I’ve been truly moved by how our community came together to support one another. This short video shares just a small portion of that shared effort. Thank you for being a part of a community that lifts each other up. [Dana Toppel]
JFS Releases Video about Its Efforts to Ease Local Pain of Government Shutdown Read More »
Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) shares a fundraising letter with fellow Democratic Congresswoman LaMonica McIver of New Jersey, boosting the latter’s defense in a federal case charging her with “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers” in an immigration policy protest at Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: November 15, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, News Media, San Diego County, Shanda File, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
For the past four years, we have leaned into travel as one of the most effective ways to build our own Jewish community, strengthen San Diego’s sense of “Am Yisrael,” and connect people to the essential, often lifesaving work Federation supports around the world. [Heidi Gantwerk]
Jewish Federation Launched 4 Simultaneous International Trips Read More »
Heidi Gantwerk, International, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
House Republicans had an ulterior motive for sustaining the six-week shutdown of the federal government, Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, charged today (Friday, Nov. 14). [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: November 14, 2025 Read More »
Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Ken Stone, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Most Jews wonder after being exposed to The Merchant of Venice: Is the play too antisemitic for the public at large? Is it better to ignore The Merchant, or is it worse to cancel a story that has traditionally shown Jews in a negative light—when all it takes to humanize the character of Shylock is to fully understand him? {Susan L. Rosenbluth]
Does Shylock Trigger Antisemitism or Expose It? Read More »
Antisemitism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Taking their fedoras in hand, they sang their lively opening number, the Yiddish Ale Brider (All Brothers),” dancing joyously, as they sang and watched the precise motions of their music director, Ruth Weber. [Eileen Wingard]
San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir Repertoire Delightfully Varied Read More »
Eileen Wingard, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The book’s premise is inherently compelling: a couple, undeterred by age or physical limitations, embarks on journeys spanning the Arctic Ocean to tropical islands, deserts to urban centers, via planes, trains, cars, buses, and even a cruise in San Diego’s waters. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
World Travel for a Woman with Disabilities and Her Partner Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and FoodAt a news conference in Palm Springs, Boxer thus joined a group of San Diego County’s Jewish politicians who previously endorsed von Wilpert’s bid to defeat Republican Darrell Issa in the 2026 election. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: November 13, 2025 Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The recently released Epstein emails apparently indicate that Trump knew what was happening to the young women trafficked by Epstein even if he did not have sexual relations with them. He borrowed the latter alibi from Bill Clinton. Unable to dodge the proof of his awareness, Trump might admit his knowledge but mitigate it by explaining … {Laurie Baron}
Satire: The Epstein Wiles Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
The Torah is teaching us something essential: love is not merely an emotion we fall into. It is something we cultivate. It is born of choice, nurtured through shared purpose, and deepened through acts of kindness and spiritual connection. Yitzchak does not stumble into love; he chooses it. He nurtures it. And through that choice, his heart begins to mend. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.}
Parsha Chayei Sarah: First Commitment, Then Love Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Jack Schlossberg is the son of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, a former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Australia, and her Jewish husband Edwin Schlossberg. His mother reportedly opposed his declaring his candidacy given that his grandfather, Jack, and great-uncle, Senator Robert F. Kennedy were both assassinated in the 1960s. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Nov. 12, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
I had the privilege of teaching San Diego students—preschoolers at Beth Montessori of La Jolla and 2nd-graders at San Diego Hebrew Day School—about the pioneering spirit of David Ben-Gurion (Israel’s first prime minister) and the modern relevance of his legacy. [Jacob Kamaras]
San Diego Students Discover the Pioneering Spirit of David Ben-Gurion Read More »
Israel, Jacob Kamaras, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
There was no rabbinic academy then, no definitive text—only scrolls that wandered from town to town like goats, a few psalms humming under their breath, a few laws clean and sharp as a knife’s new edge. Prophets came and went as sandstorms do: sudden, convincing, then gone. The poet—let us call him simply the poet—kept his own counsel, carried a knife and an abacus, and learned the shapes of rumors. [Sam Ben-Meir]
A Short Story: The Poet of Uz Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Sam Ben-Meir, Staff and Bylined Contributors