By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — It is interesting that while living in Paris, my parents resisted any French influence and continued their Russian way of life: eating Russian food, reading Russian newspapers and books, having Russian friends, and speaking Russian at home. My first tongue was Russian. In the U.S., they did the same […]
A musical Russian enclave in Beverly Hills Read More »
Jewish History, Natasha Josefowitz
By Eileen Wingard SHANGHAI, China — In the Ohel Moshe Synagogue, now a museum, the maroon velvet curtain of the Torah Ark bears a gold embroidered inscription: “Tribute to Hongkew People Who Provided Refuge to Jews In Time of Need.” This house of worship was part of the hub of Jewish life in the ghetto
3 waves of Jews came to Shanghai Read More »
Eileen Wingard, International, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France — I know I’ve written about this subject before, but it’s one that simply isn’t going to go away, and in fact is getting worse every day, every hour, every minute. Many of these unfortunates come from Africa, from countries where conflicts, poverty, corruption and hopelessness are endemic. Others come from
Jews can empathize with refugees Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East, The World We Share
Somewhere There Is Still A Sun by Michael Gruenbaum with Todd Hasak-Lowy; Aladdin Books © 2015; ISBN 978-1-4424-8486-3; 378 pages including after words; $17.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This book is what you might call a combination of a memoir and historical fiction—the two genres mixing in a tale intended for middle
A Holocaust tale for middle schoolers Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History
-18th in a series– Exit 6, Texas Street, San Diego — Old Tifereth Israel, Beth Jacob By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Although San Diego’s Jewish community started in Old Town San Diego in the 1850s, moving to downtown and environs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was on the move again
I-8 Jewish Travel: Shuls on the move Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food
Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon and Tanya Simon, illustrated by Marc Siegel, Roaring Brook Press of MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group; ISBN 978-1-59643-949-8; 40 pages; $17.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Back in the early 1970.s, when I worked for the Associated Press in New York City, I was always
A refugee and the great American hope Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USABy Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — When France fell, we knew we could not go home again. We lost everything and eventually, almost everyone I had ever known. When the Germans crossed into Lithuania, they took my grandparents out of their home, marched them to a nearby school, and shot them point blank. A
Our WWII refugee family found its way to California Read More »
Jewish History, Natasha Josefowitz, USALike Dreamers, The True Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation, by Yossi Klein Halevi (HarperCollins Publishers, 2013) By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — In June 1967, the Israeli Defense Forces miraculously overcame the combined attack launched by three of its neighbors: Egypt, Jordan and Syria. But as miraculous as
From the Jewish library: ‘Like Dreamers’ Read More »
Jewish History, Middle EastBy Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — Tibor (Ted) Rubin enters the room. The President of the United States, bound by tradition, rises and salutes him. Rubin, born a Hungarian Jew, is one of 79 persons who command the salute of the President. They are the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest
The story of Tibor Rubin’s heroism in the Korean War Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA
–17th in a series– Exit 6, Texas Street, San Diego ~ District Office of U.S. Rep. Susan Davis By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –The distance between this city and Washington D.C. is approximately 2,690 miles, or a five-hour jet plane ride. Impractical to go back and forth every day between work in Washington and constituents
I-8 Jewish Travel: ‘Team Davis’ Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Jews are the ultimate disruptors, and I mean that in a good way. Lately, we hear a lot about disruptive technologies: advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy. Well, it occurs to me that this is what the Jews have been doing since antiquity. We are
The Jews who ‘disrupted’ society Read More »
Jewish History, Steve Kramer
We are two—a couple, a double—but also a whole, a unit, one. We are sometimes opposites and sometimes parallels. Parallels that make it so easy, opposites that make it so exciting. We are opposites, but ones that complete each other. We are parallels, so close they are almost a line. We are from places far
Jedem das Seine: A Love Story Read More »
International, Jewish History, San Diego County
Editor’s Note: Seth Moreida recently interviewed Rabbi Arik Ascherman, director of Rabbis for Human Rights, who explains in the first part of this series his criticism of Israel’s conduct of last year’s Gaza War. In the second part of this series, Moreida will provide a contrary perspective. Moreida is majoring in political science and international relations and
Rabbi blames Israel for Gaza civilian casualties Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East
–16th in a series– Exit 6, Qualcomm Way, San Diego ~ Qualcomm Stadium, By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — In 1997, Qualcomm, a telecommunications industry giant co-founded by Jewish electrical engineers Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and others, paid the City of San Diego $18 million for San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium to be renamed for
I-8 Jewish travel: Qualcomm Way, Qualcomm Stadium Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food