The Arts

Tel Aviv University Archaeologists Theorize Why There are No Prehistoric Cave Paintings in Israel

For over a century, archaeologists have puzzled over the absence of cave art in the Levant in general and specifically in Israel. Now a team of archaeologists from Tel Aviv University (TAU) proposes an original explanation: prehistoric humans in the Levant did not create cave paintings because many large animals, the subjects of cave art in Western Europe, were already extinct there. [Press Release]

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Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Press Release, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food

How a Neighborhood Rallied to Save a Library’s Collection Unavoidably Soaked by Firefighters

In 1966, a fire that started on a top floor of the 10-story Jewish Theological Seminary building in New York City destroyed 70,000 books and other written items.  Many were extra copies of the books stored below; others were irreplaceable items such as the Torah scrolls sent for safekeeping from Danzig during the Holocaust. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Seeing What Author Tom Lamont Imagines in ‘Going Home’

The plot of this delightfully written, dreamlike narrative revolves around Joel, a preschooler whose mother Lea committed suicide after asking Teo, a male friend who admired her from afar, to look after him.  The life of Teo’s elderly father, Vic, apparently is resuscitated after Joel enters their lives. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Lord Byron, Heinrich Heine Were Contributors to Jewish Music

In the USSR, Jewish life, Jewish religion and Jewish education were forbidden. Anyone who wanted to learn about Jewishness had to seek out ways to learn about it at his or her own risk. Jewish melodies could pour from different and unexpected sources. Lord George Gordon Byron suddenly turned out to be one such source for me. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Well-Researched Historical Fiction Tells Tragic Holocaust Family Story

This is a carefully compiled record of the situation of German Jews between 1907 and 1942, the last year being when the author’s father, Benno Neuberger, was executed for treason on September 18 in Berlin, and his mother, Anna Neuberger, was murdered on September 19 by the Nazi death machine at Treblinka. [Donald H. Harrisons]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

New Year’s Resolutions Are Kept for an Average of Two Weeks

I read somewhere that people stick to their New Year’s Resolutions for only two weeks. Two weeks after New Years Day, people give up. I found that a little sad.[Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

A Vegan Celebration of the New Year

My family and I have a tradition of staying in on New Year’s Eve and I do a Thanksgiving repeat of the Tofurkey surrounded by veggies and my mushroom gravy, salad, macaroni and cheese and Julian apple pie for dessert. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food