Jewish History

Jewish Biography: Samuel Marshak, Soviet Children’s Writer

His poems were enjoyed by all Soviet children. Marshak’s poetry for children is a world of goodness, fun, fairy tales, original images and ringing, beautiful rhymes.  He was an innovator, the creator of energetic, major, fast, inventive, cheerful and witty children’s verse. [Alex Gordon]

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

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

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

Words of Survivors Will Live on, Though Survivors Will Pass

Although Mary grew up with a secular upbringing in Budapest, she responded “in the camps I prayed. I prayed and I knew God was listening. My mother, a non-religious woman, told me that this is the story of our people- we suffer but have lived through it and have gotten this far- we will continue to survive and live a beautiful life when we’re out of here.” [Ilanit Zakowski]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, Ilanit Zakowski, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Spirited Musical May Leave You Dancing

If you walk past New Village Arts Theater for the next month you will hear the joyful sounds of salsa music calling to you- inviting you in to see what’s going on. Once inside you’ll be delighted with the colorful artwork by various Latin artists.  All of this is to immerse you into the world of La Havana Madrid.  [Sandi Masori]

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Jewish Biography: Jacques Offenbach, Musical Satirist

Jacques Offenbach was born on June 20, 1819, in Cologne. He was the second son and seventh of ten children of Isaac Yehuda Eberst, later Offenbach, a bookbinder, an itinerant cantor who sang in synagogues, a violinist who played in cafes. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, 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

Dream for Israel is Turning into a Nightmare

I looked forward to living a life of freedom and interest in a country I could call my own, and where I would no longer be part of a minority. I moved to Israel, which I perceived as a country where my life would be free of the constraints of having to conform to a set of values which I did not share. And where the sun shone most of the time. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

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

Western Jewish Studies Association Honors Laurie Baron

Professor Lawrence (Laurie) Baron has been its President for every one of those 30 years.  As he puts it, “The WJSA doesn’t have term limits, only life sentences.” If put to a vote, conference participants would have rejected Laurie’s contention that, “No one over 77 should be president of anything.” [Alan Levenson]

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Non-Profit Organization Challenges CAIR-California’s Suitability to Receive Federal Refugee Funds

A San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, the Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN), has filed a letter of objection with the U.S. Department of Justice challenging the Council of American Islamic Relations-California as an agency qualified to help Afghan refugees to settle in the United States. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA