Sam Litvin, a Ukrainian immigrant to San Diego, is a world traveler, finding Jewish stories wherever he goes.
His books, available on Amazon, include:
By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — Two things happened Monday that stressed the importance of this moment in Jewish history. One is a lunch meeting with a fellow wrestling coach, who is not Jewish but asked me “What is happening in Israel?” The other is a fellow Kellogg-Recanati Alum who is running a startup from […]
The Importance of This Moment in Jewish History Read More »
Israel, Opinion, Sam Litvin, USA
By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — “We have been playing defense. You can’t win a war with defense, you have to have offense” proclaimed Elan Carr, the former U.S. special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, during last Sunday’s “Fighting Antisemitism With Love” event at San Diego State University. The event was put on by
San Diegans Gather for a Night of Unity and Hope in Defiance of Antisemitism Read More »
Sam Litvin, San Diego County, USA
By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — “They love our work, but they do not love us” says an elderly man in the high mountains of Ethiopia. He is a Jew. His family has been Jewish as far back as they can remember, and they can remember all the way to the days of Queen Sheeba
Film on Ethiopian Jewry’s ‘Yearning’ to be Screened in San Diego Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Sam Litvin, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastJenin has no redeeming value. It is simply there for vilification of Jewish people based on falsehoods. San Diego Museum of Photographic Arts could have done research and said no. It didn’t. [Sam LItvin]
Museum of Photographic Arts and an Antisemitic Film Read More »
Sam Litvin, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — A rocket landed in a school. Children are killed as are parents. If this was Sderot, this would be on all Jewish channels, on all Jewish instagram accounts and even on news networks. There would be discussion of who is right or wrong. But it is not in
The Invisible Jews of Tigray and the Famine in Ethiopia Read More »
International, Opinion, Sam Litvin, USABy Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — The July 4th killer was not shy about his hate. He planned the place and the time carefully, meticulously. He planned to get away with it. He visited a synagogue, he walked around the area, and ended up getting on a roof of a building and began shooting
I’m Tired of Polite Antisemitism Read More »
Opinion, Sam Litvin, USA
By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — It is very easy to make Jews evil when Jews who are loved by all, have their Jewishness erased. When I have a feeling that someone is Jewish, I often go to Wikipedia. The bios in “Early Life” portion always mention ethnicity of a person, be they Persian or
Bob Saget and the Erasing of the Jew Read More »
Jewish Celebrities, Sam Litvin, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — The racism and history of Hollywood isn’t anything new. Just a couple of years ago, we were made to see the issues not only with casting but also awards in the “Oscars So White.” While impact on Asian and Black roles is clear and obvious, not so obvious is
Hollywood Racism Extends to Jews Read More »
Jewish Celebrities, Sam Litvin, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Sam Litvin penned the following letter to Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53): By Sam Litvin Dear Congresswoman Jacobs, I am sure you are aware that the Tigray and Oromo rebels are two hours from entering Addis Ababa. What you may not know is that they are the sworn enemy of the Jewish community of Ethiopia and
Letter to Congresswoman Sara Jacobs: Pleading for Ethiopia Read More »
Middle East, Sam Litvin, San Diego County
Ambassador Raphael Morav did not plan to move to Israel; his parents brought him there when he was still in primary school. He did not plan to become a diplomat, he simply saw a listing for jobs, took a test, and got in. He never planned on becoming the Ambassador of Israel to Ethiopia, but that is the position that opened up at the time and he applied. Lastly, Ambassador Morav never planned on completely changing Ethiopian Jewish life nor perceptions of Jews in Addis Ababa. But that is what he did, with calm and persistence and his usual kind demeanor. [Sam Litvin]
Israel’s Envoy Seen as ‘Modern Moses’ in Ethiopia Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sam LitvinRecently an Ethiopian refugee, Sintayehu Garedew, American Rapper Kosha Dillz aka Rami Matan Even-Esh and I held an event via Zoom. It was to raise awareness of the Jewish community called Beta-Avraham who inhabit the North Shewa mountains and town of Kechene near Addis Ababa. The nearly 80,000 people live in cramped and dangerous conditions and the fundraiser aims to raise funds for masks and protective equipment for the elderly and workers in the community affected by the strict lockdown of the Ethiopian government in response to COVID. [Sam Litvin]
Neo-Nazis disrupt Ethiopian Jewish fundraiser Read More »
International, Jewish History, Sam Litvin
StandWithUs, the international organization that battles anti-Semitism on college, high school, and middle school campuses, is engaged in a drive to prevent wording of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) anti-Israel movement from being restored to a proposed, ethnic studies model curriculum (ESMC) for schools throughout California. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
California battle resumes over ethnic studies Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sam Litvin, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
During evening and morning Shabbat services preceding Martin Luther King Day, Rabbi Josh Dorsch and David Ogul, respectively the rabbi and president of Tifereth Israel Synagogue, read from the pulpit a reflection that congregant Dan Tomsky had extrapolated from the writings of The Rev. Kathleen C. Rolenz, a Unitarian Universalist minister. [Donald H. Harrison]
Shabbat reflections on Rev. Martin Luther King Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, Sam Litvin, USAIsraeli families, students and really everyone who has not left the country for vacation, takes to the streets by foot, bike or scooter. The whole country, every city and every street becomes a park. They begin walking around at sundown and do not stop until the next sundown. There are picnics, there are gangs of 10 year olds on bikes, there are gangs of girls on skates, there are toddlers in the middle of the street, there are skateboarders pulled by bikers, there are old men and young men, women and children, sitting on streets and corners and talking, enjoying each other’s company. They have no food, they have no drinks, there is no trash. It is just pure joy to be outside without having to go anywhere and without having to watch out for cars. (To read more, please click on the headline.)
Yom Kippur is very different in Israel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sam Litvin