The trauma remained with her, influencing the rest of her life. Working as a translator of Polish, Yiddish, and Russian at the Bund offices, she was exposed to frequent reports of antisemitic incidents in Poland, heightening her sense of danger. She took comfort in the strength of her boss at the Bund, Leopold. [Donald H. Harrison]
A Jewish Immigrant Mother’s Tale Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Pasternak’s feelings about Jews and Jewry in the first 22 years of his life are ̶ negative: humiliation, oppression, pogroms. A different vision of the Jewish problem was revealed to him in Marburg. Pasternak encountered Jewish thinking for the first time in his life: Cohen’s teachings were based on the ethics of Judaism. Plagued by Jewish complexes in Russia, he was apparently shocked by the position of the Jewish thinker and rejected Cohen’s offer to continue his philosophical studies. [Alex Gordon]
Jewish Biography: Boris Pasternak Avoided, Denied, His Jewishness Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The joke is that my wife has been an unflagging downsizer, in resisting my acquiring new books, but gifts may be different. I thanked my friend, “Never seen Karen so pleased to get a book in an age where she is trying to get them out of the house.” [Oliver B. Pollak]
‘101 Treasures’ from Israel Library is also a Treasure for Home Collections Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Oliver Pollak, Staff and Bylined Contributors
He has put together a joint Hebrew and Gregorian calendar and planner, in which Jewish and American holidays are listed on a day-by-day basis along with listings of candle lighting times for the start of Shabbats and Jewish holidays as well as what Torah portions will be read in synagogues around the world on each Saturday. [Donald H. Harrison]
Combined American and Hebrew Calendar Book Makes Planning Easy Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Fred Reiss, EdD, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
In 1942, when Alfred was 8 and Herbert was 5, their parents arranged for the boys to be sent to a summer camp operated by a Jewish rescue organization. Much to the boys’ distress, their safety-minded parents had them stay much longer than the summer. While they were gone, their father, who had been helping the French Resistance, was arrested by the Vichy government. [Donald H. Harrison]
Highly Readable Holocaust Memoir Carefully Delineates Sources Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Published by The Center Square (The Center Square) – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants to stop the sale of ancient Jewish texts and books at the nation’s first permanent Jewish institution of higher learning in Cincinnati. Yost filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent Hebrew Union College from selling copies of the Talmud
Ohio Attorney General Sues to Stop Potential Sale of Rare Jewish Books, manuscripts Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Nordot, Science, Medicine, & Education
This novel is a story of love, loss, and redemption with authoritative descriptions of transplant surgeries. First-time novelist Weill formerly directed the heart-lung transplant program at Stanford University. [Donald H. Harrison]
Romance Novel Addresses Corruption in the Organ Transplant Business Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
In her meticulously researched and documented (80 pages of notes and references), D-Day Girls, journalist and bestselling author Sarah Rose follows a handful of these heroines through thick and thin; trough success and failure; through romances, double agents and double-crossings; through capture, imprisonment, interrogation, torture, unspeakable atrocities, sickness and even death for some. [Dorian de Wind]
Before There Was D-Day, There Was S.O.E. Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorian de Wind, International, The Moderate Voice
Published by DPA International To mark the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death, the German-Czech Future Fund is supporting cross-border projects that deal with the life and work of the German-Jewish writer. Interested parties from Germany and the Czech Republic can apply for funding until the end of this month, a spokeswoman said in Prague
German-Czech Future Fund supports Kafka anniversary projects Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Nordot
In 1908, Mühsam moved to Munich. Augustin Sawhi, a Spanish anarchist, recalls: “Within a few years, he became well known in the artistic world of Munich for his carefree, witty lifestyle. […] Mühsam was considered the leader of Munich’s bohemians.” [Alex Gordon]
Jewish Biography: Erich Kurt Mühsam, Murdered Bohemian Poet Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Courtesy of Wikipedia Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual repression, and he embodied various aspects of this counterculture with his views on
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Allen Ginsberg Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
Hitler sought a propaganda victory for his Nazified country with the Olympic Games supposed to be the setting for a demonstration of “Aryan” superiority. Brundage, blinded by his own lust for prominence, became Hitler’s stooge, so desperate was he to rise to the presidency of the International Olympic Committee. [Donald H. Harrison]
Treachery, Sex, Sportsmanship Dominate Novel about 1936 Olympic Games Read More »
Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Love is All We Need by Krina Patel-Sage; Northampton, Massachusetts: Crocodile Books © 2024; ISBN 9781623-716929; 26 pages; $18.95. SAN DIEGO – The two boys hugging in the middle of the adjacent cover image are a Muslim and a Jew – a timely reminder during the fierce Israel-Hamas War that friendships between people of different
‘Love is All We Need’: An Idyllic Book for Children (and Their Adults) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors
I consider Peretz’s story “If Not Higher” the best of his tales. In it, the Hasidim of the town of Nemirov believe their rabbi is so holy that he ascends to heaven each year during the Penitential Prayers, which are recited in synagogues every Friday morning before the New Year holiday Rosh Hashanah. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Learning from Isaac Leib Peretz’s Masterpiece ‘If Not Higher’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors