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 — My TV consumption is usually limited to the (extended) evening news, plus the occasional cookery program, provided it does not involve a competition. I do not watch reality TV or competitions of any kind. But the times they are a-changing, and Europe is teetering on the brink of
The Human Condition Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — On the same day, a Jewish candidate for mayor was assaulted by a gun-toting intruder in his office in Louisville, Ky., and the Jewish Federations’ umbrella organization altered its priority list by removing advocacy for gun-violence prevention. Fortunately, Craig Greenberg survived an incident on Monday, Feb. 21, when the
Why Did the Jewish Federations’ Umbrella Ease Up on Gun-Safety Laws? Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USA
By Mimi Pollack LA MESA, California — Afghan and American cultures are different in many ways, for example, in lifestyle and style of communication. It is always a learning experience when two cultures meet, but learning is good as it can broaden your life. The above has been true for Mary Danaher [formerly Sikes] and
Americans Helping Afghan Refugees Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego CountyBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — That land from the river — the Hudson River, that is — to the highway, the northern end of Broadway, is evidently occupied in part by Zionists. Pro-Arab activists insist that they are not antisemitic, yet the Democratic Socialists of America applied the word “Zionist” to Riverdale, a
The ‘Occupation’ of Riverdale Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USA
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Dr. Sharon Zewde Shalom, the author of the very thoughtful book Dialogues of Love and Fear, is without doubt what the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks wrote about him, “a shining light of not only Ethiopian Jewry but of the Jewish people as a whole.”
Israel’s First Ethiopian Rabbi Speaks to Us Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Middle East
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — What should be expected from boards of education across the country, now that books like Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Art Spiegelman’s Maus have been banned? Here’s a list of stories on the verge of being proscribed and the rationales for doing so. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: Donald Trump
Satire: The Slippery Slope of Banning Books Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mimi Pollack LA MESA, California — Can one be an observant Muslim and a feminist at the same time? In the case of Afghan journalist Sayed Sadat, the answer is yes. During an interview at the Coronado home of his sponsor, Sayed explained how he and his family believe in women’s rights, and more
An Afghan Journalist’s Journey to Coronado Read More »
International, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County
The book starts with how our senses perceive matzah. What are its ingredients? What does it look like? What color is it? What is its texture? How does it sound when it is being boiled in matzoh ball soup? How does it smell when its being baked into an apple matzah kugel? What kind of yummy foods can you spread on it? [Donald H. Harrison]
Children’s Literature: ‘Matzah Means So Many Things’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History
By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — This special week, on Shabbat Shekalim, we read parashat Vayakhel. This is the first of several Shabbatot leading to Passover, including Shabbat Zachor (April 12, 9 Adar II), Shabbat Parah (April 26, 23 Adar II), Shabbat HaChodesh (April 2, 1 Nissan) and Shabbat HaGadol (April 9, 8
Parashat Vayakhel/Shabbat Shekalim: The Power of Community Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demonstrated a talent for adding fuel to an already combustive situation. He accused conservative Jewish members of the Canadian Parliament of supporting the swastika. One Jewish member happened to be Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, who became the first Jewish
Moral Resolve Needed in Justin Trudeau Swastika Controversy Read More »
Holocaust, International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion
In an interview with the Archive of American Television, Cooney recalled that Freedman talked at that dinner party about the great educational potential of television. “He was a stunning man, mesmerizing,” she said. “He could have been a revival minister, an Elmer Gantry. He was just stunning. He talked about how the potential had not been tapped for education in television. Well, something clicked in Lloyd’s mind because Carnegie was financing research in the educational development of children—how they learn.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Freedman, Cooney, Morisett Pioneereed Children’s Educational Television Read More »
Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USABy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Tracking Nancy Pelosi’s Gazpacho police must be a rigorous chore, yet the idiocy of the congresswoman who fabricated the story hardly compares with blocking the appointment of an antisemitism monitor or undermining the attorney-general over disruptions at local school board meetings that weaponize antisemitism. Republican members of Congress are
Gazpacho Police Overshadows News About Antisemitism Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USABy Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — What counts in your life? Rather, what do you make count in your life? This week’s parasha may seem a bit “obsessed” with counting. “When you take the sum of the children of Israel according to their numbers, let each one give to the Lord an atonement
Parashat Ki Tisa: Counting What Matters Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Haim Jachter, the rabbi of a Sephardic synagogue for more than 20 years who is of Ashkenazic descent and trained in Ashkenazic yeshivot, tells readers about more than 100 differences in the religious practices between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Ashkenazim are Jews of eastern European descent. Sephardic
Book Provides Comprehensive Analysis of Sephardic-Ashkenazi Differences Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion