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

SDSU Feels the Fallout from Israel-Hamas War

San Diego State University is under investigation for alleged “Islamophobia” in the wake of  SDSU President Adela de la Torre’s condemnation of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and statement of support for Jewish students on campus.  The U.S. Department of Education has not discussed the merits of the complaint from unidentified complainants, only that the complaint has come under its jurisdiction. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Middle East, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

OpEd: Anti-Israel Protesters Stir Rage of Motorists, Airline Passengers

If motorists and airline passengers – especially those who missed their flights – can ever organize, these protesters will be in deep trouble. Any one of us knows how it feels to be stuck in traffic or fear missing a flight. Here, road rage and flight rage combine. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, California, Israel, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Six Reform Congregations in San Diego County Receive Fake Bomb Threats

Six Reform Jewish congregations throughout San Diego County were targeted on Tuesday, Jan. 2, with false bomb threats, according to Bill Ganley, the Secure Community Network’s security director at the Jewish Federation of San Diego. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Antisemitism, California, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

OpEd: A War to the Finish

Is Hamas losing? I say yes. One significant reason is the hundreds of Hamas fighters who have surrendered to the IDF. They have given up their fight only because they have no surviving commanders, they are hungry and thirsty, they lack ammunition, and they know that the Israelis will treat them humanely. In the meantime, these terrorists, some of whom were active in the October 7 onslaught, have provided a tremendous amount of intelligence. [Steve Kramer]

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Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, USA

Mixed Reactions to Kosher Hamitbach in New Mission Valley Location 

In order to make people who don’t keep kosher care about a kosher restaurant it has to have three things: 1- great food first and foremost.  Especially when you’re paying a premium for kosher meat, it must not only be as good as the non-kosher version, but even better to justify the higher cost.  2- great service, if you don’t feel welcome in the restaurant, why would you ever go back?  And 3- good ambiance.  [Sandi Masori]

Mixed Reactions to Kosher Hamitbach in New Mission Valley Location  Read More »

San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Questions about the Biblical Weekly Portion Shemot

Exodus starts by stating that after Joseph and his generation died, and their descendants multiplied exceedingly, “a new king arose who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). This phrase has many interpretations. It could mean: “who did not fulfill Joseph’s decrees” (Targum Onkelos); he behaved as if he didn’t know Joseph (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 11a); and he didn’t know him personally (Gersonides). Which makes the most sense? Should we say, “This is obscure”? [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Parasha Shemot: Trust in God, Have Compassion for Others

Imagine this: you, nestled in His embrace, unshackled from earthly limits. Now, wouldn’t Hashem naturally want to protect and provide for you? That’s the essence of Bitachon – a deep assurance that, fueled by your trust, Hashem’s blessings will manifest, regardless of any perceived “worthiness.” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Children’s Book Relates the Odyssey of the Sarajevo Haggadah

Approximately 673 years ago, the Sarajevo Haggadah was given as a wedding present, not in Bosnia but in Spain, where it remained until 1492, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled those Jews who would not convert to Catholicism.  The ancient and beautifully illustrated narration of the Passover seder was a treasure that the Jewish family carried with it over the generations, first to Italy and later to Sarajevo, Bosnia. [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Tommy Smothers, R.I.P.

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Tommy ‍Smothers, ‍half ‍of ‍the ‍Smothers ‍Brothers ‍comedy ‍team, ‍passed ‍away ‍last ‍week. ‍The ‍Smothers ‍Brothers ‍combined ‍music, ‍humor, ‍and ‍their ‍playful ‍sibling ‍rivalry ‍(Tommy’s ‍trademark ‍retort ‍to ‍Dick ‍was ‍“Mom ‍always ‍liked ‍you ‍best”) ‍to ‍entertain, ‍while ‍also ‍emphasizing ‍political ‍satire ‍and ‍liberal ‍politics ‍as ‍part

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Tommy Smothers, R.I.P. Read More »

Mark D. Zimmerman, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

OpEd: Beware Efforts to Divide Jews and African-Americans

Many in the world, and especially in the United States, are ignorant of the fact that Israel is one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the world, with only a 30% White/European population. Israel has a population that is 21% Arab. If you have been to Israel then you know that there are Ethiopian Jews, Sephardic, Mizrahi and more groups throughout Israel. [Barrett Holman Leak]

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Antisemitism, Barrett Holman Leak, Israel, Jewish History, San Diego County, Times of San Diego, USA

Last Word: A Satiric Review of 2023

By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO – Laughing to keep from crying, here’s a look back at 2023: January My Blue Kevin (Melody: My Blue Heaven) The GOP votes multiple times. ‘Cause the crazies reject blue Kevin. Turn to the right, the extreme MAGA right Will make him the blue, blue Kevin. He bargained away, whatever

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International, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

New Year’s Wisdom from My Fig Tree

So, what is the New Year’s wisdom from my fig tree? Its seasonal variations remind me that change happens gradually; that nature takes patience and time to produce its fruits – its goals. The tree is not making a resolution to produce a certain number of figs. It cannot. It is unable to control how much water it receives, unforeseen weather patterns, or the quantity and sweetness of the figs it will eventually yield. [Shayna Kaufmann]

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Lifestyles, Shayna Kaufmann, Staff and Bylined Contributors

How I Plan to Triumph over Antisemitism: My New Year’s Resolution

I am asking the lobbyists for their help in securing a Congressional investigation into the federal grant programs intended for insuring equity and inclusion of university students, but have, instead, been usurped by propagandists, who have used these funds to bring in guest lecturers and core faculty members who espouse a full-fledged frontal assault on Israel as “colonists” and “apartheidists.” [Amy Neustein, PhD]

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Amy Neustein, Antisemitism, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA