Staff and Bylined Contributors

Holocaust Exhibit Wrapping Up in Rancho San Diego; Next Year in La Jolla

The exhibit, RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust, will close at the Rancho San Diego Library on Thursday, June 20.  After a hiatus, it will be installed at the La Jolla Library in time to be exhibited throughout the year 2025. [Sandy Scheller]

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Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, San Diego County, Sandra Scheller, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA, Videos

Behar: The Restful Pleasures of Shabbat; Dangers of Malicious Speech

It is in these precious moments of a blessed mindset filled with respite that we rediscover the true meaning of “Shabbat shalom” – a profound peace that transcends the physical realm and infuses our very being with a sense of spiritual wholeness and emotional harmony. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Staff and Bylined Contributors

 Isaac Bashevis Singer’s tale ‘Simple Gimpl’ is Dissected

People persuade Gimpl that the town’s pregnant prostitute is a virgin who is in love with him and wants to marry him. They claim that a youngster living with her is not her child but her brother. He believes them, goes to her, and proposes marriage. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

OpEd: Antisemitism on Official Display at San Diego’s Chicano Park

This brazen display of hate against a minority group, utilizing official City resources, is unprecedented in San Diego. Mayor Todd Gloria, the City Council, and the Parks & Recreation Department have failed to remove it despite multiple requests for immediate action from San Diego Jewish community leaders since May 12, 2024. [Kerry Schlossberg]

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Antisemitism, Israel, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Samuel Goldwyn

While ‍Goldwyn ‍did ‍not ‍embrace ‍Judaism, ‍he ‍did ‍ultimately ‍become ‍president ‍of ‍the ‍United ‍Jewish ‍Welfare ‍Fund ‍and ‍was ‍a ‍strong ‍supporter ‍of ‍Israel. ‍Among ‍the ‍honors ‍he ‍received ‍were ‍the ‍Jean ‍Hersholt ‍Humanitarian ‍Award ‍and ‍the ‍Presidential ‍Medal ‍of ‍Freedom. ‍What ‍else ‍is ‍true ‍of ‍Samuel ‍Goldwyn? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Jewish Biography: Arthur Kösztler and the 13th Jewish Tribe

There is no missionary in Judaism, which sharply limits the mobilization potential of this religion. Therefore, in the Khazar Khaganate, in which only a part of the elite accepted Judaism, there could not be an intensive violent spread of religion, similar to what took place in Christianity and Islam. Therefore, the Jews were so few among the Khazars that they could not by themselves be a source of intensive spread of the Jewish religion. [Alex Gordon]

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

Being a Kid Again at the JCC’s Israel Festival

We made our rounds checking out the different booths and activities. We sought out some and discovered others. The avira (atmosphere) was incredible. People were happy, children were running around laughing, everyone was just enjoying the festivities. In the center of the field, there was still a reminder that we are waiting for our hostages. [Miriam Gershenson]

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Albert Kreimerman, Israel, Miriam Gershenson, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

‘The Butler Did It’ Offers Plays Within Plays

Under Dennis Floyd’s direction this fast-paced, silly adventure depicts the return of the once-admired Broadway director, Anthony J. Lefcourt, presenting his newest whodunit–not a thriller!–that features an aging starlet, a dewy-eyed ingenue, a doddering actor who can’t learn his lines, a street kid attempting to pass as a schooled butler, and an out-of-work actor-cum-detective. [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Novel Imagines Political Consequences if Aging Could Be Reversed

Geiderman presents us with an opportunity to imagine what it would be like to suddenly grow younger than one’s daughter, but rather than diving deeply into that story, he had another story in mind – one which, I am sad to say, was not nearly so interesting. It plowed the familiar ground of political intrigue. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Takeaways From the JNF’s CEO Most Recent Trip to Israel

Our Emergency Response Centers, vital to the feeling of security these communities need, are not just physical manifestations of security that will house fire, rescue, civil defense, and medical services; they signal to the volunteers who will operate out of them that their destiny is in their own hands; it’s something they can control, a feeling very much needed today. [Russell Robinson]

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Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

OpEd: The Lion’s Trail Passes Through Desert City of Dimona

David Ben Gurion toyed with the idea of a revived Mamshit becoming the Capital of Israel if the state ever came to be. Necessity was reality. Ben Gurion declared Israel’s independence in Tel Aviv in 1948. Dimona was too remote, too hard to get to, and endured a harsh climate [Jerry Klinger]

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Israel, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food