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
Finally San Diego has a kosher restaurant that actually hits all three metrics for a good restaurant; good food, good service, and good ambiance. I’ve been long hoping for such a find, and La Mesa Pizzaworks is the unicorn we’ve been waiting for. [Sandi Masori]
Food, Service, Ambiance All Excellent at La Mesa Pizzaworks Read More »
San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
What did President Carter bring to Menachem Begin in his cabin at Camp David, which led Begin to agree to remain and finalize the Camp David Accords? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Jimmy Carter Read More »
Israel, Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
When it comes to the UN, anti-Israel resolutions not only are the most popular agenda items in the General Assembly and the Security Council, but resolutions against Israel often fill the calendars of the UN’s constituent agencies. [Steve Kramer]
OpEd: United Nations and its Agencies Thoroughly Biased against Israel Read More »
International, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, USA
The exhibition displays about 25 of Hirsch’s works in pen and wash (he worked using only shades of grey) presenting his unique and insightful way of seeing the world, whether depicting sitting or reclining models, still lifes or fantastical creatures and images. It is difficult to categorize his work, which seems to lie on the cusp between surrealism and German expressionism. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Israel Museum Exhibits Art of Joseph Hirsch, a Cousin Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors
He was engaged in the organization of espionage and sabotage operations, among which stand out the assassination of the leader of North China and Manchuria Zhang Zolin (1928), the kidnapping of prominent members of the White movement, Generals Alexander Kutepov (1930) and Eugene Miller (1937) in France, and an unsuccessful attempt and then the murder of Lev Trotsky in Mexico (1940). [Alex Gordon]
The Eitingon Saga, Part 2: Nahum Eitingon, Soviet Assassin Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Once again, the JCC upheld its tradition of bringing the community together Dec. 25 for an evening of kosher Chinese food and comedy. [Sandra Scheller]
Chanukah Celebrations at the JCC, Chabad in Rancho Santa Fe Read More »
Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Sandra Scheller, Staff and Bylined Contributors
A week ago, I donated another pint of my O negative blood as my eight weeks had passed which made me eligible. I like to post it on my Facebook page to remind me when I donated and all those that I am friends with know I have their backs if they ever need me to save their lives. Or to also remind them to be extra nice to me as I recover and rest and hydrate. Sometimes the effects can last one to two days after. [Cailin Acosta]
The Mitzvah of Donating Blood Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire
A life-long learner, Ham radio operator, ardent Zionist, Reconstructionist rabbi whose wife Ilene Schneider also is a Reconstructionist rabbi, Gans welcomed between 40 and 50 people to candle lighting ceremonies on the first night of Chanukah on Wednesday, Dec. 25, in the Cabaret Lounge, the ship’s main showroom. Azamara’s Onward had just completed a Christmas Day transit through the Panama Canal. [Donald H. Harrison]
Rabbi Leads Chanukah ‘Candle Lighting’ aboard Azamara’s Onward Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA
People of all religions frequently describe some things as holy and devise sacred ceremonies that involve them without realizing they are false. They do so because others thought they were holy or because of superstition or flawed reasoning. The Scroll of Antiochus is an example. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The Scroll of Antiochus, an Interesting Fiction about Hannukah Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined ContributorsWhy do we eat jelly filled donuts on Chanukah? The easy answer has to do with agriculture, food politics and the desire for something sweet. [Cailin Acosta]
When Chanukah Donuts Started Being Filled with Jam and Other Facts Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
The miracle of the oil is a foundation for why candle lighting, an act of pirsuma d’nisa (publicizing the miracle), is one of the two major commandments of Chanukah, with reciting Hallel as the other. Through lighting candles, we can display our hope, trust, and faith in Hashem and in His role in our lives. When they lit the menorah in the Temple, they did so from a belief, a hope, that the future is not preordained, that the future can truly be altered. [Michael R. Mantell, PhD]
The Deeper Meaning of Chanukah and its Symbols Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors
On a recent visit to this port city, I was among a group of four Jews who were escorted by a guide to a five-month-old Sephardic congregation (Sinagoga Sefardi) established by Rabbi Joachim Montoya, a medical doctor who had converted to Judaism after learning that he was descended from a family of Conversos. [Donald H. Harrison]
Rabbi Whose Family Were Conversos Now Heads a Colombian Sephardic Congregation Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
On the 12th of December 2024, I set out with four colleagues of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) to meet with members of the rural community of Tafza (Al Haouz province, Marrakesh region), located in the mountain range that bore the horrendous epicenter of the September 2023 earthquake. [Yossef Ben-Meir]
Jewish Bones Reburied in Solemn Ceremony after Morocco Earthquake Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Yossef Ben-Meir
Jews were willing to meet with local advocates for Arabs and Muslims, but instead they confronted brazen hostility or stiff defensiveness from the Arab side. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Palestinian Advocates Refusing to Debate with Jews Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA