Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Suicide’s memoir indicts the Gur sect of Hassidim

Doing His Will (Osah Kirtzono) by Esti Weinstein, published in Hebrew by Kinneret, Zmora-Bitan, Dvir, 2016. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson  JERUSALEM –The poor woman who wrote this book (and eventually committed suicide) was born into a specific sect, tantamount to a cult, of ultra-Orthodox Judaism known as the Gur Hassidim As a child and teenager the author […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Editor’s personal blog: Declining language, politics

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Perhaps I am becoming my own grandfather, a gentle architect born in the 19th century who prided himself on being a proper and decorous man.  Recently, I wrote a column decrying the bitter partisanship that divides Washington, D.C., and which sadly is exemplified by the rancorous way that

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, USA

‘Jewish Libya:’ background for the next James Michener

Jewish Libya: Memory & Identity in Text & Image, edited by Jacque Roumani, David Meghnagi & Judith Roumani; © 2018, Syracuse University Press, ISBN 9780815-635628; 280 pages plus bibliography, appendices, and index. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Jewish Libya is an anthology about a place that no longer exists.  Since Israel’s successful 1967

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East

Rube Goldberg still inspires fanciful art

By Oliver Pollak SAN FRANCISCO — The Contemporary Jewish Museum just celebrated its 10th anniversary. The celebration coincided with an exhibit on cartoonist and inventor Rube Goldberg, curated by Goldberg’s granddaughter, Jennifer George.  Initially that exhibit had opened in Seattle, then came to San Francisco from Canadian, Texas, and goes next to Portland, Maine. It

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Travel and Food

S.D. Jewish history book helpful exhibition souvenir

Celebrate, Commemorate: The History and Heritage of San Diego’s Jewish Community, editor Joellyn Zollman, San Diego History Center, ISBN 8780918-740090,  91 pages including acknowledgments and room for personal remembrances. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – The recent exhibition at the San Diego History Center about our local Jewish community contained more information than most

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County

Rabbi- historian examines the destiny of the Jews

By Steve Kramer KFAR SAVA, Israel —Rabbi Ken Spiro’s new book, Destiny, successfully guides the reader through the central themes of Judaism: the impact of Jewish values on civilization, Jewish determination, the disproportionate impact of the Jewish people, anti-Semitism and its message, the Jewish vision of history and conception of time, and [even] mankind’s ultimate

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Steve Kramer

Searching history for original wines

Tasting the Past, The Science of Flavor & the Search for the Original Wine Grapes by Kevin Begos. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, ISBN 9781616-205775, 277 pages, $26.95 By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California —  Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley was the 2nd stop on a three-week, nine-event book tour traversing Florida, California and New York.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food

Escape by marriage: how some fled the Nazis

Persecuted. Engaged. Married. Marriages of convenience in exile by Sabine Bergler and Irene Messinger, Jewish Museum Vienna, 2018, 147 pages. By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California.– We marry for love, romance, money, and to procreate and extend family lineages. Marriages of convenience (MOC) are embedded in politics, survival, citizenship, and migration. Marriage and Nazi domination evokes

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Oliver Pollak

Catalog illustrates 70 years of Israel craft and design

By Mimi Pollack SAN DIEGO — My maternal grandparents were born in the 1800’s  in the land that today is known as Israel. They passed away before I was born, and I regret I never got the chance to talk with them and hear their stories. Thus, it is with great interest that I perused

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East, Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

A frenetic campaign to meet business gurus

The Third Door by Alex Banayan; © 2018 Crown Publishing Group of Penguin Random House LLC; ISBN 9780894-136662; 286 pages plus acknowledgments; $26. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This is the story of a college student’s frenetic search for off-campus enlightenment in which he schemes and obsesses over interviewing the world’s most successful

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, USA