Staff and Bylined Contributors

Bad Bunny and the Goodness of Resistance

Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio – Bad Bunny – broke out and broke it down at the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show. All in Spanish, all proudly Puerto Rican. All-American. He showed the world – and it was the world watching that we are still here (seguimos aqui) despite all the horrific things being done to harm people and break their spirits. [Barrett Holman Leak]

Bad Bunny and the Goodness of Resistance Read More »

Barrett Holman Leak, California, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Would That Going Bacharach Went Somewhere

Walking out of Going Bacharach, the musical revue now playing in Manhattan, any members of the audience who are not die-hard devotees of the eminent American-Jewish songwriter, Burt Bachrach, and his long-time lyricist, Hal David (also Jewish), would realize more could be learned about them from Wikipedia than from this production. [Susan Rosenbluth]

Would That Going Bacharach Went Somewhere Read More »

Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jewish Biography: Claude Vigee: the wandering Jewish poet

Claude described himself as a “Jew and an Alsatian, thus doubly Alsatian and doubly Jewish”. He associated the wanderings of the Jewish people with the suffering of the inhabitants of Alsace, a land of discord between France and Germany. [Alex Gordon]

Jewish Biography: Claude Vigee: the wandering Jewish poet Read More »

Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Book Review: Hitler’s Canary tells of a daring wartime adventure

The year was 1940, and the Germans were starting to invade Denmark, and 10-year-old Bamse was just as confused as all the other Danes.
Bamse is Danish for Teddy. Bamse’s older brother, Orlando, becomes involved in the resistance and eventually goes to jail. As he was in the hospital, Bamse brought him clothes, and he escaped. [Cailin Acosta]

Jewish Book Review: Hitler’s Canary tells of a daring wartime adventure Read More »

Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Something neither of us could build alone

This brief story captures the heart of the Jewish value of arevut, shared responsibility. In life, we often imagine that we are accountable only for ourselves, that “our seat” is private. Judaism insists otherwise. What we do affects those around us. Our fates are intertwined. We rise or fall together. [Betzy Lynch]

Something neither of us could build alone Read More »

International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Old Canterbury (U.K.) Jewish Cemetery Behind the gate – an entire world

The gate opened.  I chose to go in. Nathaniel Isaacs led me to Alan Barnett, the Chairman of the Canterbury Jewish Historical Society. The gate opened wider. I encountered Henry Hart, Jacob the Jew, and Isaac Nathan in political and social controversy. I encountered P.C. challenges, sadly not overcome, and opportunities to respond to antisemitism by doing what the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation does best: creating and placing permanent Jewish historical markers that affirm Jewish presence, contributions, and commonality. [Jerry Klinger]

The Old Canterbury (U.K.) Jewish Cemetery Behind the gate – an entire world Read More »

International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Our Shtetl: leaving a legacy

Tuesday, Feb. 3, the La Mesa City Council broke ground on the construction of the La Mesa downtown district sign in the village. I could not attend. But we purchased tiles many years ago, and Ceramic Café at Grossmont Center hosted a tile event for those who purchased tiles to be painted and would be fired for the district sign. [Cailin Acosta]

Our Shtetl: leaving a legacy Read More »

Cailin Acosta, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Chaim Landau, Peace of Mind Director of Partnerships, visiting San Diego to express gratitude to the San Diego Community for its support of IDF soldiers recovering from trauma.

San Diego is proud to have hosted 6 POM units in individual homes, providing a rewarding week for host families to give back to our veterans and a healing week for the veterans receiving therapy as a unit in a supportive, safe environment. [PRESS RELEASE]

Chaim Landau, Peace of Mind Director of Partnerships, visiting San Diego to express gratitude to the San Diego Community for its support of IDF soldiers recovering from trauma. Read More »

Press Release, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Review of Gustav Mahler’s 7th Symphony concert perfomance to a full house

The San Diego Symphony, conducted by its Artistic Director, Raphael Payare, whose contract was just renewed until the 2029-30 season, delivered a stunning performance of Gustav Mahler’s 7th Symphony to a full house on Sunday, February 1, in the newly named Miller Family Theater of the Jacobs Music Center. [Eileen Wingard]

Review of Gustav Mahler’s 7th Symphony concert perfomance to a full house Read More »

Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

With Support from Adelson Family, Bar-Ilan University Establishes Israel’s First Institute for the Synthesis of Smart Materials

Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Arie Zaban: “Science contains countless dimensions that we have yet to fully grasp—and that is the story we are building here today. The ability to produce multidimensional ‘smart’ materials represents a transformative step forward. [PRESS RELEASE]

With Support from Adelson Family, Bar-Ilan University Establishes Israel’s First Institute for the Synthesis of Smart Materials Read More »

Israel, Jacob Kamaras, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology

Parshas Yisro – Here Comes the Sunshine

Fast forward fifty years, and our Tu B’Shvat experience is quite different. Here in Eretz Yisrael, not only are the major holidays celebrated throughout the country and across all lines, but even the minor festivals have been transformed into major events. [Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky]

Parshas Yisro – Here Comes the Sunshine Read More »

California, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

OpEd: Jewish forces are ready to confront the perceived enemy

New York City’s new mayor faces two initiatives aimed at precluding any of his actions that Jewish leaders fear might harm Israel or their fellow Jews in the Big Apple. Predictably, the 34-year-old Mamdani will face a firestorm if he does anything that is perceived as damaging. [Bruce S. Ticker]

OpEd: Jewish forces are ready to confront the perceived enemy Read More »

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

Light Amidst the Pyres: A Review of Richard Zimler’s The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon

Richard Zimler’s 1996 debut, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, is a towering achievement in this genre. It is a work that breathes life into the suffocating atmosphere of 16th-century Portugal, weaving a narrative that is simultaneously a grisly locked-room mystery, a pulse-pounding thriller, and a profound meditation on Jewish mysticism. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

Light Amidst the Pyres: A Review of Richard Zimler’s The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon Read More »

Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors