Lawrence (Laurie) Baron, now retired, served as the Nasatir Professor of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University. He served from 1988 to 2006 as director of SDSU’s Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. He was the founder in 1995 of the Western Jewish Studies Association.
He writes two satire columns for San Diego Jewish World: “Humoring the Headlines” under his byline, and “Hounding the Headlines,” under the byline of his dog Elona.
Books to his credit, available on Amazon, include:
Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema
The Modern Jewish Experience in World Cinema
The eclectic anarchism of Erich Muhsam (Men & movements in the history & philosophy of anarchism)
His most recent articles are:
“Making Room for the Jews: The House I Live In (1945),” AJS Perspectives, Summer 2023, 86-88.
“The Revolt of Job: Salvaging the Lost World of Rural Hungarian Hasidim,” Journal of Jewish Identities, 16:1-2 (January/July 2023), 181-198.
“Persistent Parallels, Resistant Particularities: Holocaust Analogies and Avoidance in Armenian Genocide Centennial Cinema, in Armenian and Jewish Experience between Expulsion and Destruction, ed. Sarah M. Ross and Regina Randhofer (Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2021), 267-296.
“The Pioneering American Jewish Women Directors from Elaine May to Claudia Weill,” Jews and Gender (Studies in Jewish Civilization), ed. Leonard Greenspoon (W. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2021), 217-243.
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Miffed over recent foreign policy decisions by President Obama, Donald Trump tweeted, “Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!” On the other hand, he praised Putin’s refusal to retaliate against the US for imposing new sanctions on Russia: ““Great move on delay (by V. Putin). I always […]
Humoring the headlines: January 3, 2017 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire2016 in Review By Laurie Baron January The Orthodox Union certified the medical marijuana products of Vireo Health as kosher. In its ruling it noted that a side effect is cravings to eat cholent, matzah ball soup, and lox and bagels. In response to criticism for his slow reaction to the water contamination crisis in
Humoring the Headlines: December 31, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Marion Pritchard passed away in Washington DC on December 11th. Although she might not be as well-known as many of the luminaries who died in 2016, her rescue of 150 Jews during the Holocaust merits our gratitude and recognition. When I served as the historian for Sam and Pearl
In Memoriam: Marion Pritchard, Rescuer Read More »
Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, Obituaries & memorialsTrump’s Proposed Amendments to the Bill of Rights By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Amendment I: Congress shall respect that Christians established this nation. It shall not prohibit the free exercise of the freedom of speech or of the press except when dishonest reporters lie about me. Amendment II: No regulations shall infringe on the
Humoring the headlines: December 17, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Donald Trump previously announced that he would divulge his plan for insulating himself from charges of business conflicts of interest as President this Thursday. Now he has postponed this speech until January (of 2021?). * Donald Trump decided to appoint Rex Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil, to be his Secretary of
Humoring the headlines: December 13, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAHumoring the Headlines By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Ben Carson accepted Trump’s nomination of him to be the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since only two weeks ago, he said he did not feel qualified to hold the position because he lacked government experience, reporters asked him why he changed his mind.
Humoring the headlines: December 5, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Donald Trump conferred the epithet Crooked Hillary on his presidential rival because he accused her of pay to play arrangements between donors to the Clinton Foundation and the access they were granted to her as Secretary of State. As more revelations about the Trump Organization’s international properties are revealed and the
Humoring the headlines: November 29, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Donald Trump demanded an apology from the cast of Hamilton for allowing a member of its cast to appeal to Mike Pence to respect the civil rights of all Americans. Trump noted that he heard Hamilton was “highly overrated” and added that he feels the same about Jefferson and Madison. *
Humoring the headlines: November 22, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe Second Hundred Days By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−We know Donald Trump’s priorities for his first one hundred days in office, but I was curious what policies he will push in the second one hundred days. After I proved through ancestry.com that my great grandfather came from the same shtetl as Jared Kushner’s, I interviewed
Humoring the headlines: November 18, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO-President Obama is visiting Greece, Germany, and Peru to assure their leaders that Donald Trump will not radically alter American foreign policies and to ask which of them will grant political asylum to Hillary Clinton. *
Humoring the headlines: November 16, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−The Center for Disease Control has issued a health alert for people living in states that voted for Hillary Clinton. Cases of people showing up at hospital emergency rooms and wearing “Deal Me In,” I’m With Her,” “Nasty Woman” and “Run Like a Girl” tee shirts have reached epidemic proportions since
Humoring the headlines: November 13, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−When Obama became president, sales of guns spiked. When Trump became president, applications for Green Cards and DACA status spiked. * Donald and Melania Trump have indicated that they have huge plans for redecorating the White House. Although specifics aren’t yet available, reporters have detected that members of Trump’s transition team
Humoring the Headlines: November 11, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA(With apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer) By Laurie Baron The outlook was optimistic for Clinton-Kane just yesterday. The polls showed leads of three points, but narrowing each day. When Comey concluded that she was not to blame. The voters who despised her had nothing to defame. The Donald was campaigning, appealing to white males. Spouting
The Mighty Hillary Strikes Out Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lawrence Baron, Sports & Competitions, USAPhew! It Is Almost Over By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO-Donald Trump claimed he survived an assassination attempt at his Reno rally this past Saturday. The Secret Service corrected him noting that it was only a Clinton supporter who shouted gun. In other words, it ended up being an asinine protest and claim. * This past
Humoring the headlines: November 8, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire