Staff and Bylined Contributors

Stalin’s Postwar Terror Targeted Soviet Jews in the Name of ‘Anti-Cosmopolitanism’

“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]

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Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

A Second Chance Coming for New Year’s Resolutions

December has arrived, and the end of 2025 is upon us. Some of my friends say that if they didn’t follow through with their Rosh Hashanah resolutions, they get a re-do on December 31st. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

On the Soviet Union’s Involvement in the Holocaust

In February 1940, Adolf Eichmann proposed to the Soviet leadership to transfer two million Jews, which was the majority of Polish Jewry, to the USSR. This step would have allowed most Polish Jews to be saved from destruction. The Soviet Union responded to this proposal with a refusal. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Political Briefing: Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025

Ha’aretz reports that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu filed a 107-page petition on Sunday with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog asking that he be pardoned in three long-running cases charging him with corruption.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Biographer of Carole King Lacked Access to Singer/ Songwriter

Author Jane Eisner wasn’t able to secure an interview with the reclusive King, nor with members of her family, so she had to rely on what was already published by other writers or said by King, herself, in her memoir and in preserved broadcast interviews. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Celebrating a Centenarian: Meir ‘Frank’ Loewenberg

In a brief speech he admitted that he did not know what ‘the secret of longevity’ was despite having been asked many times, but obviously his mental capacity and maintenance of physical activity have contributed. Mainly, I would say, it is his indomitable spirit and open-mindedness that has kept him alert and active in so many spheres for so long. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors