The poem on the Statue of Liberty welcomes the “tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free and wretched refuse” to the United States. Trump agrees with labeling immigrants “wretched refuse” and denigrates them as “animals.” [Laurie Baron]
OpEd: American Deceptionalism Read More »
International, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Today, as we honor Martin Luther King Jr., I am thinking about how freedom, which seems so fundamental to human existence, almost always comes at a cost. [Heidi Gantwerk]
Fighting for Freedom in Israel/ Gaza and in the U.S. Read More »
Heidi Gantwerk, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA
What rabbi spoke at a presidential inauguration and then at a later time criticized that President? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Presidential Inaugurations Read More »
Israel, Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
The most noticeable bipartisan moment during President Donald Trump’s second inaugural speech on Monday, January 20, was when he commented that he was “pleased to say that as of yesterday … the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families.” [SDJW staff]
Israeli Hostages Provide Bipartisan Moment at Trump’s Inauguration Read More »
Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Slightly past 9 p.m. Israeli time on Sunday in Ramat Gan. I am smiling at television footage of Emily Damari’s friends jumping up and down to cheer her arrival at Sheba Hospital. Then I stiffen up as I think of the pain and anguish she must have endured for the past 15 months. [Bruce S. Ticker]
OpEd: Progress After Middle East Ceasefire May Be Elusive Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Meyerbeer’s vast fortune and the great success of his operas, as well as his observance of the laws of the Jewish religion, set him apart from many musicians. He was a sponsor of many young composers, including Wagner, who “thanked” him with an antisemitic article, “Jewry in Music.” [Alex Gordon]
Jewish Biography: Giacomo Meyerbeer, Opera Impresario Read More »
Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher–three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023—were returned to Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, amid worldwide media coverage of the first phase of a Middle East ceasefire in which Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners from Ofer Prison. [SDJW Staff]
Three Women Hostages Freed in Ceasefire Deal Between Israel and Hamas Read More »
International, Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir, under the direction of Pastor Ken Anderson, performed Saturday night, Jan. 18, at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Gospel rhythms prompted the Jewish audience to join through singing, dancing, and clapping. [Robin Dishman]
MLK Community Choir Performs for a Jewish Audience Read More »
Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Poet Allisa Cherry is entranced by Hebrew Scriptures, turning to them to express her anguish over the tragic lives of the members of a Mormon family. A grandmother had a double mastectomy; a father died of radiation poisoning caused by nuclear testing in the desert; a brother died in a car accident before he was 20; and a wife, caught in a loveless marriage, divorces her ne’er-do-well husband. [Donald H. Harrison]
Biblical Imagery Brightens Poet’s Bleak Account of Life in the Arizona Desert Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
This weekend we honor the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wasn’t around when he was and as far as I can remember, it was always a school holiday. [Cailin Acosta]
Remembering the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
Something ignited when Debbie Mishek, M.D., traveled to Congregation Beth Am in Los Angeles to attend a presentation about Kol Tefillah (The Voice of Prayer) a few years ago. The program was about “reimagining Jewish prayer and making it more relevant and more inspiring,” the developmental pediatrician recalled. “There is something about music and prayer that is so spiritual. I access my spirituality through music.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Kol Tefillah Band Specializes in Music for Praying and Reflecting Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Israel will have a less conditioned ally, and with this new administration, the political scene of the Middle East may be transformed. This will stop Iran from bragging and showing its strategy of military allies (proxy armies), and finally, it will bring peace. Shalom. [José Galicot]
OpEd: Predicting the International Impacts of Trump’s Second Term Read More »
International, Israel, Jose Galicot, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Struggling against American xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism in the 1930s, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins—the first woman to serve in a President’s Cabinet – sought in several ways to spare German Jewish refugees from annihilation by Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Germany. [Donald H. Harrison]
Frances Perkins, Nation’s First ‘Madam Secretary’ Tried to Help European Jewish Refugees Read More »
Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
In a big city, a little girl notices that a swing has become unhooked on one side so that it hangs limply. Another swing has some off both hooks and is lying on the ground. She wants to fix them. With the help of her grandmother, she rehooks the swings. [Donald H. Harrison]
Good Deeds, Even Little Ones, Change the World for the Better Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors