Jewish History

Madrid museum may keep Pissarro painting looted by Nazis, US appeals court rules

Published by Reuters UK Decision is a Set Back for the Cassirer Family of San Diego By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court said on Tuesday that Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza museum may keep a painting by the French impressionist Camille Pissarro that the Nazis looted from a Jewish woman, rejecting an ownership claim that […]

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Nordot, San Diego County, USA

Our Shtetl San Diego County: Israel and Arab Nations Reps. Discuss Mideast Coexistence Jan. 16

A delegation representing Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, and Morocco will discuss the Abraham Accords, the Hamas attack on Israel Oct. 7, the subsequent war in Gaza, and the prospects for encouraging “a constructive and positive way forward for Arabs and Israelis.” [SDJW staff]

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California, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Baruch Spinoza: The Universal Anti-Hero

Spinoza was regarded in the Amsterdam community as what the rabbis call an “illui” ̶ outstanding disciple. However, the “illui” had a critical view of the Bible and Talmud, not treating them as sacred books, but subjecting them to analysis. He scoffed at the Jewish chosenness and questioned the chronology of the Bible. He argued that Moses could not be the author of the Pentateuch. The books of Moses, in his judgment, were not written by one man and not for the people of one era. [Alex Gordon, Ph.D]

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Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Soupy Sales

The national Soupy Sales Show featured non-stop jokes, slapstick, and signature pie-in-the-face routines.  Famous musicians often appeared as guests on the show, which also featured such puppets as  “White Fang,” “Black Tooth,” “Pokie the Lion,” and “Hippy the Hippo.” [SDJW staff report]

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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

ADL: Hate Crimes Surged in San Diego County in 2023

There were 30 antisemitic incidents in San Diego County between Oct. 7, when Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis, and December 6 – a 150 percent increase over the same two-month period of 2022, according to the San Diego Regional Anti-Defamation League office. [SDJW staff report]

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Antisemitism, California, Holocaust, Jewish History, Press Release, San Diego County, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Adolph Zukor

He invested in a chain of theaters, leading in 1912 to Zukor establishing the Famous Players Film Company, later through mergers to become Paramount Pictures, with studios on both coasts.  Zukor purchased chains of movie theaters, guaranteeing audiences for the films he produced with such well-known stars as  Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. (SDJW staff report]

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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday

Hamas Terrorists Bypassed Israeli Center for People with Disabilities

Elie Klein, ADI’s development director, said Shabbats normally are restful at ADI-Negev, but such was not the case on Saturday, Oct. 7, the day Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel, murdering 1,200 people, kidnaping approximately 240 more, and setting into motion the current war in which the Israeli government has vowed to eliminate the ability of Hamas terrorists to ever again mount such an operation against Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Bonnie Franklin

Bonnie Franklin (January 6, 1944-March 1, 2013) was remembered for her role as the single mother Ann Romano in the 1975-1984 television series One Day at a Time. Created by Norman Lear, the series addressed a variety of social issues including premarital sex, sexual harassment, and suicide. [SDJW staff report]

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Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday

SOHO Receives Governor’s Award for 50+ Years of Historic Preservation

These historic resources include the Santa Fe Depot, Hotel del Coronado, Ballpark District, Warehouse Thematic Historic District, Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park’s historic core, Temple Beth Israel, Santa Ysabel Store, the North Park and South Park historic districts, and many more. [Times of San Diego]

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California, Jewish History, San Diego County, Times of San Diego, USA

Book excerpt reveals details of Zelensky’s bunker routine during first weeks of invasion

Published by Kyiv Independent President Volodymyr Zelensky was said to have “resembled a walking corpse” in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, which he did not believe would happen “until the final hours,” the Telegraph reported on Jan. 4 in an excerpt of a book on Zelensky by Time journalist Simon Shuster. Zelensky and

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Nordot

Study Helps Archaeologists Decipher How Ancient Bricks Burned

Applying their method to findings from ancient Gath (Tell es-Safi in central Israel), the researchers validated the Biblical account from 2 Kings 12,18: “About this time Hazael King of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem.” (2 Kings 12, 18). [Press Release]

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Israel, Jewish History, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education