Books, Poetry & Short Stories

‘P is for Palestine’ children’s picture book ignites controversy in New York

By Renee Ghert-Zand The saga of a newly published ABC children’s book that has had adults up in arms just may have a happy ending after a summit this week between New York rabbis and an independent bookstore chain’s owners. Once upon a time in mid-November, the launch of “P is for Palestine” was immediately […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East, USA

Dueling poems by Josefowitz, Zahn, charm

He Writes, She Writes: A Dialogue of Contrasting Views Written in Verse by Natasha Josefowitz and Irwin Zahn; © 2017 Createspace; ISBN 9781975-785055; 79 pages plus introductory material; $7 on Amazon. By Donald H. Harrison   SAN DIEGO – After reading this collaboration by Natasha Josefowitz and Irwin Zahn, three descriptive words came immediately to

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Natasha Josefowitz

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; the Jewish story

FORT WORTH, Texas December 2, 2017 – Robert May’s holiday standard, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer will be 78 next month. Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward, a retail and catalog department store in Chicago, Illinois The origins of Rudolph The author of one of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Shatner Wants Clever Kid’s New Word Added to the Dictionary– All We Have to Do is Use it

Levi Budd has always been fascinated by the English language – and now, he might even have a chance to contribute to it. The 6-year-old from Victoria is going viral on social media after he made a video describing how he has made up an ingenious new word that he wants to add to the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories

British Library publishes treasure trove of Hebrew manuscripts

By Raphael Ahren The British Library last week published a new website showcasing 1,300 Hebrew manuscripts, ranging from ancient Torah scrolls and prayer books to philosophical, theological and scientific works. The new site is the library’s first bilingual online collection, allowing users to search for scans of the manuscripts in Hebrew and English. “The British

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International

‘Dollmaker’ is a Holocaust story with a fictional twist

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero; Delacorte Press, 2017, ISBN 97815247-15403; 316 pages plus notes; $16.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — R.M. Romero has written a fairy tale that couldn’t possibly have a happy ending. Written for students in the middle school grades, The Dollmaker of Krakow is set in Poland during

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

‘Anne Frank’ wins and breaks our hearts

By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO–“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” –Anne Frank In 1942, after being denied visas to the United States, the Frank family went into hiding in the Secret Annex, a tight, dingy storage attic above the pickling factory that Otto

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eric George Tauber, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Whispers from the Light’ may lead you to re-think

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the galaxies—most likely more galaxies. Our minds cannot encompass infinity. Have you wondered what was there before the beginning of our universe before the big bang? Maybe it always was! Our minds cannot fathom eternity. Birds migrate by some magnetic

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Natasha Josefowitz

Tales of internat’l intrigue in old Key West

The Jews of Key West: Smugglers, Cigar Makers, and Revolutionaries (1823-1969) by Arlo Haskell; Sand Paper Press; 2017; 170 pages plus notes, bibliography and index; $24.00. By Donald H. Harrison   SAN DIEGO – Arlo Haskell’s book on the Jews of Key West is unlike most other local histories in that it is fueled by

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, USA

Hobby Lobby’s Bible Museum Opens After Scandal

More than 2,800 bible-related artifacts will be presented to the public starting on Friday, as the Museum of the Bible swings open its doors in Washington, D.C. But the fanfare over the capital’s newest museum hasn’t overshadowed the scandal involving the project. Hobby Lobby, an arts and crafts supply store owned by the Evangelical Christian

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA