The Jewish Community Symphony, formerly the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO), now rebranded in its new home at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, opened its 52nd season November 30, with a well-rehearsed performance of Beethoven’s Egmont Overture. [Eileen Wingard]
Jewish Community Symphony Debuts with the Three B’s Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Calvin Trillin (December 5, 1935) is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Calvin Trillin Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
Although not all information at a closed-door meeting was disclosed, U.S. Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley on Thursday told select senators and congressmen that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not issue explicit “kill them all” orders prior to the second-strike Sept. 2 on an alleged drug-running boat off the Venezuelan coast. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Michael Blake is off – to oust pro-Israel U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, and other so-called “progressive” candidates may follow suit to make Congress more “Palestinian”-friendly. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Rabbis Benj Fried of Temple Emanu-El and Jeremy Gimbel of Congregation Beth Israel are among 24-early career rabbis nationwide whose selections were announced by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York on Thursday. [Press Release]
Two San Diego Reform Rabbis Named as Amplify Israel Initiative Fellows Read More »
Israel, Jewish Religion, Press Release, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Hashem directs Jacob to return home, and Jacob still fears Esau, the brother with whom he has a long and difficult history. Worried for his family’s safety, he divides them into two camps, and then, curiously, spends the night alone. The Torah soon reveals that Jacob wrestles through the night with a mysterious “Man,” an angel. But the real question is: if he was so worried about his family, why didn’t he stay with them? [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.]
Parsha Vayishlach: Seize Every Second for Something Good Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Press Release
Scott Berg (December 4, 1949) is an American biographer. After graduating from Princeton University in 1971, Berg expanded his senior thesis on editor Maxwell Perkins into a full-length biography, Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (1978), which won a National Book Award. His second book Goldwyn: A Biography was published in 1989. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Scott Berg Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, WikipediaThe Jerusalem Post noted that U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Phase Two of his Gaza peace plan “is moving along; it’s going to happen pretty soon.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Middle East, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
By Michael Adam Cohen in San Diego Mark Zuckerberg on one screen, The world and I on another. The Meta logo flickers behind him like a heartbeat of the empire he built. I lean in, glasses catching the glow, feeling the anticipation crackle across the digital divide. As a longtime top two percent rising creator
Meta Connect 2025: 2 Live Jews, 2 Architects of Connection – Consciousness in Code Read More »
Business & Finance, Jewish Celebrities, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology, USA
A groundbreaking report released Wednesday – the International Day of Persons with Disabilities – from nonprofit organization Matan urges the American Jewish community to take immediate action to close the widening gap in disability inclusion across Jewish communal life. [Press Release]
Inclusion Report: Jewish Institutions Lag Behind Secular Ones Read More »
Lifestyles, Press Release, USA
Moshe teaches us that greatness doesn’t come from good intentions alone- it comes from turning compassion into concrete action. A true leader, and a true member of Klal Yisrael, is someone who shows up, who takes responsibility and asks: “What can I do to help?” Every one of us has daily opportunities to be a “do-er”- to step in, support others, and make a difference. Even small actions, when done with sincerity and courage, can have an everlasting effect. [Ilanit Zakowski]
When Memory Becomes Action Read More »
California, Ilanit Zakowski, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Abe Pollan(December 3, 1923 – November 24, 2009) was a real estate developer, professional sports team owner, and philanthropist in the Washington metropolitan area. He owned the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Washington Mystics in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the Baltimore / Washington Bullets / Wizards in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Pollin was the longest-tenured owner of an NBA team, holding the Chicago / Baltimore / Washington franchise for 46 years. He also owned the Capital One Arena, which he financed, as well as the Capital Centre. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Abe Pollan Read More »
Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
A group of German nationals—all of whom were Gentile, mainly ladies of aristocratic background, but some of the gentlemen were, in pre-Hitlerian times, senior civil servants—met on September 10 for afternoon tea in Carmer Strasse. Being wartime, the fare was simple, the conversation defiantly anti-Hitler: “How to Stop the War?” [Paul Rose]
A Plot Against Hitler Exposed by a Nazi Physician Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Staff and Bylined Contributors
“Rootless cosmopolitan” became code for “Jewish,” and dismissals swept the arts, sciences and media. The Ministry of State Security arrested Jewish industrial leaders for sabotage and, in 1953, fabricated “the Doctor’s Plot,” which accused a group of predominately Jewish doctors who treated Kremlin officials of trying to assassinate Stalin and other party leaders. [Wendy Z. Goldman]
Stalin’s Postwar Terror Targeted Soviet Jews in the Name of ‘Anti-Cosmopolitanism’ Read More »
Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors