Jewish History

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Chaim Weizmann

Courtesy of Wikipedia Chaim Weizmann (November 27, 1874 –  November 9, 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the Zionist Organization and later as the first president of Israel. He was elected on 16 February 1949, and served until he died in 1952. Weizmann was instrumental in obtaining the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and convincing the […]

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Visiting the Gaza Envelope

Recently we followed in the footsteps of many Israelis and traveled south to the “Gaza envelope” (the area of Jewish communities adjacent to the border). We were on one of two buses sponsored by the ESRA organization going to the area where 1,269 Israelis (and some others) were killed, thousands were wounded, and 250+ were kidnapped. In addition to our bus there were many other busses and private cars visiting the area. [Steve Kramer]

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Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food

Jewish Biography: Leonid Solomonovych Pervomaysky, Ukrainian Author

Jewish themes were constantly present in Pervomaysky’s work. In the early “everyday” stories and novels they occupy a leading place. They were in the center of the story of The Promised Land, the stories The Umbrella of Pinchus-Moti (1926), In the Bookbinder’s Room (1928), From the Song of Songs (1935), and One Night of Ilyusha’s Childhood (1937). [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Baruch Spinoza

Courtesy of Wikipedia Baruch Spinoza (November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677), was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment, Spinoza significantly influenced modern biblical criticism, 17th-century rationalism, and Dutch intellectual culture, establishing himself as one of the most important and radical philosophers of the early modern period. Influenced by Stoicism, Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes, Ibn Tufayl, and heterodox Christians,

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Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Israeli Scholar Explains Religious Conflicts Between Jews and Muslims

Kedar emphasized that Islam views Judaism as having been nullified twice—first by Christianity and then by Islam itself. This ideological framework, Kedar argued, underpins much of the hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people in the Middle East today. According to this belief, the existence of Jews with their own land, military, and rights is an incomprehensible anomaly to the Islamic world. [Miriam Gershenson]

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Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Miriam Gershenson, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Elie Wiesel Was Fascinated by Joshua, Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah, and Jonah

Wiesel was convinced that the power of literature lies in its ability to galvanize human action. This includes the Bible. “The text is not – cannot be – neutral, nor is it an end in itself: it must serve to humanize our society.” Wiesel shows this in his discussions of Joshua, Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah, and Jonah’s lives and actions. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

StandWithUs Gala Draws 750+ San Diegans in Support of Israel

Israeli-American actress, producer, author and social media influencer Noa Tishby told over 750 StandWithUs supporters on Sunday night that the fight against anti-Israel haters is “a marathon not a sprint” but predicted that “at the end of the day we’re going to be okay.” (Donald H. Harrison)

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Biography: Bernard Lazare, An Early Defender of Alfred Dreyfus

At the beginning of his literary career he spoke in defense of French Jews against the attacks of antisemites. Socialist in his views, Lazare, fascinated by Jewish history, interpreted the social views of the prophets as an expression of the aspirations of working people (Social Ideals of the Jewish People, 1893). [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

S.D. Jewish Community Supports Shattered Israeli Sister City While Developing Holocaust Education Program Locally

Approximately 550 members and friends of the Jewish community on Saturday evening, Nov. 16, attended a dinner sponsored by the Jewish Federation of San Diego that was dedicated to helping people in southern Israel to rebuild after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre and to providing Holocaust education here in San Diego. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology, USA

Marker for Mt. Nebo/ Rosenwald Elementary School in Monroe, Louisiana, Dedicated

After a year and a half of fabrication delays, the Mt. Nebo/Rosenwald Elementary School marker was finally dedicated on Nov. 10.  The dedication took place almost 100 years to the day when Mt. Nebo opened its doors to its first students in racially segregated Monroe. The marker was funded by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP). [Jerry Klinger]

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Getting to Know Edna Ferber by Following Her ‘Giant’ Odyssey

This biography of novelist Edna Ferber was written by her grandniece Julie Gilbert, who had access to Ferber’s journals, relatives, friends, and co-workers in addition to archival sources. The result is a splendid recounting of the high points in Ferber’s life, with particular emphasis on the research, production and success of “Giant,” both in its novel and movie forms. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Humane Society Gift Shop Items Provide Double Benefits

When I returned recently from a camping trip at San Elijo State Beach, it was with Chanukah items from the nearby thrift shop of the Rancho Coastal Humane Society. They were gifts not only for us, but also for the critters because all proceeds go to feed and house the animals at the society. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Is Matzah Ball Soup Really a Cure-All?

Matzah ball soup is also known as the “Jewish penicillin.” Whenever I am sick, that is what friends would tell me. “All you need is some matzah ball soup and you will feel so much better.” [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Jewish Biography: Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister

Disraeli was born into a middle-class London family in 1804, when the capital’s Jewish population numbered just over 20,000. He was the eldest son of a literary man who left the Jewish community a year before his son’s bar mitzvah, and was baptized according to his father’s will. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors