Composer and songwriter Justin Hurwitz, who wrote the music for La La Land, is Jewish and of Russian, Polish, Syrian, and Lebanese descent. Hurwitz attended Harvard University, where he was roommates with director Damien Chazelle. The two later collaborated on La La Land and several other films. [Cailin Acosta}
The hanging from a clock scene is one of the most famous sequences in film history: Harold Lloyd dangling from the hands of a giant clock high above the city streets of Los Angeles. The scene remains thrilling today … [Sherrie Rose]
Silent Movie Mondays ends with Harold Lloyd comedy: ‘Safety Last’ Read More »
California, Jewish History, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
The contempt that some Israel-bashers hold for America’s laws never ceases to surprise. Their accomplices in Boulder, Colorado, eclipsed them all on June 1, the first anniversary of Karen Diamond’s murder in a firebombing on Boulder’s Pearl Street. They are demanding the release of her convicted killer, Mohamed Soliman, who was sentenced to life plus 2,178 years in prison last month after pleading guilty to 101 charges in the attack. He injured 13 others. (Bruce S. Ticker)
Anti-Israel protesters demand that Colorado release firebomber Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and PeerK12 concluded their 2026 San Diego Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) Student Scholarship Contest with a special awards ceremony held at the RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust exhibit at the La Jolla Library on Tuesday. The event brought together students, community members, and Holocaust survivor Ben Midler to celebrate the next generation of young leaders committed to preserving Jewish history and combating antisemitism through education. (Press Release)
Jewish history projects win college scholarships Read More »
Jewish History, Press Release, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions
“The RJC condemns in the strongest possible terms the candidacy of Graham Platner, a man who walked around with a Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo emblazoned on his chest for 18 years and now expects Maine voters to send him to the United States Senate. A Nazi tattoo is disqualifying. Full stop. [Press Release]
RJC slams Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo Read More »
Antisemitism, Holocaust, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Trump behaves as though decades of deep-seated theological fervor, regional subversion, and nuclear ambition can be resolved simply by finding a transactional middle ground. It treats a fanatical, apocalyptic regime not as an existential threat to be decisively dismantled, but as a difficult business partner holding out for a better contract. (Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel)
Trump may imagine himself as Monty Hall of ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ Read More »
Israel, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Few periods of life are as formative as young adulthood. My undergraduate years profoundly shaped the interests, communities, and convictions that continue to guide me today. Much of that trajectory can be traced back to my involvement in pro-Israel student life on campus. [Karen Klein]
Support for Israel dangerously low among college students Read More »
Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, News Media, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
By a decree of the President of the USSR dated October 16, 1990, Iosif Rapoport was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the wording “for his special contribution to the preservation and development of genetics and breeding, and the training of highly qualified scientific personnel.” [Alex Gordon]
Jewish biography: Iosif Rapoport, soldier and geneticist Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
Chait’s poem, Without You, was inspired by the terrible events of October 7, 2023. Lynch’s poem, To My Shabbat Soul, is full of original imagery, dealing with her relationship to Shabbat, and Rolfe’s poem, MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC describes how that element influences our lives… I am also including a poem written by Janice Alper about the traumatic event the day before when three men were killed by two teenagers at the nearby Mosque. [Eileen Wingard]
Shabbat, music, death are subjects for season finale of Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The extraordinary Michael Tilson Thomas (1944–2026), known to his public and colleagues alike as MTT, succumbed in April to an aggressive brain cancer. Conductor, pianist, composer and educator, he was a musicians’ musician, one of dazzling brilliance who was somehow still performing — conducting Mahler symphonies, no less — well beyond anyone’s expectation of what was possible with the grim prognosis he faced. [Ronald Robboy]
Michael Tilson Thomas and the Yiddish Theater: A Firsthand View Read More »
Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Buddy Elias (June 2, 1925 – March 16, 2015) was a German-born Swiss actor and president of the Anne Frank Fonds, the foundation dedicated to preserving the memory of his cousin Anne Frank. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish birthday: Buddy Elias Read More »
Jewish History, Today's Jewish Birthday, WikipediaI will be hosting the program and my guest will be Jerusalem-born Sari Esserman, who will introduce several of the songs and tell us about her early life in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. Currently a resident of La Jolla, Sari is a respected artist, working in pottery and producing vibrant paintings in oils and pastels. [Eileen Wingard]
JCC presents June 4 musical program in honor of Jerusalem Read More »
Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Eileen Wingard, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Sarah and Yaron, who were murdered outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., following an AJC ACCESS D.C. Young Diplomats reception on May 21, 2025, were dedicated staffers at the Israeli Embassy and passionate about building a better, more connected, and more peaceful future. (Press Release)
AJC confers award on murdered young Israeli diplomats Read More »
Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Press Release, USA
Her theorem on differential invariants in the calculus of variations, Nöther’s theorem, has been called “one of the most important mathematical theorems used in modern physics.” [Alex Gordon]
Jewish biography: Emmy Nöther, mathematician Read More »
Alex Gordon, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors