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

A Feeling of Progress in Israel

The national budget passed its first parliamentary reading without undue fuss and bother. It includes increases in the allocations for the health and education ministries, enabling the services provided to certain segments of the population to be extended. Admittedly, there are still many areas in which the services provided to the less fortunate could and should be improved, especially housing and welfare, but this still signifies a positive change, both in attitude and in action. In foreign policy, too, relations with other countries seem to be going in the right direction, with invitations extended to our Foreign Minister by the Arab Emirates as well as Morocco, Egypt and the U.S.A [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

OpEd: Two Jewish Issues the Biden Administration Must Clear Up

The Biden administration’s actions beg two disturbing Jewish-themed questions: Why would a president lie about such an insignificant detail as visiting a Pittsburgh synagogue? How can a U.S. Foreign Service officer be effective at his job when he demeans Jews and homosexuals? [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, USA

‘The Sword of David’ Cuts Through Familiar Themes

Chaim Klein, an archaeologist and former commander of an IDF anti-terrorist unit, has a knack for picking up religious souvenirs. In Jerusalem, for example, he finds the Ark of the Covenant; in Ethiopia, the chalice from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper; and in England, the miraculous sword with which David slew Goliath.  But he’s on the hunt for an even bigger prize: the Tablets of the Law on which God, Himself, inscribed the Ten Commandments. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

OpEd: U.S. Should Put Caps on Income

Is it not extraordinary that in a country that claims to be as enlightened and advanced as ours that the combined wealth of three individuals – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and investor Warren Buffett – should exceed the total wealth of the bottom half of Americans? One has to return to the days of the pharaohs of Egypt to find a parallel to the extreme wealth inequality that we see in in America today. Such stark inequality, and the ever-growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny few will only intensify if we continue as we have for the past 40 years. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Business & Finance, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

‘L.A. Weather’ Stormy for Four Marriages

This novel concerns a Mexican-American family of mixed Catholic and Jewish religious backgrounds, one which celebrates Easter and Passover, Chanukah and Christmas as cultural holidays rather than religious ones. There is plenty of drama in the Alvarado family, but not because of any noticeable differences in religious outlook. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Biography Tells of Jewish Family’s Holocaust Survival in the Forest

Meticulous research documents the lives of the Rabinowitz family in small town Poland; their suffering after the Nazis invaded; their miraculous escape to the forest, where they survived in hiding for several years; their post-war relocation to Italy, while awaiting permission to immigrate to Palestine; their decision to move instead to the United States; their lives in Connecticut; and the marriage of daughter Ruth to a future rabbi, from whom author Rebecca Frankel received her Jewish education. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, USA

Koren Publishes New Version of the Tanakh

Koren Publishers Jerusalem has just published an excellent single 2033 page volume of the entire Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, with the beautiful classic Koren Hebrew font and a new, modern, readable translation of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings by the recently deceased Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, and other scholars. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Survivor’s Guilt in Post-War Germany

This is a novel about a survivor’s guilt.  Millie Mosbach, a German-American Jew returns to Berlin immediately after World War II to participate in the denazification program administered by the U.S. Army.  She and her brother had left Germany while still  teenagers; American benefactors had arranged for her to attend Bryn Mawr College on a scholarship.  Foregoing higher education, David was quick to enlist in the Army; he wanted to fight Germans. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Moving Forward, Onward, Upward Together

Last week we read in Nitzavim about standing in place and on this coming Shabbos we read about moving and transitioning in Vayelech. Are we ready to get up and move? I’m not talking about physical exercise, but rather spiritual growth, renewing ourselves from one year to the next. Vayelech [“And he went…”] represents our recognition of the power of moving “forward onward, upward together.” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Integrating Leisure and Pleasure Into Architectural Projects

Erez Raz, who studied Landscape Architecture at the Technion, has assembled some of the projects he has worked on in recent years, presenting them in an exhibition displaying his varied talents and original approach to combining interior and exterior spaces in public life. The projects presented depict his approach to different stages of urban life, ranging from childhood play through adolescence and sport to adult activities such as shopping and driving. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts