book on Israel’s war against terror is outstanding

The Ghost Warriors: Inside Israel’s Undercover War Against Suicide Terrorism by Samuel Katz; Berkley  (2016) ISBN: 1592409016; $18; Rated: 5* By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — There is hardly a day when we don’t read another story about a terrorist attack. For the most part, Radical Islam has demonstrated an almost uncanny ability to raise […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East

Ohr Shalom dedicates Pillars of Cloud, Smoke

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Before Holocaust Survivor Lou Dunst died last year, he and his wife Estelle commissioned art to enhance the Holy Ark at Ohr Shalom Synagogue at Third and Laurel Streets in San Diego. Four artists competed for the honor of designing the works, with architect Amy Reichert of Chicago,

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Large cast to read, sing Goldberg, Shneour works

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California–The works of two great Jewish poets, Leah Goldberg (1911-1970) and Zalman Shneour (1887-1959) will be featured at the Tuesday, February 23, 7 p.m. program of Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices in the Astor Judaica Library of the Lawrence Family JCC. All the poems will be read in their original language as

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego Calendar

Jewish Film Festival Review: ‘Righteous Rebel’

  By Jack Forman SAN DIEGO — Righteous Rebel: The Story of Rabbi Avi Weiss, a wide-ranging, celebratory feature-length documentary by filmmaker Phil Schneider honoring the life and the activism of the well-known and controversial Orthodox Rabbi who has been in the public limelight for almost a half a century screened before an attentive audience of

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Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Flory’s Flame’: Jewish history through Ladino music

LA JOLLA, California —  San Diego Jewish Film Festival audiences were bestowed a gift of immeasurable delights as Flory’s Flame was shown on On Friday, February 12, in the JCC’s Garfield Auditorium.  Before the airing of the hour-long documentary, we were treated to five live heart-rending pieces sung by Elizabeth Schwartz, accompanied by guitarist and professor, Fred Benedetti. 

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Eva Trieger, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

How Judaism views evil speech

False Facts and True Rumors: LaShon HaRa in Contemporary Culture by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Maggid Books, Jerusalem; ISBN 978-1-59264-441-4 ©2015, $29.95, p. 261, plus bibliography and indexes By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–The Hebrew expression lashon hara, literally meaning “an evil tongue,” is often translated as slander, gossip, and malicious or disparaging speech. In contemporary

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

‘Dough’ is worth spending your cash on

By Jack Forman SAN DIEGO — An improbable plot in a film is not necessarily a liability, especially when a movie has other things going for it — great acting, a funny and touching script with a good heart and an uplifting message, sure-footed direction, excellent cinematography and appealing, and off-center characters. Dough, a British comedy-drama

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San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Two teen performers leave TICO audience breathless

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO– Two gifted teenagers shone as soloists in The Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra’s concerts January 31 at the First United Methodist Church of Chula Vista and February 2 at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Violinist Ilana Hirshfeld, 15,  and Violist Jonathan Sussman, 18, combined their talents in a memorable rendition of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. Their ensemble

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

German arts on exhibit in 50th year of Israel relations

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — To mark both the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Israel Museum and fifty years of German-Israeli diplomatic relations, the  Museum is currently presenting an exhibition of masterworks from the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. The exhibition, entitled ‘Twilight over Berlin’ and showing works from the period between 1905 and 1945, provides

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts