Lawrence (Laurie) Baron, now retired, served as the Nasatir Professor of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University. He served from 1988 to 2006 as director of SDSU’s Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. He was the founder in 1995 of the Western Jewish Studies Association.
He writes two satire columns for San Diego Jewish World: “Humoring the Headlines” under his byline, and “Hounding the Headlines,” under the byline of his dog Elona.
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — President Obama denounced the violent repression of Muslim Brotherhood protestors in Egypt by the military government. Fearing that new democratic elections might bring the Muslim Brotherhood back to power, he suggested that new elections be monitored by the North Carolina Electoral Board to guarantee that a wealthy white Christian […]
Humoring the headlines: August 15,2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Israel announced two contradictory policies on the eve of the second round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. It will release a group of Palestinian prisoners as a good will gesture, and build more settlements on the West Bank as a bad will gesture. As a compromise, the PLA demanded
Humoring the Headlines: August 12, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Between his therapy sessions, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner phoned Alex Rodriguez to get advice on how to delay disciplinary action for the duration of a contract and how to get past first base and not strike out. Commenting on the difficulties of restarting peace talks between Israel and
Humoring the headlines: August 7, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — A poll of New Yorkers has selected Eliot Spitzer as the formerly tarnished politician most likely to succeed. When asked why, they said he waited five years to run for office again and never put any of his indiscretions on YouTube. In a related story, Anthony Weiner told
Humoring the headlines: August 5, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Anthony Wiener is reportedly considering withdrawing from the New York’s mayoral race. He has been negotiating with Oskar Mayer to become the chauffeur of their trademark vehicle. He’s also changing his name to Felix Frankfurter. Robert Filner, the embattled mayor of San Diego, is also contemplating a job change.
Humoring the headlines: August 1, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Adapted from Yasmina Khadra’s novel, The Attack deftly navigates the shoals of the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict. In an understated but convincing performance, Ali Suliman portrays Amin, an Israeli Arab surgeon who has achieved full integration into Israeli society. The film opens with him receiving a prestigious award from his Israeli
The Wandering Review: ‘The Attack’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO –Fifty years after its publication, Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem continues to polarize public discourse. Margarethe von Trotta’s thought provoking but flawed film rekindles the fiery debates over Arendt’s characterization of Eichmann as a dutiful bureaucrat and her charge that the Jewish Councils abetted the Holocaust by complying with German
The Wandering Review: ‘Hannah Arendt’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — The Z in the latest summer blockbuster World War Z stands for zombies, but bloggers on the Aljazeera English website claim the Z stands for Zionist propaganda. On the other hand, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Bloomberg View calls the movie “’the most pro-Israel movie ever made. Or at
The Wandering Review: ‘World War Z’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — While baby boomers expect a Jewish film to deal with Jewish subjects and star overtly Jewish actors and actresses like Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Richard Benjamin, Goldie Hawn, and Barbra Streisand, viewers born after 1980 are more likely to think of raunchy “bromance” comedies featuring Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler,
The Wandering Review: ‘This Is the End’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronFill the Void, Directed by Rama Burshtein (Israel: 2012) By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — When ultra-Orthodox Jews are the focus of films, they usually wrestle with conflicts revolving around individual secular freedoms versus communal religious obligations. In The Chosen (1981) Reuven and his father, acculturated conservative Jews, introduce Danny, the heir to his father
The Wandering Review: ‘Fill the Void’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronDeceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay, directed by Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein (USA: 2012); Opening Ken Cinema on May 24 By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO–You may not know the name Ricky Jay, but you will recognize his face and voice from numerous film voiceovers, roles in movies and television series,
The Wandering Review: ‘Deceptive Practice’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Like every song, “Hava Negila” has a history. Roberta Grossman’s fun and informative documentary traces the evolution of the song from the “Ukraine to YouTube.” In the entertaining course of her film, she discredits many shibboleths about this infectious tune: it has not always had lyrics; it was not
The Wandering Review: Hava Negila: The Movie Read More »
Lawrence BaronBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO– There’s a new movie venue in San Diego. The Media Arts Center San Diego recently began screening films in its renovated facility at 2921 El Cajon Boulevard between 30th and Kansas Streets. Dedicated to the “inclusion of underrepresented communities in the media arts field and the portrayal of accurate
The Wandering Review: ‘La Rafle’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Having studied and taught about the Holocaust for 37 years, I realize that many stories from of it remain untold because their participants died while it was occurring or remained silent to rebuild their lives and avoid traumatizing their children. When spelunker Chris Nicola journeyed to the Ukraine in
The Wandering Review: ‘No Place on Earth’ Read More »
Lawrence Baron