Offshore Gas Deal Seems Fair, Though Ill-Timed

The Americans were given the task of producing a draft agreement, and the man they chose for doing the deal is a Jew, a former Israeli, and veteran of the IDF, who subsequently moved to Washington and joined the State Department. Amos Hochstein expresses the mix of Israeli and American identities. He’s produced something that seems reasonable, especially given Israel’s economic strength and Lebanon’s economic desperation.  [Ira Sharkansky]

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Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Middle East, USA

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Sukkah Symbols

By Mark D. Zimmerman Jews around the world are celebrating Sukkot this week. The most significant preparation is the building of a sukkah, a temporary outdoor structure, by many synagogues, schools, Jewish organizations, and individuals. The sukkah symbolizes the huts in which the Israelites lived during the Exodus, and also represents the structures that farmers

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

How Attuned Are You to the Three Components of Spirituality?

By Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — How often have you heard people say that someone is spiritual? I always wonder what they mean exactly; when asked, no one has ever given me a satisfactory explanation.  Current studies include a variety of definitions. There is still no widely agreed on definition of spirituality

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Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz

‘Summer Lightning’ and the Sudden Strikes of Love

This novel follows a Jewish family through nearly four decades of American history, starting with the couple’s chance meeting at Roosevelt Field on May 20, 1927, while watching Charles Lindbergh begin his solo flight across the Atlantic, and extending through the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Carmel Valley Middle School Teacher Posts Hitler Next to Gandhi, FDR, JFK, MLK in Classroom

LOS ANGELES — (Press Release) The Simon Wiesenthal Center has urged the San Dieguito Union High School District to take proactive action regarding Carmel Valley Middle School where Adolf Hitler’s portrait was placed alongside inspirational historical leaders including U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, U.S President John F. Kennedy, British Prime Minister

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San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Getting it Wrong on FDR and the Holocaust

By Rafael Medoff The latest film from Ken Burns, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” has aroused controversy with its claim that President Franklin D. Roosevelt did his best to help save Jews from the Nazis. As Donald Harrison notes in his October 5 column, filmmakers Burns, Sarah Botstein, and Lynn Novick contend that “FDR would

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Holocaust, International, Opinion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

4 Times 20

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — During the last few years, I have been spending part of the summer in France, supposedly to avoid the summer heat of Israel. That has come to be something of a joke, as the summers in France have been as hot as — or even hotter than —

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles

Pros and Cons of Ken Burns’ Holocaust Documentary

Many readers of San Diego Jewish World know Baron via his political satire columns, but I asked my colleague to put his hat back on as a Holocaust scholar to assess how well Burns’ documentary had covered the subject.[Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

San Diego International Film Festival Runs the Gamut of Human Emotions

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — If you’ve been holding your breath anticipating the return of the San Diego International Film Festival, it’s time to exhale. However, the depth and breadth of films will have you panting trying to keep up with the evocative array of human emotions. To learn more about the SDIFF 2022,

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

Bringing to Life, Through the Arts, the Victims of the Holocaust

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — We Are the Tree of Life (WATTOL) founder and director, Jackie Gmach, is adept at recognizing talent and recruiting them to participate in her initiative. In Israeli-born dancer and circus performer, Tammuz Dubnov, Gmach struck gold. Dubnov is not only young, handsome and talented, but he is committed to

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