The Arts

World War II’s Impact on German Civilians Told in Biography of Heidi Posnien

This, as the title suggests, is the story of Heidi, a little Catholic girl born in 1936 who grew up in Berlin and the nearby countryside during the Hitler regime that culminated in Germany’s utter defeat in World War II.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Bill Introduced to End Federal Funding to Universities that Support BDS

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) and Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) on Tuesday introduced a bill requiring a cut-off of federal funds to any institution of higher education that engages in a commercial boycott of Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Middle East, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

A Handbook for Social and Political Action

This is a handbook for social and political activism, written by a medical doctor who has spent his life engaged in protests, demonstrations, and movements for change. Whether you agree with his positions on a variety of issues, or disagree, reading this book may be enlightening. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Amos, Zelickman, Schumann Team in All-Mozart Concert at the LFJCC

Assistant Conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO), Robert Zelickman, opened the matinee All-Mozart Concert at the Garfield Theater of the Lawrence Family JCC Sunday, Nov. 24, conducting, the Overture to “The Impresario,” one of Mozart’s comic operas in which a director is auditioning two singers for a role and each is trying to outdo the other. The wave after wave of sequences in the rapid-fire overture reflected that competition. Zelickman sustained the orchestral energy of the overture throughout the five-minute work. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Shlomo Artzi

Courtesy of Wikipedia Shlomo Artzi (November 26, 1949) is an Israeli folk rock musician, composer, music producer, radio host and singer-songwriter. He is one of the most popular and successful musicians in Israel. Shlomo Artzi was born on Moshav Alonei Abba. Artzi’s parents were Holocaust survivors and their memories deeply influenced him and his sister Nava Semel, a playwright. His

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International, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Hasidic Rebbes and what they taught us

Eight of Elie Wiesel’s fifty-seven books could be called “Theological Biographies.” They are books on biblical figures and stories about Hasidim. They are Souls on Fire (1972), Four Hasidic Masters and Their Struggle Against Melancholy (1978), Somewhere a Master (1982), and Wise Men and Their Tales (2003), which focus on Hasidim. Messengers of God (1976), Five Biblical Tales (1981), and Sages and Dreamers (1991) look at biblical people. Filled with Fire and Light is a 2021 posthumous book addressing biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic figures.    [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Mike Huckabee

Prior ‍to ‍Mike ‍Huckabee’s ‍2015 ‍trip ‍to ‍Israel, ‍he ‍criticized ‍President ‍Obama ‍for ‍spending ‍“more ‍time ‍berating ‍Israel ‍for ‍building ‍bedrooms ‍for ‍its ‍families ‍than ‍he ‍has ‍spent ‍bothering ‍Iran ‍for ‍building ‍nuclear ‍bombs.” ‍He ‍then ‍went ‍on ‍to ‍draw ‍a ‍contrast ‍between ‍his ‍and ‍Obama’s ‍relationship ‍with ‍Israel, ‍invoking ‍what ‍musician? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Israel, Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Are There Jewish Miracles? Yes, 8 Days of Chanukah Among Them

Do Jews believe in miracles? An article on myjewishlearning.com sparked my interest. Miracles appear throughout Jewish texts, from the splitting of the Red Sea to the bush that burned but was not consumed. [Cailin Acosta]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Jewish Biography: Leonid Solomonovych Pervomaysky, Ukrainian Author

Jewish themes were constantly present in Pervomaysky’s work. In the early “everyday” stories and novels they occupy a leading place. They were in the center of the story of The Promised Land, the stories The Umbrella of Pinchus-Moti (1926), In the Bookbinder’s Room (1928), From the Song of Songs (1935), and One Night of Ilyusha’s Childhood (1937). [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Jewish Citizen: Chabad Rabbi Slain in the United Arab Emirates

The body of murder victim Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan was recovered Sunday in the United Arab Emirates, and that nation’s Interior Ministry announced the arrest of three suspects, giving no further details. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Shoah, Israel’s Wars Subjects of Poetry Readings at Lawrence Family JCC

July Galper, a native of Peru and a champion of the poetry of the Peruvian-Jewish Poet, Inge Strusberg, opened the Jewish Poets of the Past program Tuesday evening, November 19, with a biographical sketch of Strusberg, written in the poet’s own words. [Eileen Wingard]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, International, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Jewish Citizen: U.S. Congress Members Express Alarm over Turkey Cozying up to Hamas

Eleven Jewish members of Congress are among 39 urging “immediate classified briefings” from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines on the implications of Turkey providing a haven for the leaders of Hamas. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Middle East, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Rescuing Judaism in a Post-Apocalyptic World

In this novel, which was adopted from author Shorr’s unrealized screenplay, Abe Katz, a civil engineer, was imprisoned after he told New Dominion interrogators that yes, he was a Jew, even though he had stopped practicing Judaism following his bar mitzvah and had adopted the regime’s rigid secularism. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Harpo Marx

Courtesy of Wikipedia Harpo Marx (November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico, Harpo’s comic style was visual, being an example of vaudeville, clown and pantomime traditions. In all of his movie appearances, he wore a curly reddish

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia