Amid the incessant corruption, attacks on democracy, and norms broken by the president – enabled by complicit Republicans in Congress – Jewish Americans should be particularly outraged about Trump’s erasure of the separation of church and state, including false claims that America was founded as a Christian nation. [Halie Soifer]
America is not a Christian nation Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
He came rushing in, a foot taller than me, much heavier and wider than me, angrily screaming that I was a f*** b****** and that we (Jews) are all f*** b***s and murderers That we had murdered his grandfather, his grandparents. I had just unlocked the House of Israel in Balboa Park last Saturday to prepare for my volunteer staffing shift. I had not expected a rage-filled Palestinian man to burst in, screaming at me. I was cornered behind the counter with him making antisemitic comments … [Barrett Holman Leak]
This is America – and we are not alright Read More »
Antisemitism, Barrett Holman Leak, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Even amid war, tension, and uncertainty, the country’s population reached more than 10 million, growing by 146,000 people over the past year. People are still choosing to make aliyah (immigration to Israel). Young families are planting roots. Communities, both new and established, are expanding to create thriving populations. Not because we have to, but because it’s the place to be a part of the Jewish people. (Russell Robinson)
Israel continues to grow notwithstanding Mideast turbulence Read More »
Israel, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
The 37-year-old Lopez is the current composer-in-residence of the San Diego Symphony. This piece was commissioned in 2013 by fellow Peruvian native, Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, then Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and was dedicated to Harth-Bedoya, even embedding his initials into the entire work. [Eileen Wingard]
Afro-Peruvian folk music opens SDSO concert Read More »
Eileen Wingard, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Shavuot becomes a yearly opportunity to measure the gap between our values and the way we actually live. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.]
Shavuot: When Jews ‘return’ to the Sinai wilderness Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors
For our enemies, for those who commit the greatest violence motivated by the deepest hatred, it does not matter if we stand arm in arm or cower alone. We are all on their hit list. If anything, our division makes us easier targets, our silence coming across like acceptance. [Matt Winstel]
In the wake of Islamic Center tragedy, interfaith suspicions still linger Read More »
International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Maureen Galindo, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Texas’s 35th District, recently declared on Instagram that if elected she would turn the Karnes ICE Detention Center into “a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”
She went even further, calling for a “castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.” [Stan Caplan]
Congressional candidate inveighs against extreme pro-Hamas, anti-Israel sentiment Read More »
Antisemitism, Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
Nakba Day is the silliest, most childlike excuse ever created to explain away defeat in war. Most nations and peoples who are vanquished take their losses in a saddened, subdued manner. The less said the better. The Arabs would proclaim it from the highest of their tall, looming minarets, where Muslims make the call to prayer five times a day. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Mamdani commemorates ‘Nakba Day’ Read More »
Antisemitism, Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
This historical fiction novel explores the lives of Jews in 15th-century Spain through the perspective of a young girl named Loma (Paloma) and the struggles faced by her family. The author researched her own Spanish Jewish heritage, which inspired her to write this novel, suitable for children ages 8–11.
[Cailin Acosta]
Children’s book presents Jewish legend of 15th Century Spain Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Some congregations have Jewish name ceremonies who have either converted or were not given one at birth. I let my daughter pick her own Jewish name when she was six years old. She chose Esther… [Cailin Acosta]
2nd day of Shavuot honors the biblical Ruth, a Jew by choice Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors
My mom loved to be silly and was able to find humor in most situations. After she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in January 2022, she asked, “How did these cancer cells get to all these other parts of my body? Are they, like, campers hiking around and setting up campsites roasting marshmallows around a fire? Wouldn’t that be a funny sketch?” [Amanda Miller]
Jewish daughter pays tribute to her late ‘Show Biz’ mom Terry Miller Read More »
Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
The volume contains Maimonides’ Introduction to Mishne Torah, Sefer Hamadda and Sefer Ahava, in Hebrew and English, with Ravad’s glosses on Maimonides’ text. (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)
Maimonides and his critics engage in a halakhic discussion in this Steinsaltz edition Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
As I read the message the memory of the composer, Verdina Shlonsky, and her articles about French composers she had known in Paris, came flooding back. I recalled her as a kind, elderly lady who lived in a small apartment on the top floor of an old Tel Aviv building with virtually no furniture other than a piano and a couch. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
An echo from the past Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology
We have long believed that security cannot be an afterthought for any community of faith — and today is a devastating reminder that this reality extends to every house of worship in our city and across the country. That is why we are in Washington fighting for resources that protect communities like the one attacked today. [Heidi Gantwerk]