Jewish History

Book chronicles 4,000 years of Jewish leaders

Marlon classifies more than eight hundred Jewish luminaries into one or more of fifteen categories, each its own chapter, including the High Priests of the Jews, Exilarchs of the Jews, and Generals of the Jews. He separates Jewish kings into five separate chapters: Kings of the United Monarchy, Kings of Israel, Kings of Judea, Hasmonean and Herodian Kings, and Jewish Kings of Himyar, Khazaria, and Ethiopia. A distinct chapter holds Queens of the Jews, starting with Mikhal (c. 900 BCE), youngest daughter of King Saul and ending with Gudit (c. 960 CE), who fought against Aksum, the capital of Christian Ethiopia. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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

A new Holocaust memorial in Suriname

On the Northern Coast of South America, is a tiny third world country’s capital, Paramaribo, Suriname. It is 5,248 miles to Krakow, near Auschwitz. The tiny Jewish community of Suriname, alongside of their non-Jewish neighbors chose on Jan. 27 to remember the Holocaust. Unlike most commemorations that took place that day, the Suriname Jewish community dedicated a permanent interpretive historical marker telling the ill-informed and the future generations of the uninformed, what the Holocaust was. [Jerry Klinger]

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International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History

The Four Chaplains: Immortal courage at sea

It was a day remembered for the enormous loss of life. It is also a day for remembering the story of four who could have saved their own lives, but chose instead to give their place in a lifeboat to four others. The four men who made that sacrifice were Army chaplains: a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant ministers. Each man had volunteered for military service. George Fox, a Methodist minister, had been a combat soldier in World War I and still suffered from wounds he had received. Yet after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor he volunteered for active duty. Rabbi Alexander Goode and Dutch Reformed minister Clark Poling left behind wives and young children. John Washington, a Roman Catholic priest, had just left his widowed mother. [Michael Feldberg, Ph.D]

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International, Jewish History, USA

1945 Holocaust memoir rediscovered

Identical books with different titles and different covers introduce bookish mystery and confusion. Such is the case of No Place to Lay One’s Head and A Bookshop in Berlin by Françoise Frenkel which first appeared in 1945 as Rien où poser sa tête. The revival of an overlooked book has a special attraction. Publishers appeal to sensibilities of prospective readers through alluring titles and cover art. [Oliver B. Pollak, PhD]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Oliver Pollak

Clearing up confusion between JNF-USA and KKL

Dr. Sol Lizerbram, the Rancho Sante Fe resident who serves as the national president of Jewish National Fund-USA, says that many people are unaware that Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL) and JNF-USA are totally separate organizations, even though in the past, they were one and the same.
[Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Mayoral candidates discuss anti-Semitism

Anti-semitism?  City Councilwoman Barbara Bry blames President Donald Trump.  City Councilman Scott Sherman points his finger at the Internet.  And Tasha Williamson says it’s the fault of domestic terrorists, who ought to be prosecuted with the same tenacity as are terrorists from foreign countries. The three candidates made their comments Sunday night at a forum at Temple Emanu-El skipped by Assemblyman Todd Gloria, who polls show to be the frontrunner in their race to be San Diego’s next mayor. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Movie, play offer gripping Holocaust stories

The film 1945 and the play The Class give new meaning to the phrase “bad neighbor.” These very relevant works of performance art were among those highlighted at the 5th Kisufim (Hebrew for “longings”) conference held at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, in November. This year’s topic was: “Writing, Memory and Vision” and it was produced in partnership with the Zalman Shazar Center, the Hebrew Writers Association, and the Matanel Foundation, among others. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Toby Klein Greenwald

Crying and laughing with a Holocaust survivor

Only a few moments after her audience had sat in stunned silence hearing about how the mother of Fanny Krasner Lebovits sacrificed her life so her youngest child should not have to go alone to her death, a cell phone tinkled from somewhere in the front of the audience. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Jewish emigre from Nazi Germany was MLK’s tutor

Just the other day, I received an email from Jean Klugman in Boston that read: ”Hello Dan. My cousin Heather Siegel just sent me a copy of the article you wrote nine years ago, in 2011, in the San Diego Jewish World about a Jewish Boston man who served as Martin Luther King’s German-language tutor at  Boston University when MLK was studying for his PhD exam in the 1950s.” In my article for this online newspaper in 2011, I was not able to give the name of the man I was writing about, since I did not know his name and saw no way I would ever find out. But Jean solved the mystery. [Dan Bloom]

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Jewish History, USA

Behind the byline: Jerry Klinger

Though he lives in Boynton Beach, Florida, Jerry Klinger writes stories for this publication from all over the United States and the globe.
Klinger is president of the Jewish American Society of Historic Preservation, an organization which he largely funds. It has erected more than 100 historic markers honoring Jewish-American contributions in this country, Europe, and Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

There are tools for fighting the anti-Semites

Fast-forward to this past September when Nicholas Bogan, 17, sent his store manager a message that he was “celebrating the Jewish holiday tomorrow night.” In Eatontown, N.J., 75 years after the Holocaust, Francesco Scotto Di Rinaldi responded: “F-k the Jewish. Put them on fire/like Hitler was trying to do/He had a point,” according to The New York Post. Predictably, Bogan never returned to his part-time job as a pizza delivery driver, and two months later he filed a lawsuit against the owners of the restaurant, Maurizio’s Pizzeria & Italian Ristorante, a short drive from Asbury Park. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, USA

Jacob’s Ladder by Chagall up for auction

For the first time in over two decades a painting by Marc Chagall will be going up for auction in Israel. Tiroche Auction House will be hosting the Israeli & International Art auction on January 25th – featuring paintings by a number of Israeli masters, including Reuben Rubin, and Yosl Bergner. The highlight of the evening however is Chagall’s Jacob’s Ladder (1970-1974), a theme to which the artist would return at least a dozen times in paintings and drawings. [Sam Ben-Meir, PhD]

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International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir