International

Afro-Peruvian folk music opens SDSO concert

The 37-year-old Lopez is the current composer-in-residence of the San Diego Symphony. This piece was commissioned in 2013 by fellow Peruvian native, Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, then Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and was dedicated to Harth-Bedoya, even embedding his initials into the entire work. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

In the wake of Islamic Center tragedy, interfaith suspicions still linger

For our enemies, for those who commit the greatest violence motivated by the deepest hatred, it does not matter if we stand arm in arm or cower alone. We are all on their hit list. If anything, our division makes us easier targets, our silence coming across like acceptance. [Matt Winstel]

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International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

San Diego mosque attackers influenced by online extremism

A review by the ADL Center on Extremism of the killers’ apparent respective manifestos reveals adherence to several ideologies, most prominently white supremacist accelerationism and inceldom, as well as virulent Islamophobia and antisemitism. Their writings, which have been shared on gore sites like WatchPeopleDie (WPD), also illustrate general misanthropy and an immersion in online nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) ecosystems. [Press Release]

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Antisemitism, Middle East, Opinion, Press Release, San Diego County, Technology, Travel and Food, USA

Congressional candidate inveighs against extreme pro-Hamas, anti-Israel sentiment

Maureen Galindo, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Texas’s 35th District, recently declared on Instagram that if elected she would turn the Karnes ICE Detention Center into “a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”
She went even further, calling for a “castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.” [Stan Caplan]

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Antisemitism, Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Mamdani commemorates ‘Nakba Day’

Nakba Day is the silliest, most childlike excuse ever created to explain away defeat in war. Most nations and peoples who are vanquished take their losses in a saddened, subdued manner. The less said the better. The Arabs would proclaim it from the highest of their tall, looming minarets, where Muslims make the call to prayer five times a day. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Antisemitism, Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Children’s book presents Jewish legend of 15th Century Spain

This historical fiction novel explores the lives of Jews in 15th-century Spain through the perspective of a young girl named Loma (Paloma) and the struggles faced by her family. The author researched her own Spanish Jewish heritage, which inspired her to write this novel, suitable for children ages 8–11.
[Cailin Acosta]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors

RJC hails Ed Gallrein’s GOP primary victory over Rep. Thomas Massie, an opponent of Israel

Massie has stood alone among House Republicans in opposing aid to our ally Israel, voting against bipartisan resolutions condemning antisemitism, and, in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack — the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust — Massie voted against emergency assistance for Israel as it fought a war for its very survival. His record is indefensible, and tonight, the Republican primary voters of Kentucky held him accountable. [Press Release]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Press Release, USA

An echo from the past

As I read the message the memory of the composer, Verdina Shlonsky, and her articles about French composers she had known in Paris, came flooding back. I recalled her as a kind, elderly lady who lived in a small apartment on the top floor of an old Tel Aviv building with virtually no furniture other than a piano and a couch. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology

Federation’s Heidi Gantwerk traveled to D.C. to lobby for more money for security of religious institutions

We have long believed that security cannot be an afterthought for any community of faith — and today is a devastating reminder that this reality extends to every house of worship in our city and across the country. That is why we are in Washington fighting for resources that protect communities like the one attacked today. [Heidi Gantwerk]

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Heidi Gantwerk, Jewish Religion, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

5 die in aftermath of gunfire at Islamic Center of San Diego

Five people are dead, including suspected teenage shooters Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez in the wake of an attack on Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Two of the other three victims were not immediately identified, but one was security guard Amin Abdullah whom law enforcement officials said may have prevented a much larger death toll. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Rabbi Devorah Marcus, 13 others, honored at California Capitol

“Jewish American Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary contributions Jewish Americans have made to our state and nation, while also reflecting on the values that have sustained our community across generations – our commitment to justice, learning, service, and repairing the world,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. [Press Release]

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California, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Press Release, San Diego County, USA