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, USADead Wake: The Last Crossing of the RMS Lusitania by Erik Larson, Crown Publishers, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — When Cunard liner RMS Lusitania sailed on May 1, 1915, from New York City to Liverpool, she was the largest and fastest steam passenger ship afloat. Many lessons had been learned from the sinking of
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories
Nobel Prize winning author of Fateless BUDAPEST (JNS.org)– Hungarian writer Imre Kertesz, a Holocaust survivor who won the the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature for his fiction work, died on Thursday in Budapest at age 86 after a long battle with illness, the Magveto Kiado publishing firm said. Kertesz was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Obituaries & memorialsBy Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Nelson Heller and Genine Rainbeau-Heart were the two featured poets at the Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices program Tuesday evening, March 22, at the Astor Judaica Library. With one of the original programmed poets absent due to illness, the open microphone segment was extended. The well-attended audience was rewarded with Rainbeau-Heart’s original
Travel and turpinoid subjects for poets Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard
Midnight in Berlin by James MacManus; Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin’s Press; ISBN 978-1-250-07949-4; 404 pages; $26.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This is a novel of political intrigue set in Nazi Germany just before the outbreak of World War II. The British military attache in Berlin, Noel Macrae, learns of Adolf Hitler’s
Novel explores Berlin on the eve of World War II Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. HarrisonAn Improbable Friendship: The Remarkable Lives of Israeli Ruth Dayan and Palestinian Raymonda Tawil and Their Forty Year Peace Mission, by Anthony David, Arcade Publishing, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Ruth Dayan was married to and then divorced from Israel’s General Moshe Dayan. Raymonda Tawil was the mother-in-law of Palestinian Fatah Chairman Yasser
From the Jewish library: ‘An Improbable Friendship’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle EastFrom the Wilderness and Lebanon: An Israeli Soldier’s Story of War and Recovery by Asael Lubotzky, Translated from the Hebrew by Murray Roston,Toby Press, New Milford, Connecticut; ISBN 978-1-59264-417-9 ©2015, $14.95, p. 188 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –The Third Platoon of the Golani Brigade, now working near Gaza for training, but normally operating in Northern Israel,
Gaza, Lebanon–An Israeli soldier’s diary Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle EastThe Pater: My Father, My Judaism, My Childlessness by Elliot Jager; Toby Press, London, England By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I was given Elliot Jager’s book, The Pater: My Father, My Judaism, My Childlessness, as a gift, and must admit that it is not a book I would have chosen to read in the
Memoir of a childless, fatherless Jew Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
God and Politics in Esther, 2nd Edition, by Yoram Hazony; Cambridge University Press; (2015); ISBN-10: 1107583454; $18.27 on Amazon. Rating ***** out of 5 Stars. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Yoram Hazony’s exposition of the Book of Esther is priceless. In my Judaism 101 class, everyone read a little bit from God
God needs worthy people as partners for His miracles Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiIn This Together by Ann Romney, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — When she was 47 years old and in the midst of a very busy life, Ann Romney noticed a numb spot on her leg as well as problems with her balance and increasing fatigue. At first she
The Jewish library: ‘In This Together’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories
The Passover Surprise by Janet Ruth Heller; illustrations by Ronald Kauffman; © 2015; Fictive Press; ISBN 978-1-927663-17-1; 35 pages including glossary and discussion drive. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –A lot of ground is covered in this story for middle schoolers. It begins with a pre-teenage girl, Lisa, competing with her younger brother, Jon,
‘The Passover Surprise’ is brief yet topic rich Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, USA
The Book Thief (10th Anniversary Edition) by Markus Zusak; Alfred A. Knopf; ISBN 878-0-399-55652-4; 550 pages plus bonus material covering the creative process; $19.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Sometimes a book comes out and, like a news article, dies after a period of time, forgotten by everyone except the author and perhaps
Never read ‘The Book Thief’? Steal the time Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison