Jewish History

Jewish trivia quiz: Mexican customs

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — In an effort to goad Mexico into taking more action against Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to the United States southern border, President Trump has announced that he will begin implementing tariffs on Mexican goods in the coming weeks and months. There is a long history

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International, Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Three movie wizards recalled at Oz- flavored county fair

  By Donald H. Harrison DEL MAR, California – At the San Diego County Fair on Sunday, June 2, I was reminded of three Jewish entertainment figures who were instrumental to the making of the celebrated movie, The Wizard of Oz, which because of its San Diego connections provides the theme for this year’s fair.

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

AJ Congress provides free voter guide for 2020

NEW YORK (SDJW) — The American Jewish Congress has compiled a Jewish voter’s guide to the 2020 elections, looking at the stances President Donald Trump and the 24 Democratic presidential contenders, to date, have taken on Israeli and domestic Jewish concerns. The guide also provides information on the stances of members of the United States

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Soille gala honors U.S. soldiers, Shoah survivors

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School honored two Holocaust survivors at a Memorial Day gala on Monday, May 27, with keynote speaker Elizabeth Robbins, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, spelling out the connection. “I think Rabbi [and Headmaster Simcha] Weiser picked the best possible day to honor Fanny

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Jewish pins and a badge help document our past

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Longtime San Diego residents Robert and Helaine Baum were doing some Spring cleaning and found hundreds of pins and patches that they had collected over the years, then put away, and forgot. Their wide-ranging collection included memorabilia from the worlds of politics, sports, broadcasting, the labor movement, local

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Yiddish play (with English subtitles) examines power

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — Latin is a dead language. This is defined as “one that has no native speakers.” Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh is on a mission to make sure that Yiddish never goes the way of Latin. And she’s succeeding.  Two years ago, the doctoral candidate from the Slavic Languages Department at the

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Eva Trieger, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Zionism an important component of Wouk’s legacy

By Moshe Phillips PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Herman Wouk, the famed novelist who first became a household name for his 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning The Caine Mutiny died last week nearly 70 years after achieving fame. Besides his long career as a writer he was also a lifelong Zionist. This fact of Wouk’s love affair with the State of Israel has been completely absent from the many articles celebrating his literary

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

An Independence Day tour of Israel

By Steve Kramer KFAR SAVA, Israel — Just 71 years ago, Israel declared its independence based on several factors: *God promised the Land of Israel to the Jews in the Bible – echoed in the Christian Bible and even (gasp!) in the Koran. *Three ancient Jewish kingdoms in Israel are part of archaeological and historical

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Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food