Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Fry saga leaves reviewer with mixed feelings

Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry; Hutchinson, 1997. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I have mixed feelings about the author whose avowed brilliance is tempered by strange behavior, apparently due to his being subject to bi-polar disorder, as well as his aversion to Israel and Zionism. His half-Jewish background may partly account for the latter, […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

New book examines Judaism’s last three prophets

Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty by Hayyim Angel, Maggid Books, New Milford, CT, © 2016, ISBN 978-1-59264-413-1, p. 154 plus appendix, $24.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –  Jewish prophets are missionaries in the sense that God calls them to fulfill a task, such as conveying important information to the

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

World of mystery at Fleet Science Center

By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — Just the other day, I was explaining the term “spoiler” to my ESL students. If you wrote a who-done-it called “The Butler did it,” no one would read it because it’s the mental gymnastics it takes to untangle a web of intrigue that makes it worthwhile. Now at

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Ross offers primer on Israel and U.S. Presidents

Doomed to Succeed: The U. S. – Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama by Dennis Ross, Fareerar, Straus, and Giroux, New York, © 2015, ISBN 978-0-374-70948-8, p. 408 plus notes and index, $30.00 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.  WINCHESTER, California –  Did Obama’s communication to America’s UN ambassador, directing her to abstain on a vote condemning Israel

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East, USA

How the Brits broke the Nazis’ ‘Enigma’ code

Capturing the Enigma; the Unsung Heroes of HMS Bulldog by Patrick Spencer; Published by Mouse Works Publishing By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — In May 1941, at a time when the Second World War was in full swing and the British forces were doing their utmost to block Hitler’s rampage across Europe, the battle to control

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

A star-studded ‘Night’ to honor Elie Wiesel in New York

Five-hour January 29 event at Museum of Jewish Heritage features diverse community reading of the slim 116-page volume that changed the world By Renee Ghert-Zand Millions have read Elie Wiesel’s landmark Holocaust memoir “Night.” When Oprah Winfrey selected it for her book club in 2006, she turned it into an instant bestseller and countless students

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials

Former FBI agent details long search for ‘Devil’s Diary’

Nazis’ ‘minister of hate’ planted ‘seed’ of ideology Robert Wittman signs copies of his book detailing his search and recovery of the diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a leading architect of the Third Reich who “in some respects turned Hitler into Hitler.” Photo by Debra Rubin Many consider Alfred Rosenberg the “architect” of the Third Reich,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History

Donald Trump Wants To Eliminate The National Endowment For The Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts, the independent federal agency that promotes and funds art in American communities, will be eliminated if the Trump administration has its way, the Hill reported Thursday. The NEA provides direct grants to art agencies and artists throughout the country. In 2015, the agency awarded grants in every Congressional district,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Some great thoughts to learn and unlearn

  By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — We are faced with contradictions on a daily basis; some are generational, some cultural, some familial. When we have believed in one way of acting and then are faced with new medical or scientific findings or a deeper understanding and recognize that the opposite way is

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Natasha Josefowitz, Science, Medicine, & Education