Festival of Light and Steel: 20-Foot SDSU Menorah Shines on 1st Night of Hanukkah

By Ken Stone Times of San Diego SAN DIEGO — Barry Soper was beaming. The author and homeless advocate who spearheaded efforts to replace a vandalized menorah at the San Diego State University Chabad House was seeing it lit Thursday on the first night of Hanukkah. He and several hundred others cheered amid tragic times for Jews […]

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Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Yosef’s Moral Compass: Navigating Challenges With Integrity

Shabbat Vayeishev 5784 By Rabbi Daniel Reich LA JOLLA, California — Yosef, a handsome 17-year-old, cherished as the beloved son of the great Yaakov Avinu, was a young man dedicated to learning and growing closer to Hashem. However, his life took a challenging turn when his brothers turned against him, casting him into a pit,

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Daniel Reich-Rabbi, Jewish Religion

Home in Israel or U.S.A.? A Couple’s Dilemma

This is a memoir of an American falling in love with a French man who is more traditional in his religious observance than she is.  They marry and live for a while in France, but Israel calls to him.  She wants to live in the familiar U.S. of A.  He wants his family to be raised as traditional Jews in Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA

Nowhere Else I’d Rather Be: Santee-Trained Firefighter Volunteers in Israel During Wartime

By Dana Ben Kaplan SANTEE, California — This past September, I was contacted by the Emergency Volunteers Project (EVP) and asked if I would be available for another Israel firefighter training deployment, scheduled for October. I had been participating in these firefighter events in Israel for several years now (after retiring from the Santee Fire

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Israel, Opinion, San Diego County

Recorded Hanukkah Music to Provide Holiday Prelude Dec. 7

Enjoy a prelude to your first night of Hanukkah with Hanukkah Music, part of the series, Treasures from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library. This free program will be held in the Astor Judaica Library of the Lawrence Family JCC on Thursday, December 7, 2:00-3:30 p.m. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Henry Kissinger, Z”L

By Mark D. Zimmerman Henry ‍Kissinger ‍died ‍last ‍week ‍at ‍the ‍age ‍of ‍100. ‍Born ‍in ‍1923 ‍in ‍Germany, ‍Kissinger ‍and ‍his ‍family ‍fled ‍the ‍country ‍in ‍1938 ‍to ‍escape ‍increasing ‍antisemitism, ‍including ‍beatings ‍he ‍suffered ‍by ‍Hitler ‍Youth ‍gang ‍members. ‍He ‍went ‍to ‍college ‍in ‍New ‍York, ‍studying ‍accounting, ‍until ‍he ‍was ‍drafted ‍into

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

New Billboards in San Diego Bring Attention to Dangers of Hamas

NEW YORK (Press Release) — JewBelong, a national nonprofit organization that fights antisemitism and makes Judaism accessible, last week put up three new billboards in San Diego reading, “Let’s be clear. Hamas is your problem too.” The new slogan is in response to the antisemitism sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, which led to a 400%

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Israel, San Diego County

Who Are the Houthis and Why Are They Messing With Israel?

By Stephen M. Flatow (JNS) I opened a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, and there’s a fellow in uniform with red beret and camo uniform screaming into a microphone. My Arabic being non-existent, I was glad for the simultaneous translation identifying the screamer as one Gen. Yahya Saree, the spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi

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Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA

Enough is Enough, Say Students Leaders and Israel Advocates

DENVER (Press Release) — Demonstrations outside Jewish National Fund-USA’s Global Conference for Israel November-December 3 appeared to feature supporters of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization in America, displaying placards of photos of the terror organization’s attacks on Israeli civilians accompanied by the text “Resistance by any means possible.” Protesters also defaced public property and etched

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Israel, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Women’s Groups Distressingly Mum about Hamas Raping Israeli Women, Children

Upon reflecting on my work as an advocate for battered women, I realize what drives me is my memory of how Jewish women were once deemed utterly dispensable; they were loathed and discarded after gang rapes by their Nazi tormentors. What I saw last month in the Hamas attack on Israeli women was eerily reminiscent of those atrocities of yesteryear. [Amy Neustein, Ph.D]

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Amy Neustein, Israel, Opinion, USA