‘Word Up’ Brings People Together

Let those who are hungry for live performance come and dine at the table of Word Up! These events are part improvised performance, part workshop and part conversation. They are held periodically at the Copley Plaza at the Old Globe in Balboa Park. Feeling homesick and needing to tie up some loose ends, I made aliyah back to my favorite city from Cincinnati and was fortunate enough to catch one performance last Friday. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Neurotypical and neurodiverse performers team in ‘Stellaluna’

In 1993, Janell Cannon published a children’s book, Stellaluna, about a baby fruit bat who was inadvertently separated from her mother, and subsequently raised by birds. Stellaluna adapted to her new environs, but through happenstance, found herself back with her natal family,  and was overjoyed to learn that her ineptitude as a bird isn’t cause for disappointment or frustration. The young fruit bat gains an understanding that she is unique and can adapt to new situations while retaining her own true identity. It is with this in mind that two brilliant and compassionate teachers created a neurodiverse theater group at New Village Arts.  [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Congresswoman Tlaib Denounced for Veiled Antisemitism

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations denounced recent statements by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) that seemed to imply that Jews exploit the poor in her home city of Detroit and around the world. The Conference said on Aug. 6 that it was deeply concerned about the anti-Semitic nature of Tlaib’s comments that she delivered during a video address for the Democratic Socialists of America National Convention. [JNS.org]

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Middle East, USA

Israel Sending Firefighting Planes to Embattled Greece

Israel will dispatch two firefighting aircraft to Greece to help combat wildfires Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described on Monday as “a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions.” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett informed Kyriakos of the move on Monday, according to a statement from Bennett’s office. [JNS.org]

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International, Middle East, The World We Share

Former CBS Records President Walter Yetnikoff Dead at 87

Published by Ultimate Classic Rock Walter Yetnikoff, the former president and CEO of CBS Records from 1975-90, died Sunday, three days before his 88th birthday. A cause of death has not been announced. Born in New York, Yetnikoff grew up in the predominately Jewish neighborhood of Brownsville in Brooklyn, where he experienced an abusive childhood

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Jewish Celebrities

Might Iran Implode?

 Iran has never caused more trouble than it does today. It has successfully completed its “crescent” road eastward to the Mediterranean through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. It’s proxy militias, most notably Hezbollah, can be stronger than national armies, as Hezbollah is in Lebanon. It is so powerful there that Hezbollah is in a standoff position with the IDF, which is generally considered one of the world’s strongest armies. This is due to Hezbollah’s arsenal of approximately 150,000 rockets (random) and missiles (targeted). Iran controls Lebanon, plays a big role in Syria, is the major power in Iraq, and is successfully confronting Saudi Arabia in Yemen.  [Steve Kramer]

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Middle East, Steve Kramer

Gene Simmons: ‘I’m Not Worried if an Idiot Gets COVID and Dies’

Published by Ultimate Classic Rock In an exclusive conversation with UCR, Gene Simmons revealed his thoughts on touring during the COVID-19 pandemic. “My druthers would be that everybody is mandated to get vaccines,” the Kiss bassist confesses. “I hope everybody is going to be wearing their masks. But we can only control what we can

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Jewish Celebrities

Thoughts on Organizing: Letter to a Younger Scholar

I started contributing to San Diego Jewish World in November 2017. About 100,000 words later this is my 102nd story. The ingredients are facts, imagination, inspiration, rigor, memory and the compulsion to write. Wife Karen and editor Don are faithful and critical readers. [Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Oliver Pollak, Science, Medicine, & Education

JFS Names Shreya Sasaki as Family and Community Services Director

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) has appointed Shreya Sasaki as its new senior director of family and community services to oversee a breadth of JFS initiatives, including refugee resettlement, positive parenting training and other JFS programs that strengthen families. Sasaki will integrate her background in public health with the nonprofit’s social service programs, aiming to improve community health and client outcomes. [Jewish Family Service news release]

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San Diego County