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 Donald H. Harrison SANTEE, California –I am still pondering two items that neighbor Bob Lauritzen and I found during a walk around the Santee Lakes. I noticed a card lying face up with Christian iconography on it. The card pictured a man in white robe and green overgarment. He had a halo above his […]
Finding pictures of a President and a Saint Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Laurie Baron NORTH POLE― Unbeknownst to the public, this Christmas was Santa’s last. The rotund elderly man realizes he can no longer compete with modern technology and world capitalism. He is eager to slow down and collect Social Security and Medicare. The reindeer and sleigh are quaint, but way too slow and small compared
Humoring the Headlines: December 27, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 2,000-year-old Jobar Synagogue in Damascus is said to be the site where the prophet Elijah concealed himself from persecution and anointed his successor, Elisha. It was a UNESCO World Heritage Site until last March when someone appeared to have blown it up. The Syrian government and the rebels
Jobar Synagogue treasures belong to the Jewish community Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By Steve Kramer SHUNI FORTRESS, Israel — Ephraim, originally from Wisconsin, and his sabra wife, Rimona, bought a lovely home on a building lot in Aviel last year. Aviel is a small, pastoral moshav (agricultural cooperative) near the towns of Zichron Yaacov and Binyamina. Our good friends and former neighbors love being in the country,
Archaeology, art, history await at Shuni Fortress Read More »
Steve Kramer, Travel and Food
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — After some reluctance, I decided it was important for me to weigh in on the Duck Dynasty controversy involving Phil Robertson and his off-the-cuff remarks regarding gays and African Americans. Robertson’s equation of homosexuality to bestiality is incorrect. The biblical passages dealing with homosexuality pertain to
A Voltairian view of the Duck Dynasty controversy Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–Until a few months ago, my daughter Sandi Masori was known principally as an e-book author, video teacher and practitioner in the balloon entertainment and decór community. As a result of her concern about the possible impact of a helium shortage, she increasingly has become a television spokesperson
Sandi Masori, balloon artist, makes her magic on ‘Today’ show Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –This past week, a newspaper featured a picture of a Lubavitcher rabbi smilingly putting tefillon on Santa Claus. It reminded me of a story from Eli Plaut’s book, Kosher Christmas. It mentions how an old Ukrainian Jewish immigrant dressed up as Santa Claus and spoke Yiddish. When speaking
Letting go of our past fear… and prejudice Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– It is too bad that our dog Benji can’t read, because if he could, Max, the Rotweiler who is the hero in four books of space adventures, might become one of Benji’s favorite characters in literature. In a series of four stories by San Diego-raised, University of Colorado astronomy
Traveling through space with a dog–is it in our future? Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Mimi Pollack LA MESA, California — Animals don’t have nationalities. They will love you no matter who you are and where you come from. Unfortunately, humans’ treatment of animals varies greatly, depending on the country and culture. There are many strays and homeless animals in Mexico. The dogs and cats of Tijuana and
U.S. group helps stray animals in Baja California Read More »
Mimi Pollack, The World We Share
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Jokes somehow make death less terrifying. I’ve had some recent encounters with this maxim. The other day, a man at the cash register at a Denny’s Restaurant declared: “I’m so old that when I was born the Dead Sea wasn’t even sick yet.” A few days later, Rabbi
Gerry Greber, a man of food, song, and humor Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―Al Qaeda issued an apology for attacking a hospital in Yemen which it erroneously thought was the country’s defense ministry. Its spokesman explained that under the organization’s Osama Care policy, it guarantees medical treatment to anyone who manages to survive bombings carried out by its members. * Hackers compromised the credit
Humoring the headlines: December 23, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
Kenny Weissberg, Off My Rocker, Sandra Jonas Publishing House, 2013, ISBN 9780985581565, $26.95, 305 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– For more than two decades Kenny Weissberg was the concert promoter who brought to Humphrey’s By the Bay an eclectic mix of talent, some being big names in the music industry, and others who
Concert promoter shares music anecdotes in memoir Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Mimi Pollack, a friend and occasional writer for San Diego Jewish World, is an adjunct faculty member at Grossmont College in neighboring El Cajon. She teaches English as a Second Language, which is popularly abbreviated as “ESL.” Whenever I see that abbreviation,” I think of the word “easel,”
ESL students make excellent pen pals Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Mimi Pollack, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―President Obama appointed the American delegation to the Winter Olympics. To protest Russia’s laws against homosexuals, he included the openly gay tennis champion Billie Jean King and two-time women’s hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow in its ranks. To add insult to injury, he has recruited the Village People to sing “YMCA” instead
Humoring the Headlines: December 20, 2013 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire