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
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Is there such a thing as collective trauma? It seems there is, and Google defines and explains it as “the psychological distress that a group — usually an entire culture, community, or another large group of people — experience in response to a shared trauma. In order to
Holocaust survivor Bela Mark died Sunday, Oct. 29. Born January 6, 1923, in Spermezeu, Romania, a region of Transylvania, Bela lost his father soon after World War l. His twin brother, Daniel, passed away Oct. 23, 2019. [Sandra Scheller]
Bela Mark Holocaust Survivor, Dies at 100 Read More »
Holocaust, International, San Diego County, Sandra Scheller
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — My friend Jeff, whom I’ve been friends with since at least kindergarten asked, “How are you doing?” Below is a slightly longer version of my answer. Jeff, Michal and I are agitated, distraught, and doing a lot of volunteering. Five days a week we pick up laundry at
By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — And here is where, it seems, many of our current troubles all begin, more than 4,000 years ago. Careful reading of this week’s parasha may help us understand some of the mysteries enveloping today’s events. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had
Parashat Vayeira: Commentary on Coexistence Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
SAN DIEGO – This collection of five graphic stories was released on Halloween, October 31, not coincidentally. Each fictional tale has elements of the supernatural, mostly intervening on behalf of Jews who otherwise would have been murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. [Donald H. Harrison]
Supernatural Tales Embody Wishes of Holocaust Rescue Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish Fiction
By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — Scripps Ranch Theatre brings us The 39 Steps, a murder-mystery comic romp that has director Phil Johnson’s fingerprints all over it. Based loosely on Hitchcock’s 1935 film of the same name, this reimagined version takes the liberty to incorporate so many films of this genre with the over-emoting, high
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — We cannot be blamed for suspecting that 40-year-old Samantha Woll was stabbed to death at her Detroit home because of the crisis in Israel. Her murder occurred two weeks after Hamas butchered 1,400 Jews in southern Israel, followed by Israel’s merciless bombing of Gaza. She was a prominent political
Free Palestine? Free the Brooklyn Bridge Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Let me quickly give you a little plot summary… Kira (St. Clair) is one of the nine Greek Muses, and she decides to go down to earth (as a roller skating Australian) to give some inspiration to aspiring artist Sonny Malone (Hunter Brown). But there are rules about going to earth to inspire artists, and those rules include not helping to create art, not letting on you’re a muse, and definitely not falling in love with a mortal. [Sandi Masori]
‘Xanadu’ Brings Back Memories of the 1980s Read More »
Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
A former Fulbright scholar who did his research in Istanbul, Prof. Robert Bond of Mira Costa College has a nuanced view about the relationship between Turkiye and Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The heinous events of October 7 in Israel are difficult to reconcile with the modern world’s ethos. After World War II, many believed that the atrocities faced by Jewish communities were behind them and that such darkness would not be revisited upon them. Yet, as Mark
The Culture of Biophilia vs. the Culture of Necrophilia Read More »
Israel, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion
By Eva Trieger SOLANA BEACH, California — As the calendar signals the sinister season of ghouls and ghosties, North Coast Repertory Theatre ushers in the chill with an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While Stevenson wrote the story in 1885, his wife insisted he
North Coast Rep Brings Top-Notch Rendition of Psychological Thriller to San Diego Read More »
Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — Szilard Biographer William Lanouette and geneticist Matthew Meselson will celebrate the 125th anniversary of Leo Szilard’s birth and the Szilard archive held in UC San Diego Library’s Special Collections & Archives on Thursday, Nov. 2, from 4-5 p.m. online. To register for “Leo Szilard’s Legacy: Science in
UC San Diego Program to Explore Legacy of Famed Physicist Leo Szilard Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Holocaust, San Diego CountyBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel —The eyes of the world are focused on the Gaza Strip at the moment for a variety of reasons. Is Israel going to launch a ground offensive on the northern part of the Strip, after having told the inhabitants there to move south if they want to avoid being
Heartbroken, But Not Broken Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — If Israel sought to cripple Hamas, they would have targeted Shifa Hospital last week rather than Ahli Arab Hospital, both in Gaza City. During past conflicts, the Hamas leadership cowered underneath al Shifa to deter Israel from destroying that facility. Unless Hamas moved its headquarters, what did Israel have
Anatomy of ‘500’ Murders Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion