Music of Peter Jona Korn performed by Zina Schiff

My sister, violinist Zina Schiff, has championed the works of many contemporary composers, as illustrated by her recordings.  The 1998 release of the Peter Jona Korn (1922-1998) Violin Concerto was a result of my friendship with the composer. At it US premiere with the Baton Rouge Symphony. Korn’s friend, Peter Paul Fuchs, was the conductor; the country’s foremost music magazine, Musical America, came to review the concert; and the composer himself, was in the audience. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

George Floyd honored, dishonored by protests, riots

Here in San Diego County, peaceful demonstrators honored the memory of George Floyd, the African-American victim of a white Minneapolis policeman who continuously and fatally pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck, hampering the prone man’s ability to breathe. The demonstrators’ cries for racial justice were heart-felt, appropriate, and in need of urgent redress. Also, here in San Diego County, particularly in La Mesa, rioters of diverse racial backgrounds dishonored George Floyd, using his unwarranted death as an excuse for arson and looting. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

California battle resumes over ethnic studies

StandWithUs, the international organization that battles anti-Semitism on college, high school, and middle school campuses, is engaged in a drive to prevent wording of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) anti-Israel movement from being restored to a proposed,  ethnic studies model curriculum (ESMC)  for schools throughout California. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sam Litvin, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Online concert benefits Ugandan Jewry

When thinking about Jewish communities around the world, most of us probably don’t give much thought to Uganda. But tucked away in the Savannah, over very rough roads, live the Abayudaya. Like the rest of the world, they are also affected by the current pandemic. Under the same lockdown rules, most Abayudaya are unable to go to their jobs to provide for their families. The worldwide pandemic has hit them hard because, as meager as our stimulus checks might seem, their government provides bubkes. And unlike many of us, working remotely via Wi-Fi is simply not an option. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Susan Davis urges steps to curb sexual assaults in military

Reps. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) are co-sponsoring legislation to shine more light on the extent of sexual assault in the military.  Among other provisions, the proposed legislation would require Judge Advocates General of each Armed Service to assess how well current laws and regulations dealing with the subject are working and make recommendations for further improvement. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

Provocateurs sow dissension among Americans

Just because a former President of the United States is no longer in office -and lacks the authority to affect any executive orders or policy changes- does not mean that he is no longer a threat. The morals and ideals he espouses continue to have a lasting impact on the fabric of this great nation, whether to bind the threads of American citizenry in unity or rent them asunder. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, International, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

A Word of Torah: The Shavuot holiday

This Friday and Saturday we celebrate the awesome Holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot means ‘Weeks,’ and it also means ‘Oaths.’ Shavuot is also called Z’man Matan Toratainu, which means ‘The Time of the Giving of Our Torah.’ Additionally it is called Chag HaBikurim, ‘The Festival of the First Fruit,’ as the holiday marks the beginning of the season when the First Fruit Offerings would be brought to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Biblical Shavuot and its practice today

The current observance of Shavuot has no relationship to its biblical ancestor and doesn’t even occur at the same time. Very few people know the truth about this day. Most Jews think Shavuot recalls the day the Torah was revealed to the Israelites during the days of Moses. This is not true. This significance was given to the holiday in the middle ages when the holiday had lost one of its original purposes; the sacrifice prescribed for the day was discontinued when the second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. I am not advocating that Jews should not observe Shavuot. Judaism today is not Torah Judaism. It is Rabbinic Judaism. Jews observe the Torah as it is interpreted by the rabbis. I observe Shavuot. The purpose of this article is simply to reveal its historical development. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Sustainable development requires community consensus

How can we achieve sustainable development, not just globally, but specifically in Morocco? We must first consider what the central features of this development are. We must incorporate many factors in creative and innovative design: education, gender, ethics, economics, politics, culture, history, geography, finance, and technical aspects in order for sustainable projects to have enduring success. We also need to employ a participatory approach. We have learned over time through trial and error and observation of how development assistance has been institutionalized in the past 70 years that participation and sustainability are inextricably linked. [Yossef Ben-Meir]

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Middle East, Yossef Ben-Meir

Booming or dooming through COVID-19?

During this pandemic, we are all, perhaps particularly boomers, challenged to avoid becoming “doomers.” A key to avoid this declining mindset is living a fully active life with a “regardless” mindset, one that is filled with high hopes of living a long time, to 100. Dr. Bortz tells us that “most of the changes commonly associated with older people are not really dependent on the passage of time; they result mostly from disuse.” He further tells us, “Who you get to be—how old, wise, competent, creative, sexy, fun you become—depends on how you plan. Decrepitude and loss are not predetermined. How you… set your course is highly predictive of the journey you will take.” [Michael R. Mantell, PhD]

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Travel and Food

A ‘Mischling’ growing up in WWII Hamburg

Marione Ingram was born in Hamburg in 1938 to a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father, and so was defined as a ‘mischling’ (half-breed) by the Nazi authorities. Her autobiographical book begins with her account of having been sent by her mother when she was eight years old to take her younger sister to their aunt. She decided to return unbidden and found her mother in the throes of an attempt to commit suicide by putting her head in their gas oven. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History