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

Viewing the U.S. 30 years after making aliyah

Today, it’s a totally different story in the US and probably everywhere in the West. People who still watch television news expect to hear opinions which are in line which they share – the echo chamber effect. There’s much opinion and subjective (slanted) reporting with very little objective reporting. It’s the same whether on TV, cable, or social networks. The news is no longer something that is subject to debate. It’s this or it’s that, and never shall the twain meet. There is no doubt about the facts. The fact is absolutely this to one group, and it is absolutely that to the opposing group. Therefore, there’s nothing which allows a differing opinion. Put another way, anyone with a differing opinion doesn’t know the facts. [Steve Kramer]

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Middle East, Steve Kramer, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

U.S. Attorney, ADL on guard against election interference

Two news releases hit my desk nearly simultaneously.  One was from the office of U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer.  The other was from the Anti-Defamation League.  Both were concerned about the possibility of attempts being made on Nov. 3 to interfere with the orderly processes of the election. [Donald H. Harrison, ‘Our Shtetl San Diego County’]

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Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Satire: Up on the Stage: It’s Superspreader!

Ever since it was revealed that Donald Trump planned to wear a superman costume underneath his clothes after being released from Walter Reed Hospital, DC Comic’s Legion of Superheroes voted on whether to admit him to its ranks. Batman recused himself because he knew the bat that was the original source of the Coronavirus. Wonder Woman did likewise on the grounds that she had campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016 when she asserted that she could mercilessly pummel Trump to a pulp on Paradise Island and none of the Amazons would care. The other members of the Legion had reservations too, but voted for him on the basis of his most obvious superpower: his ability to irresponsibly infect his minions with a deadly disease. They dubbed him “Superspreader.” They even wrote the prologue to the upcoming blockbuster Superspreader. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]      

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

SDJW endorses Will Moore, Stephen Whitburn S.D. for City Council

Given that the contenders are Democrats, and from a policy point of view seem to be in general agreement on such issues facing the city as homelessness, affordable housing,  infrastructure development and responding to the Covid19 pandemic, how does one choose between them? I believe the answer lies in how well the candidates articulate their ideas.  Do they simply repeat the platitudes that so often passes for political thought, or do they bring new concepts and methodologies to the table? [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County

SDJW recommends ‘Yes’ votes on Prop. 25, Measure B

On our state and San Diego city ballots, we have opportunities to make our criminal justice system more fair and responsive.  State Prop. 25 would eliminate the money bail system for defendants prior to their trials, replacing it with a system based on risk assessment.  Measure B on the City of San Diego ballot would create an independent Commission on Police Practices. [Donald H. Harrison]

SDJW recommends ‘Yes’ votes on Prop. 25, Measure B Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

Our school board, community college endorsements

In the midst of this coronavirus pandemic, we need continuity and stability on the governing boards of the San Diego Community College District and the San Diego Unified School Board.

Accordingly, we recommend the reelection of Community College Trustees Bernie Rhinerson and Mary Graham, respectively for Districts B and D.   Similarly, we urge the reelection of Richard Barrera in District D of the School Board and Sharon Whitehurst-Payne in District E.  We have no quarrel with either of their challengers, Camille Harris in District D nor Dr. Lawana Richmond in District E, but neither have we seen any compelling reason to replace these incumbents. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Juvenile arrested for attack on rabbi

Police reported on Friday that they had arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection with an attack on Saturday, Oct. 10. in which Rabbi Yonatan Halevy of Kehillat Shaar Hashamayim was clobbered on top of his head by an assailant who then rode off on his bicycle.  The 31-year-old rabbi, whose Sephardic congregation is engaged in outreach as part of a Shiviti movement, was knocked down but not seriously hurt.  At the time, Halevy was walking on Governor Drive in University City with his father, a stroke victim in his late 60s.  The father was not assaulted. [Donald H. Harrison, Our Shtetl San Diego County]

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Donald H. Harrison, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA

Feinstein demonstrated civility at Barrett’s hearing

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-California) praise of her Republican colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), followed by a spontaneous show of appreciation, shocked her liberal colleagues by hugging Graham. This would have been a positive note to end the raucous debates we have seen and imbibed since the beginning of the hearings. Yet, we are living in a time when conformity to the Democratic status quo is considered more important than anything else. Surprisingly to most of us, Feinstein stirred a hornets’ nest and many of her fellow Democrats excoriated her for showing a token of civility.  [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA

A Word of Torah: A New Beginning, Again

Adam and Eve were very special souls, created from the earth by the ‘hands’ of the Almighty. They were infused with the Divine Spirit as, ‘G-d blew into his nostrils a living soul,’ and from Adam fashioned Eve. G-d created the first humans in His ‘image,’ which means they were endowed with a G-dly spark to serve as their soul and the great gift of free choice. It is only by virtue of the fact that we have free choice that we are able to refine and uplift the world in a way that nothing else can. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Yes on Proposition 21: Rachmanis for Renters

Proposition 21 poses a philosophical question.  In these hard times, do we vote to assure that renters will be able to remain in their homes, or do we, in the name of unrestricted capitalism, permit landlords to raise rents so high that their tenants are forced to find cheaper apartments, or in some cases, to become homeless? [Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

Streaming Jewish programs (Oct. 18-23)

Compiled by Laurie Baron, Ph.D SAN DIEGO — All times are Pacific Daylight Time. Sunday, October 18 8 am  Luca Ascoli, “The Jews of Italy,” Sephardic World. 8 am  Yevilah McCoy, “Keynote Address,” Jewish Coalition for Racial Equity Virtual Conference. 8 am Moshe Halbertal and Jonathan Sacks, “Strange New World- Conversations in Times of Crisis- Religious

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA