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Today’s Jewish Birthday: Jascha Heifetz

At age of 7, he made his concert debut, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in Kovno. In 1910, he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory and studied under Leopold Auer. At the age of 12, in Berlin, he met Fritz Kreisler, who was so impressed by the boy’s playing, he reportedly commented, “We may as well break our fiddles across our knees.” [SDJW Staff]

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California, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Republican Jewish Coalition Slams Biden’s Sanctions on Four Israelis

“This executive order is about cold, calculated politics – plain and simple. Joe Biden and his team are watching his poll numbers crater. Today he traveled to the key battleground state of Michigan, home of the largest Arab-American population in the United States, desperate for some sort of political “win” with his fervently anti-Israel base in the Democratic Party. It’s a disgrace.” (Press Release)

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Israel, Press Release, USA

Mandy Patinkin Headlines San Diego’s ‘JFest’ June 4

Broadway’s master songman, Mandy Patinkin, accompanied by Adam Ben-David on piano, will bring his newest theatre concert Mandy Patinkin in Concert: BEING ALIVE, to Balboa Theatre on Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m. This powerful and passionate evening of song is part of the 31st Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival, better known as JFest, and co-produced by San Diego Theatres, the nonprofit organization that operates both Balboa Theatre and San Diego Civic Theatre. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 2 at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster. [Press Release]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Press Release, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

The iCenter Helps Educators to Teach about Conflicts

“Engaging with conflicts is one of life’s defining challenges – particularly for educators who are tasked with transforming these moments of uncertainty into moments of growth and learning,” remarked Anne Lanski, Founding CEO of The iCenter. “The initial cohorts  of COI, reflect  our dedication to developing educators with the knowledge and skills to facilitate learning with greater confidence and competence.” [Press Release]

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Israel, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Tom Lantos

His political career began in 1980, when as a Democrat he successfully challenged Republican Bill Royer, and went on to be reelected 13 times. His voting record was liberal on health care, conservative on spending, and protectionist on the environment. He was best known for his work on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he advocated for the rights of such minorities as Christians in Saudi Arabia and Sudan and Tibetans in China. He declared Turkey’s mass killings of Armenians during World War I to be genocide, and he demanded that Japan apologize for forcing women in conquered countries into sex slavery. [SDJW staff]

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Holocaust, International, Israel, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

Pennsylvania’s Electoral College Votes May Turn on Support for Israel in its War with Gaza

Pennsylvania native David McCormick now guarantees that the Israel-Gaza war will command attention until November as he attempts to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Robert Casey. Both are their parties’ presumptive nominees in the coming Pennsylvania Senate race. {Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Our Shtetl San Diego County: Rose Schindler’s Hologram Addresses Students

In technology similar to that seen at such presidential museums as the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, the Schindler family has preserved the memory of the late Holocaust survivor Rose Schindler by creating a hologram of her that can answer questions from students or other audience members. [SDJW staff]

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Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Shanda File, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Education Program on Antisemitism Incorporates Experiences of Jews of Middle East and North Africa

“In addressing the critical surge in antisemitism, JIMENA develops impactful solutions for public schools nationwide,” added Levin. “These solutions, including this new program, aim to educate about antisemitism’s various manifestations and the experiences of Jews and other religious minorities from North Africa and the Middle East, including Israel. At this crucial time, providing training, countering misinformation about the Middle East, presenting factual information, and proposing solutions related to antisemitism from the Middle East are paramount aspects of JIMENA’s mission.” [Press Release]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Israel, Middle East, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Nathan Straus

He and his wife Lina Gutherz privately funded the Nathan Straus Pasteurized Milk Laboratory to combat infant mortality, and opened in Lakewood, New Jersey a Tuberculosis Preventorium for Children. During the Panic of 1893, his milk stations sold coal for the low price of 5 cents for 25 pounds. He opened homeless shelters for 64,000 people who paid a nickel each to get a bed and breakfast. He funded 50,000 meals for one cent each. At Abraham & Straus, he established a subsidized company cafeteria. [SDJW staff]

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Business & Finance, International, Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

Jews and Palestinians, History and Memory

When I watched the unwatchable news on October 7, and then later doom scrolled through November and December and into 2024, inhaling episodes of rape and slaughter and captivity, but also excruciatingly moving scenes of incomplete family reunions, of young soldiers breaking down at funerals, and, of course, of women and children blown to bits in Gaza City and Khan Younis, a whispered prayer sometimes escaped my lips, “God, we don’t need any more stories.” [Rabbi Philip Graubart]

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Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Tel Aviv University Grows Tasty Tomatoes Using Less Water

Because of global warming and the diminishing of freshwater resources, there is a growing demand for agricultural crops that consume less water without compromising yield. Naturally, at the same time, because agricultural crops rely on water to grow and develop, it is particularly challenging to identify suitable plant varieties. [Press Release]

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Israel, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food