The Arts

College art head resigns over offensive poster of Shaked

The head of the Art Department at Shenkar College has resigned, after a nude portrait bearing a facial resemblance to Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked was censored for a senior project art exhibit. The portrait initially went viral, later being censored by Professor Yuli Tamir, the Head of Shenkar College, who reasoned that it could lead

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Alternative Jewish histories: Fun, instructive

What Ifs of Jewish History: From Abraham to Zionism edited by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld; (c) 2016 Cambridge University Press; ISBN 978110-7037625; 406 pages including notes and index; $34.99 hardback. By Mitchell J. Freedman POWAY, California –Counterfactuals or alternative histories remain controversial among historians mostly because it is an area where Literature with a capital L

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History

Stephen Colbert rips Hillary Clinton as dishonest: ‘F*** it, I gotta take the gloves off’

Late-night host Stephen Colbert “took the gloves off” and went into a nearly three-minute long skit this week on Hillary Clinton’s integrity. “F*** it, I gotta take the gloves off,” the comedian told his audience Monday night. “The Late Show” host then began a series of pop-culture analogies to demonstrate the former secretary of state’s

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Anthem outburst is what happens when social media opens up ‘the conversation’ to morons

If Remigio Pereira’s performance the other night at Major League Baseball’s all-star game in San Diego is not a sign of the coming apocalypse, it’s at least one of the madness currently sweeping the planet. Pereira is – was? – one of The Tenors quartet, formerly The Canadian Tenors, and he had a pretty dishy

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International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions

Artist Charlotte Salomon’s life told in free verse

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson   MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Life is full of strange coincidences. I first encountered the story of Charlotte Salomon about twenty years ago, when an exhibition of her work, a series of paintings with captions describing her life and entitled Life? Or Theatre? was held at the Royal Academy in London. It made

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

Detective, romance story based on Salem Witch Trials

How to Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather; Alfred A. Knopf; © 2016; ISBN 978055-3539479; 358 pages including author’s notes; $17.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Adriana Mather is the author and Samantha Mather is the fictional protagonist of this mystery-romance-supernatural novel for young adults that draws upon the Salem Witch Trials for

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Santana thumbs nose at BDS to appear in Tel Aviv

The legendary Grammy-award winning guitarist Carlos Santana is scheduled to appear in Park Hayarkon is Tel Aviv on July 30, Yediot Aharonot reported. When asked what his stance is regarding the anti-Israel BDS movement, that encourages the boycott of Israeli businesses and often pressures artists not to perform in Israel, Santana stated that “I prefer

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

‘Days of Awe’ tells of recovery from a close friend’s death

Days of Awe by Lauren Fox; Penguin Random House Vantage Books: © 2015; ISBN 978030-7388278; 256 pages; $16 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Isabelle’s life is ruined after her best friend and fellow school teacher, Josie, died when her car plunged off an icy road.  She was so devastated by the loss that her marriage

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

George Takei says the decision to make Sulu gay is ‘really unfortunate’

George Takei did not want “Star Trek Beyond’s” Sulu to be gay? Oh my. While news broke that “Star Trek Beyond” will feature an openly gay Hikaru Sulu in a nod to original Sulu actor George Takei, it turns out Takei was never actually on board with this development. To be clear, the long-time LGBT

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Maestro: Music, mysticism of Leonard Bernstein

By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — One man and a piano. For most, this would be a scene in a hotel lounge with patrons coming and going. But not for virtuoso Hershey Felder who completes this year’s Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival playing at the Lyceum Theatre. Hershey Felder is well known

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Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Movie review: ‘The Innocents’ strikingly tells of what befell a convent victimized during WWII

“The Innocents” soars above its seeming contradictions. A gripping psychological drama based on events more than half a century old, it has inescapable contemporary echoes. Laced with intensely emotional situations, it refuses to force the issue by pushing too hard. And it proves, yet again, that though moral and spiritual questions may not sound spellbinding

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast