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

Review: Helene Schjerfbeck retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

In Fête juive (1883)—also titled Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)—Schjerfbeck depicts a moment of Jewish ritual dwelling emptied of festivity. An older man sits beside a young girl on a thin, red-edged mattress placed directly on the floor of the sukkah, the temporary shelter mandated by the festival. [Sam Ben-Meir]

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International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

The global resurgence of the ‘Jewish Question’

After World War II, it seemed that an answer to the Jewish question had been found: the creation of the State of Israel and the positive attitude of Western civilization towards the Jewish people in its diaspora. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

‘The Optimist’: Troubled teenager brings out Holocaust survivor’s hidden story

An independent film, The Optimist, opens on Wednesday, March 11, in over 700 theaters nationwide.  It tells the story of Theresienstadt-and- Auschwitz survivor Herbert Heller (Stephen Lang) recounting his Holocaust experiences after 60 years of keeping silent. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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