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
Brazilian-born San Diegan Carla Berg has issued a music video in Ladino, with English subtitles, in which she teaches that we can make our own Chanukah miracles by bringing light to other people’s lives. [Donald H. Harrison]
San Diegan Records Chanukah Music Video in Ladino Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
– Celebrating the Israel Philharmonic’s 85th anniversary, the Israel Philharmonic String Quartet is touring the United States. Their San Diego stop will be Wednesday evening, December 8 in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall at the Conrad, 7600 Fay St. in La Jolla. The hour-long concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. and feature single movements from quartets by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and Haydn. There will be a Gala Reception prior to the concert, sponsored by Sharon and Richard Gabriel and a dessert following the concert.
Israeli Philharmonic String Quartet to Perform in La Jolla Dec. 8 Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA
If your objective is silliness and hilarity, you will be unable to escape both at the Roustabouts return to LIVE theater with “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls.” This collection of skits was penned by Christopher Durang, legendary playwright and Tony award winner. The brilliant cadre of actors could only be improved by being complimented by Artistic Director, Phil Johnson. [Eva Trieger]
Southern Belles Tolling Among Many Delightful Roustabouts Accents Read More »
Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Spending time in Orange County gives one a new perspective on life as it is lived by former Israelis in America. Like all other ethnic groups, they tend to gather together in groups, associate socially with one another, speak their own language and maintain their traditional habits. So, although it came as something of a surprise to find that our son and his partner seem to associate almost entirely with former Israelis, what was surprising was to discover how varied their lives are. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Varied Lives of Israeli Expatriates in Southern California Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA
This is a painful book to read, dealing as it does in the mentally abusive treatment author Portnoy said she suffered at the hands of her parents, brother, boyfriend, and college administrators both in the United States and Israel. There seemed no end to Portnoy’s complaints. [Donald H. Harrison]
Memoir Tells of Climb from Abuse and Low Self-Esteem Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles
The dead body of a British officer found floating in April 1943 in the waters off the coast of Southern Spain, near Huelva, may have been a key reason Hitler was unable to finish murdering the last Jews of Europe.
A valise, chained to the body’s wrist, contained top-secret military documents with plans to invade Greece by British and Allied forces. Nazi spies working with Spanish police copied the documents and sent them to Berlin. [Jerry Klinger]
British Deception Helped Defeat Nazis, Save Jews Read More »
International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History
The United States, France, Germany, the UK, the EU, Russia, and China are about to resume “negotiating” the JCPOA, better known as the “Iran Deal,” concerning Iran’s nuclear weapons capability. Who’s missing from these meetings? Those countries most at risk from Iran’s warmongering: Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states. Not only is Israel not invited or even consulted, but the Biden Administration has given a clear warning to Israel to desist from taking any further actions against Iran which might exacerbate tensions, such as cyber warfare, assassinations, or “accidents” which occur in Iran. Evidently, the current US government doesn’t want any impediments to its “longer, stronger” deal with Iran – as if that were possible. [Steve Kramer]
U.S. Overriding Israel’s Fears in Latest Deal Making Effort with Iran Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA
Some of the rabbis of the previous centuries identified the turkey as the הוֹדוּ תַּרְנְגוֹל “Indian chicken,” and thought the bird originated in India. Jews were not the only ones who thought this way. The French referred to turkey as poulet d’Inde (“Chicken from India”), as did the Polish, Ukrainian and Russian countries. It was assumed that the rabbis in India permitted it. However, this was an assumption that could never be proven since it was based on a false assumption: Turkeys did not exist in India! [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Wait! Are Those Turkeys Kosher? Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Judaism, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Travel and Food, USA
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — The Black community will protest police and vigilante-like killings of African-Americans; the ongoing violence within Black neighborhoods; criminal trials that resemble kangaroo courts; and over such issues as voter suppression, schools and housing. Rioting over metal-detectors, though, has not emerged in the Black community’s struggle for social justice. Yet
Comparisons Between Black Americans and Palestinians Are Inaccurate Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA
The Judaic meaning of gratitude must go beyond the mere recognition of God’s countless blessings we experience in our lives. What exactly does “thanksgiving” mean? Thanksgiving comes from two words, “thanks,” and “giving.” True Thanksgiving involves a willingness to share God’s blessings and create blessing in the lives of others around us. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Thanksgiving = Thanks + Giving Read More »
Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson ORANGE, California — Coming to the U.S. from Israel (or Europe, come to that) one of the first things that strikes you is how big everything (and everyone) is. Well, in California, where i am just now, everything is even bigger. Not necessarily better, but definitely bigger The roads and freeways are
California Dreaming Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Travel and Food
French journalist Anne Sinclair confesses she had long felt guilty about not asking her late paternal grandfather Léonce Schwartz to tell her about his internment at a little-known concentration camp on the outskirts of Paris. Known by the French as the Royallieu-Compiegne Concentration Camp, and by the Nazi Germans as Frontstalag 122, it was not as well-known as Drancy, the notorious French transit point to the Nazi killing camps in Poland. However, the prisoners there were treated just as callously. Starvation, lice, frostbite were common ailments purposely neglected by the Nazis in their effort to humiliate and winnow the French Jewish population [Donald H. Harrison]
Journalist Documents Little Known Concentration Camp Near Paris Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History
You’ve heard it many times, “Man plans, G-d laughs.” Or perhaps, like me, you’ve heard this version, “Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht.” I like “Man thinks, G-d Winks.” Regardless, like all of us who prefer to live without being mutchet or tcheppeht, (pressured or bothered), Jacob found that life has its challenges and disappointments. Just when we think all is well in our family, in our career, in our lives, G-d shows us that He has another lesson for us to learn. It seems the only thing predictable about life is how unpredictable it can be. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Parashat Vayeishev: Predictable Unpredictability Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
Iranian-born San Diegan Ari Honarvar has written a novel juxtaposing the gentle mysticism of the Sufi sect of Islam with life under the strict fundamentalist interpretation of Islam in modern-day Revolutionary Iran. [Donald H. Harrison]
Novel of Iran Juxtaposes Ancient Love with Modern-Day Hate Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison