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
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson ZIKHRON YA’AKOV, Israel –The tragic and sudden death in a traffic accident of our daughter’s father-in-law, Eli Goldstein, brought an abrupt and untimely stop to the life of a man who was born on the land and worked the land throughout his life. His funeral, which was attended by what seemed to […]
Eli Goldstein, Israeli grower, z”l Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel –What is Palestinianism? According to journalist Ben Cohen, anti-Semitism has become less a political phenomenon, and more a social movement, with what he calls “Palestinianism” as its key ideology: “Palestinian Arabs have assumed the status of iconic, transcendental victims, as the Jews did for a brief period after World
Analyzing Europe’s Middle East bias Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ North Korea has accused the government of the United States of involvement in the making of The Interview because Hollywood would never voluntarily make a tasteless comedy with Seth Rogen and James Franco. Moreover, North Korea denied it had anything to do with the hacking of SONY Pictures and threatened
Humoring the headlines: December 23, 2014 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — A cousin, Liz Halpern, sent to us “Candles,” the first video made by musician Erez Cohen, and we’ve been playing it from the bottom of the San Diego Jewish World home page since the early days of Chanukah. You can also access by touching your cursor here. With two
The making of a Chanukah video Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison LA MESA, California –Did you hear the one about the rabbi, the congresswoman and the mayor who walked into a shopping center during the middle of the December holiday season and lit a giant menorah fashioned from balloons? No, it’s not a joke! It happened on Sunday, Dec. 21, the sixth
Balloon menorah, officials at Chanukah celebration Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—I’ve had the pleasure of being a journalist for more than 52 years, ever since my first byline appeared in the UCLA Daily Bruin in 1962. Over those years, I’ve interviewed more people than I can count and I long ago lost track of all the stories I’ve written. But
On being on the other side of the interview Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ One of the proportionate responses to North Korea’s hacking of Sony Pictures that President Obama is considering is taking Dennis Rodman hostage and locking him in a cell with Dick Cheney who relishes the opportunity to wire his defibrillator to Rodman’s body if North Korea ever attempts another cyberattack on
Humoring the headlines: December 19, 2014 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Are we going to have to cut ourselves off from the news and other media, in order to hold on to our mental equanimity? This week has been particularly hard for consumers of the news media, like myself. Many people thought that the evil that threatened the world had
Islamic terrorism strikes not only in Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Although San Diego City Councilman Todd Gloria didn’t identify them by religion, the people who inspired him to go into politics were members of the San Diego Jewish community. And the man who made him think about quitting politics in despair also was Jewish. The latter was former
Gloria tells his budget priorities for San Diego Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego CountyBy Michael Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — I just finished loading my iPod with nearly three hours of Christmas music. I enjoy listening to Christmas music – especially the soppy, nostalgic stuff. I like the feeling of crisp, colder weather that the music reminds me of when I was a kid in New Jersey –
Enjoy Christmas, but be secure as a Jew Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael MantellBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ The group that hacked SONY Studios has threatened to attack theatres that screen The Interview, a comedy in which Seth Rogen and James Franco are recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Without this publicity, the movie probably would have bombed without the help of terrorists.
Humoring the headlines: December 16, 2014 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Michael Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — There is a little known custom involving Chanukah gelt worth understanding. It was customary to give children Chanukah gelt on the fifth day of the holiday. Why the fifth day? It’s the only day of Chanukah that can never come out on Shabbat. You see Chanukah never starts
This Chanukah, don’t let the Hellenists win Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael MantellBy Michael Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — “I’m so hurried at this time of the year, I don’t have time to breathe,” my Caffeinated Corner buddy spouted on and on. What’s a Caffeinated Corner? Oh, that’s the group I see nearly every morning at the local Starbucks where we sit and over coffee and a
5 ways to remove stress from the holidays Read More »
Michael MantellBy Michael Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — A client recently bought an expensive new car. He hasn’t been the same since. He’s been ranting about how expensive it is, how he shouldn’t have spent so much, and on and on. I asked him about what type of options he put into it and he angrily spewed, “A
Fit yourself with a personal GPS system Read More »
Michael Mantell