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
I love that the Chanukah candles will be at their fullest luminosity on the darkest day of the year. It feels auspicious…like a cosmic reminder that illumination is born from darkness. [Shayna Kaufmann, Ph.D]
The Longest Night Meets the Brightest Chanukiah Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Shayna Kaufmann, Staff and Bylined Contributors
In that moment, I heard an ancient Jewish truth echoing forward: wisdom is not speed. Wisdom is presence. Chochmah without binah is incomplete. Intelligence is not merely how fast the mind moves, but how deeply the soul is engaged. [Michael Adam Cohen]
A Powerful 3 Days in Rancho Bernardo with Supportive Friends Read More »
Business & Finance, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Adam Cohen, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
In Australia, a place many of us instinctively associate with openness and safety, violence shattered that illusion. Another attack. Another reminder that antisemitism is not a relic of history but a living, mutating force, one that resurfaces whenever fear is rewarded and lies go unchallenged. [Shahar Masori]
OpEd: Lighting Candles While the World Burns Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Shahar Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss with U.S. President Donald Trump the danger posed by Iran’s ballistic missile and renewed nuclear programs. At the two leaders’ upcoming meeting at the end of this month, Netanyahu will suggest joint action to eliminate the threat, according to a story in The Times of Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Saturday Evening, Dec. 20, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, News Media, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
French citizen Ivan Beltrami saw a tree planted in his honor at Yad Vashem’s Avenue of the Righteous. He commented in wonder: “I don’t think I really deserve this.” The director of Israel’s Holocaust memorial responded: “All the Righteous say the same thing but why didn’t everyone do ‘this ordinary thing?’” [Donald H. Harrison]
‘This Ordinary Thing,’ Helping Fellow Humans, was Extraordinary During the Holocaust Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
The forces of hatred and cruelty are once again being indoctrinated to a young generation, a legacy of antisemitism that seeks to finish what Hitler and the Nazis only started. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
A Modern-Day Chanukah Miracle Read More »
Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Australia’s Prime Minister attended a ceremony in Sydney’s Great Synagogue memorializing the 15 people slain in the attack on the first night of Chanukah. All 15 have now been identified as Matilda, 10, and adults Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris Gutman, Sofia Gurman, Alex Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Tania Tretiak, Boris Tetleroyd, and Tibor Weitzen. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, News Media, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
This has prompted Trump to wonder how he would eulogize other famous figures (such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, Jr.) [Laurie Baron]
Satire: Cruelogies Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
I was surprised the other day when I was attending a doctor’s appointment with a friend and told the checkout staff ‘happy holidays’ as we left. They stared at me and said, “Thank you, you were the first patient to say that to us all day.” I looked at my watch, and it was after 4 p.m. [Cailin Acosta]
Prayers and Cheerful Greetings Should Not Be Confined to This Time of Year Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
Chanukah commemorates two intertwined events: the military victory of the Maccabees in 165 B.C.E. and the miracle of the cruse of oil that burned for eight days in the rededicated Temple. The Sages emphasized the miracle of the oil over the battlefield triumph, teaching that the essence of the holiday is pirsuma d’nisa, publicizing the miracle. Candle lighting and Hallel are therefore central mitzvot, announcing that Hashem is present in history and that His light endures. {Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Parsha Mikeitz: Light Needs Someone to Ignite It Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors
By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego We encourage our readers to follow the links below to the stories that attract their interest. INTERNATIONAL The Bondi Beach massacre in which 15 innocents were murdered on the first day of Chanukah has had repercussions in Australia and around the world. Australian Jewish News reports that Australia’s
Jewish Political Briefing: Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025 Read More »
Antisemitism, California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, News Media, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA
Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, told viewers the program had been recorded before the tragic events in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, and added: “With horror and heartbreak, we mourn with the Jewish community of Australia.” The speaker then pivoted to the evening’s central message of perseverance: “When faced with tragedy, the Jewish people always choose life,” a lesson the speaker said the world learns “especially from Holocaust survivors.” [Shor M. Masori]
Claims Conference Webcast Focus: Resilience of Holocaust Survivors Read More »
Holocaust, International, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Shor M. Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
I was pleasantly surprised to discover a booth sponsored by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in front of Swami’s Café. Staffed by AJC board members and youth leaders, the booth offered hands-on education about Chanukah, including lessons on how to play dreidel. Regional Director Sara Brown shared that La Mesa Vice Mayor Lauren Cazares personally invited AJC to participate and even stopped by the booth to celebrate with them. [Cailin Acosta]
Chanukah Receives Exposure in La Mesa Village’s Annual Celebration Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) reported on Wednesday that it and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism sent a team that arrived in Sydney on Tuesday that included “Israeli experts in trauma response, mass-casualty events, and community recovery, with extensive experience supporting communities following extreme incidents and in developing long-term resilience strategies. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, News Media, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA