AAA-Writers and photographers

Below are the names of writers who are currently active.  For others, living and deceased, please type their name into the search box above the masthead on our home page, www.sdjewishworld.com

Federation mission to India ‘refreshing’ and broadening

For two weeks, we were transported into a place more “foreign” than anywhere else I have visited, yet every encounter was positive, welcoming, and gracious. Through our modern Western lens, we kept asking about antisemitism, historically or today. It simply isn’t there, and I cannot express how refreshing that was to hear. [Heidi Gantwerk]

Federation mission to India ‘refreshing’ and broadening Read More »

Antisemitism, Heidi Gantwerk, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Family of Roddie Edmonds presented Congressional Medal of Honor for protecting Jewish POWs from Nazis

Edmonds was the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in a German POW camp. Over 1275 American POWs, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, were held there. [Jerry Klinger]

Family of Roddie Edmonds presented Congressional Medal of Honor for protecting Jewish POWs from Nazis Read More »

Holocaust, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Daylight Savings Time comes this Sunday morning

Daylight Saving Time is upon us. I don’t mind when we “fall back” in the Fall since we get more sleep. When we “spring forward” in the Spring, it cuts out an hour of sleep, which can be devastating to teenagers who enjoy sleeping in. [Cailin Acosta]

Daylight Savings Time comes this Sunday morning Read More »

Antisemitism, Cailin Acosta, Israel, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss, former Provost of HUC, dies at 60

Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss passed away on March 3, 2026—the day of Purim—at her home in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, following a year-long battle with cancer. Her passing on a holiday defined by courage and the “reversal of fate” mirrors her own life’s work of transforming the rabbinate. [Barrett Holman Leak]

Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss, former Provost of HUC, dies at 60 Read More »

Barrett Holman Leak, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Centenarian Jewish painter an inspiration for girls aspiring to careers in art

Though she had a remarkable artistic eye, living in the early 1900s brought significant challenges for women trying to succeed in a male-dominated art world, where gender inequality and oppression were common. [Cailin Acosta]

Centenarian Jewish painter an inspiration for girls aspiring to careers in art Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Ki Tissa: The Golden Calf and the ache of separation

Moses climbed the mountain to receive the tablets. He carries no provisions, no visible sign of return. Day after day the people wait. No Moses. No voice from the peak. Only silence and the smoldering summit. In their minds the unthinkable takes shape: the man who brought them out of Egypt, who split the sea, who spoke face to face with God—he is gone. Perhaps swallowed by the fire. Perhaps dead. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

Ki Tissa: The Golden Calf and the ache of separation Read More »

Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors