California

Our Shtetl: Super Bowl is over, now onto the Winter Olympics

As we finish up all the Super Bowl treats, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, have started and will continue for two weeks.
There are 16 Jewish and Israeli athletes to keep an eye on in the next two weeks. [Cailin Acosta]

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Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, California, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Bad Bunny and the Goodness of Resistance

Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio – Bad Bunny – broke out and broke it down at the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show. All in Spanish, all proudly Puerto Rican. All-American. He showed the world – and it was the world watching that we are still here (seguimos aqui) despite all the horrific things being done to harm people and break their spirits. [Barrett Holman Leak]

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Barrett Holman Leak, California, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Parshas Yisro – Here Comes the Sunshine

Fast forward fifty years, and our Tu B’Shvat experience is quite different. Here in Eretz Yisrael, not only are the major holidays celebrated throughout the country and across all lines, but even the minor festivals have been transformed into major events. [Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky]

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California, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

JPAC reports another victory in the fight for AB 715

Recently, a federal court decisively rejected an effort to block AB 715 from taking effect. In a sweeping ruling, the judge found that the law is constitutional, consistent with the First Amendment, and neither vague nor overbroad. As a result, AB 715 went into effect statewide on January 1. [David Bocarsly]

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Antisemitism, California, Holocaust, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

REVIEW: Black and Jewish: An Interwoven History, Part 1 – Let My People Go

Because I live in the intersection of being both Black and Jewish, I have learned about my identity over the years, both through experience, stories handed down to me, education, and reading. [Barrett Holman Leak]

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Antisemitism, Barrett Holman Leak, California, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

That pesky Punxsutawney Phil predicts more winter, summer like conditions in SoCal

Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter. That is unfortunate for our friends and family on the East Coast since those of us in San Diego are looking at highs in the 70’s for the next two weeks. No rain forecast for the next 10 days. [Cailin Acosta]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, California, Holocaust, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jews in the news: Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026

Holocaust survivor and documentarian Bernard Offen, 96, who was imprisoned in the ghetto in Krakow, Poland, and later was an inmate at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp complex, spoke Tuesday at a ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of the liberation of those camps by Soviet forces. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Thousands of Holocaust Survivors Are Still with Us. Many Are Living in Poverty

Our goal is simple: to help survivors remain safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. Services include home care assistance, transportation to medical appointments, access to nutritious food and help navigating complex healthcare systems. Just as important is addressing the emotional and social impacts of aging and trauma. [Dana Toppel]

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California, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

John Doe ‘Shoah: The unknown Holocaust survivor

October 27, 2021, Rabbi Yonasan Abrams of Chabad Temecula and Baruch Bloom, of the Chesed Shel Emes Society of California, buried the remains of a Ploni Ben Abraham, in the Chabad Mt. of Olives Cemetery in Los Angeles. Ploni Ben Abraham means unknown but to God. [Jerry Klinger]

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California, Holocaust, Jerry Klinger, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Opinion: Learning to Hate Yourself or Whence Cometh the Hate? 

With false statements such as California State Senator Scott Wiener’s that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, is it surprising that Alliance San Diego disinvited Rabbi Hanan Leberman to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.?  [J. Barry Gurdin]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, International, Israel, News Media, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA