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

Fry saga leaves reviewer with mixed feelings

Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry; Hutchinson, 1997. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I have mixed feelings about the author whose avowed brilliance is tempered by strange behavior, apparently due to his being subject to bi-polar disorder, as well as his aversion to Israel and Zionism. His half-Jewish background may partly account for the latter, […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Jewish community rallies against anti- Semitic attacks

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – In the wake of a fifth wave of bomb threat hoaxes against Jewish Community Centers throughout the nation, as well as the desecration of Jewish cemeteries in Missouri and Pennsylvania, the Jewish community is mobilizing its defenses. In New York, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called upon Jewish institutions

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Donald H. Harrison, USA

The Wandering Review: Oscar Predictions 2017

By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−It’s always risky to prognosticate the winners of the Academy Awards.  While the nominees usually exemplify excellent filmmaking, which ones will garner the gold statuettes often reflect contemporary politics, personality issues, and studio lobbying.  My predictions are based more on monitoring entertainment and trade publications than on my own tastes. BEST

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Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Humoring the headlines: February 23, 2017

By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−President Trump toured the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.  He wondered why there wasn’t any exhibit honoring the generosity of the European whites who provided free trans-Atlantic cruises for Africans immigrating to the United States and asked the docent to arrange a meeting with the Black Congressional Caucus. *

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Campaign rhetoric blamed for surge of anti-Semitism

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — “The tone of the Trump campaign, the appointment of Steve Bannon (as White House chief strategist), and the discussion of immigrants has provided a license for people to express their hatred in a way that is inappropriate,” Congressman Scott Peters (D-San Diego) charged Wednesday in a telephone interview

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

New book examines Judaism’s last three prophets

Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty by Hayyim Angel, Maggid Books, New Milford, CT, © 2016, ISBN 978-1-59264-413-1, p. 154 plus appendix, $24.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –  Jewish prophets are missionaries in the sense that God calls them to fulfill a task, such as conveying important information to the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

Menorah dispute, JCC bomb scare roil community

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – A bomb scare delayed the opening of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center on Tuesday, the same day local newspapers reported a dispute between the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot over the former’s request for permission to erect a menorah on the base

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, USA

Peace is the goal

By Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — Israelis had been waiting with bated breath for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s initial meeting with President Donald Trump on February 15. All sorts of fantasies were dreamed up by “Land of Israel” (right wing) advocates, as if the new president were an ultra-Zionist. Left wing “peace” advocates, on the other

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Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

It took a village to bring me back to health

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — I always figured if I ever developed a fondness for members of the Scripps family it would be because of their historic contributions to newspaper journalism, or perhaps to oceanography, but as it turned out I thank them for their philanthropic interest in health care. I was a

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

Theme Song for ‘The Last Laugh’

By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−While Michael Flynn frantically tried to destroy his DVD of From Russia with Love, the San Diego Jewish Film Festival is entertaining audiences day and night at a variety of venues in the city through February 19th.  I had the honor to introduce The Last Laugh, a documentary about comedians and

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Lawrence Baron, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Humoring the headlines: February 13, 2017

By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−In a perfect world: Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, and President Trump would be wired to a polygraph whenever they made public statements. * Ruth Bader Ginsburg would be immortal. * Israel wouldn’t legitimize many formerly illegal settlements the day after it disbands one. * Three Republican senators would have voted against

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA