AAA-Writers and photographers

Below are the names of writers who are currently active.  For others, living and deceased, please type their name into the search box above the masthead on our home page, www.sdjewishworld.com

Book Chronicles 40 Diverse Stories from October 7th, 2023

One Day in October by Yair Agmon and Oriya Mevorach is a poignant and powerful memoir that captures the heart-wrenching events of October 7, 2023, in Israel. Through the lens of 40 individual stories, this book delves into the lives of those who survived the massacre, as well as the memories of those who tragically lost their lives on that fateful day. [Miriam Gershenson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish History, Miriam Gershenson, Staff and Bylined Contributors

‘Careful, Beauties Ahead’ Probes Lives of Haredim

Tuvia is an expat Israeli born to a Yiddish-speaking rabbinical family in Bnei Brak, Israel’s largest majority ultra-Orthodox city. He has lived in Germany, the US, and elsewhere for many decades, working as a journalist and author. Holding multiple academic degrees and speaking several languages, Tuvia is also a playwright, essayist, and the founding artistic director of the Jewish Theater of New York. [Steve Kramer]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, USA

Local Events Focus on Upcoming Anniversary of Oct. 7 Massacre

As the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre approaches, San Diego’s Jewish community’s programming and thoughts focus on the people of  Southern Israel, in particular those of Sha’ar Hanegev, San Diego’s Sister City which was ravaged in the attacks. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology, USA

‘Go Around Cemetery’ Sign Led to Program of Community Participation in Development Projects

I sincerely internalized lessons from his experience and that signpost, coming to understand the needs that communities determine and express and the responsibility of development agencies to respond accordingly. This primary tenet of sustainability is so simple, and yet it has taken decades for prior generations worldwide (and still may require generations going forward) to truly forsake the destructive control of central planning in lieu of people’s own decision-making as it impacts their lives. [Yossef Ben-Meir]

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International, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Yossef Ben-Meir

Novel Depicts Trials of Nazi Doctors at Nuremberg

The Nuremberg Nazi Doctors’ Trials, called United States of America v. Karl Brandt et al., occurred from December 9, 1946 to August 20, 1947. There were 23 defendants. Twenty were medical doctors. They were accused of performing Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia. (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.

In Appreciation of Elie Wiesel’s ‘The Testament’

The Testament is a novel focusing on the Soviet leader Stalin murdering Russia’s greatest Jewish poets and novelists on August 12, 1952, and before that date. Wiesel gathers the lives, thinking, and acts of these martyrs by imagining the tale of Paltiel Kossova , a Jewish poet who, despite devoting himself to communism, was murdered by the communist leader. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

In Appreciation of Elie Wiesel’s ‘The Testament’ Read More »

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

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Joe Biden’s Rabbi, Michael Beals

Following ‍President ‍Biden’s ‍poor ‍performance ‍in ‍his ‍debate ‍against ‍Donald ‍Trump ‍last ‍June, ‍‍Forward ‍editor ‍Jodi ‍Rudoren ‍spoke ‍to ‍Rabbi ‍Beals, ‍who ‍offered ‍a ‍Jewish ‍framework ‍for ‍discussing ‍the ‍issue ‍of ‍Biden’s ‍age ‍and ‍its ‍impact ‍on ‍his ‍presidency ‍and ‍his ‍future ‍leadership. ‍What ‍did ‍Rabbi ‍Beals ‍say ‍regarding ‍this ‍issue? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Joe Biden’s Rabbi, Michael Beals Read More »

Mark D. Zimmerman, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Works of Rachmaninoff, Rozsa Delight SummerFest Audience

The dynamic classical/jazz pianist, Conrad Tao, opened the August 17 SummerFest concert, California Dreamin’, with eight selections connected to Sergei Rachmaninoff, who spent his last years in Los Angeles after immigrating from his native Russia. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Jewish Farmer Max Yasgur Made the Woodstock Festival Possible

Woodstock, the iconic “Hippie” counter-culture music festival, was celebrated by ~460,000 baby boomers from August 15 to 18, 1969. The “happening” was on the rolling hills of Max Yasgur’s Dairy farm in Bethel, N.Y. It almost never came about. [Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Cooking with Ingredients from Gaza Border Farms

About 75 per cent of Israel’s vegetables came from the Gaza border area, known as the Gaza envelope (Otef Aza in Hebrew), as do many fruit and dairy products. Since the October 7 attack, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, 89 per cent of Israeli farmers have been negatively impacted by this war. [Michal Kramer]

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Israel, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food