Judaism

‘No Resting Place’ sears and stuns

No Resting Place: Holocaust Poland by Rick Halperin and Denise Gee; photographs by Sherry Aikman SMU Embrey Human Rights Program/Terrace Partners (October 2017). Hardcover (11.75” x 11”); 168 pages; 206 color images; $39.95. ISBN 978-0-692-85960-5 By Edwin Black No Resting Place/Holocaust Poland achieves searing power to illuminate the dark burning reality of Nazi concentration camps

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Edwin Black, Jewish History

Son relates his father’s Holocaust survival

Through My Father’s Eyes by Barry Fischer; Fischer Family Press; © 2014; ISBN 9780991-073313; 211 pages; $19.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –This memoir is a good introduction to the Holocaust for middle school students and older.  It is written in a clear, conversational style, the author remembering how his father, Mayer Fischer, described

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History

Orthodox network sends emissaries to San Diego

EFRAT, Israel  — Two years ago, Rabbi Gideon Osher Shmueli donated a kidney to a stranger, saving that individual’s life. These days, he works at Magen David Yeshivah in Brooklyn, N.Y., teaching Hebrew and bringing with that teaching the culture and values of Judaism and eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. To him, teaching about Judaism

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International, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

‘Super Tuesday’ raises $30,000 for Young Israel

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — Rabbi Chaim Hollander, spiritual leader of Young Israel of San Diego, proclaims,  “We can never be satisfied with our accomplishments and rest on our laurels.  We must constantly strive to move forward.” When in 1988 three families in the Del Cerro – San Carlos neighborhoods of San

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, San Diego County

The Holocaust seen through its postal history

Holocaust Postal History by Justin Gordon; Six Point Watermark;© 2016; ISBN 9780997-840100; 138 pages plus glossaries, bibliography and index. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – The author of this richly illustrated book deserved compliments for his persistence as a collector, his clarity as a writer, and his ability as a researcher.  No matter how

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History

Holocaust museum completes memorable Portland trip

  (c) Oliver Pollak PORTLAND, Oregon — In the Summer of 2017 we took a 5,500-mile road trip. Richmond, California to Vancouver. The California and Oregon coasts were beautiful. Fish and chips galore. Right turn to the Trans-Canada Highway to a wedding in Winnipeg. Right turn to Omaha, Nebraska. Right turn and back to California. We

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Jewish History, Oliver Pollak, USA

Al Jacobs, tailor and musician, 1924-2017

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Alfred Jacobs was an unassuming man, yet his graveside service at the Home of Peace Cemetery on Friday was packed with more than 100 friends, fellow congregants, and the rabbis of two neighboring congregations – the Conservative Tifereth Israel Synagogue and the Chabad of East County. Jacobs, 93,

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Donald H. Harrison, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County

Contra Costa County Jewish history exhibit seeks help

By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California — I am helping in the preparation of an exhibit at the Richmond Museum of History — “Pioneer Jews to the Present: Jews of Richmond and Contra Costa County.” I am reaching out to San Diego Jewish World readers who may have memories, photographs, artifacts or stories about Richmond and

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Jewish History, Oliver Pollak, USA

‘The Great Shift’ tells of different viewpoints on God

The Great Shift: Encountering God In Biblical Times by James L. Kugel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, © 2017, ISBN 978-0-544-52055-4, p. 344, plus notes and appendices, $30 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –  In the mid-nineteenth century Charles Darwin proposed that any species unable to adapt to its dynamic environment is doomed to extinction.

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

Rabbis to Netanyahu: Protect the honor of Shabbat

Dozens of rabbis signed a petition requesting Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu “protect the honor of Shabbat (the Sabbath, which for Jews falls on Saturday).” The petition, organized by the Derech Emuna (The Path of Faith) organization, comes after the Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a government proposal to allow Labor and Social Services

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

HBO film short has 10-year-old narrating the Holocaust

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – HBO and the Museum of Jewish Heritage plan to air on January 27th a 19-minute short film, The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm.  It builds on a touching conversation between an inquisitive 10-year-old, Elliot Saiontz, and his 90-year-old great-grandfather, Jack Feldman of Rochester, New York.  Elliot narrates the film.

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International, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Ivanka Trump and her family are all smiles as they light the menorah on the first night of Hanukkah

Ivanka Trump and family Happy Hanukkah! Ivanka Trump and her family kicked off the first night of the Festival of Lights on Tuesday, and she shared some festive family photos to celebrate. “Tonight, as we light the menorah, Jared, Arabella, Joseph, Theodore and I wish everyone celebrating a Happy Hanukkah!” she wrote on Instagram as

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Jewish Religion, USA