Books, Poetry & Short Stories

‘The Trunk’ is a Poignant Story of the Holocaust

Prior to dictator Benito Mussolini’s alliance with Adolf Hitler, Italian Jews had the ability to immigrate to the West or even to neighboring Switzerland, which maintained a German-biased neutrality. However, lugging the trunk, which Vigevani nicknamed “The General” was an arduous affair, especially because Vigevani was reluctant to depart his beloved Italy. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Today’s Jewish Birthday: David Pinski

David Pinski (April 5, 1872 – August 11, 1959) was a Yiddish language writer, probably best known as a playwright. At a time when Eastern Europe was only beginning to experience the Industrial Revolution, Pinski was the first to introduce to its stage a drama about urban Jewish workers; a dramatist of ideas, he was notable also for writing about human sexuality with a frankness previously unknown to Yiddish literature. [Wikipedia]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Novel Envisions Trial of a University for Not Protecting Jewish Students

It’s a novel based in San Diego County about a pro-Palestinian campus demonstration in which a Mexican-American student is fatally shot while trying to save the life of his Jewish friend. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Immigration Drama Follows Jews from Yemen to Israel

Some Yemeni Jews, quite familiar with the Torah, had memorized Exodus 19:4, which states, “You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings to bring you to Me.” Taking the metaphor literally, they expected giant eagles to carry them to Israel, not airplanes, with which they were wholly unfamiliar. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

‘Spiritual Gardener’ Joyfully Considers Serene Pasttime

He starts each chapter with an excerpt from the Bible or a quote from a famous Jewish thinker.   He starts the book with Gan Eden and relates it to taking action, starting a garden. He cites Genesis 2:15- “Now the Lord G-d took man, and He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and preserve it.” [Robin Dishman]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, The World We Share

Children’s Book in Simple Language Explains the War for Ukraine

Boiling down a conflict that could flare into World War 3 is no easy task, particularly when the intended audience comprises preschoolers to 3rd graders. Marshall focuses on Ukraine’s repression by Russia prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, its early experiences as an independent nation, and Zelensky’s rise from a television comedian, who played the role of Ukraine’s president, to being elected as that nation’s actual president. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Nick Severs is an American Detective Minted by a Russian Immigrant

One plot concerns a woman whose terrified voice on a 30-second recording leads Severs to investigate a high-tech communications company where she worked prior to her death.  A subplot involves a female hacker who is stalking the detective because she thinks she may or may not have a score to settle with him. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Book by Former Ambassador Lays Out the Argument for One Jewish State

David Friedman served as US ambassador to Israel from 2017 to 2021. He was intimately involved in Israel-Arab affairs, met and held talks with leaders of both sides, and was one of the architects of the Abraham Accords. He demonstrates in his brilliant 2024 book One Jewish State why a two-state solution is based on flawed premises and will ultimately fail to solve anything. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Israeli Native Provides Insights into U.S. Record Industry and Boxing World

Although never an A-Lister, Ganon’s singing was exceptional enough to earn the respect of such an A-Lister as Penny Marshall. Similarly, her public relations skills won her the admiration of former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier.  Marshall and Frazier, now both deceased, are among the people Ganon writes about extensively in this stream-of-consciousness, tell-not-quite-all memoir. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Biography: David Hofstein, an Executed Soviet Poet

Hofstein wrote poetry from the age of nine in Hebrew, later also in Russian and Ukrainian, from 1909 in Yiddish. His first poems and essays were published in 1917 in Yiddish in a Kiev newspaper. Hofstein perceived the October Revolution of the Bolsheviks as the realization of biblical ideals of justice, as the deliverance of Jews from national oppression. [Alex Gordon]

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

Fully Functioning Humanoid Robots May Become Common in Just a Few Years

Israeli-American Elad Inbar, chief executive officer of the Dallas, Texas-based RobotLAB, has written a primer on robots in use today in a variety of industries.  Consistent with the title of this book, he also peeks into a future when humanoid robots will be able to perform more sophisticated tasks. [Donald H. Harrison]

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