The Jewish Community Foundation San Diego logo SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — The Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego has issued a primer for philanthropists indicating what pro-Israel organizations are involved on campuses in San Diego and across the country. It follows: On many campuses throughout the country, activism has morphed into environments of hostility, threats, and intimidation (or worse) against Jewish students, often fomented by outside groups unaffiliated with the universities. Jewish students should feel as safe, welcome, and included on campus as every other student. The fol...
San Diego Jewish World
A new Jewish-themed Padres cap was distributed to people who bought tickets through a Jewish Heritage Day promotion. (Photo: Donald H. Harrison) By Donald H. Harrison Sarah Bruner at Petco Park (Photo: Stephen Mishek) Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres lost a home game against the Colorado Rockies by a score of 6-3 on Tuesday night, but for fans who purchased Jewish Heritage celebration tickets, the blow was softened. Special Padres hats bearing the “Chai” (Life) symbol were distributed to them, and they got to hear and cheer Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel of Congregation Beth Israel sin...
San Diego Jewish World
Felix Unger holds the Israeli flag as Rabbi/ Cantor Hanan Leberman and Rabbi Mathew Marko lead Tifereth Israel Synagogue in the singing of Hatikvah. (Photo: Cailin Acosta) By Cailin Acosta Cailin Acosta SAN DIEGO – On Monday, May 13, Tifereth Israel Synagogue combined both Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut in one night. To celebrate both would appear to be a difficult task but Rabbi Mathew Marko and Rabbi/Cantor Hanan Leberman were up for the challenge. The night started with standing together in silent solidarity as we listened and closed our eyes to the sound of a siren. Leberman noted that n...
San Diego Jewish World
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin PIKESVILLE, Maryland — It is a pleasure to read three versions of Simple Gimpl, a short tale by the Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902-1991): the original in Yiddish by Singer., the translation into English by Singer and David Stromberg, and the translation by Nobel Prize-winning author Saul Bellow (1915-2005). Each of the three has subtle differences from the other two. The book includes Liana Finck’s fanciful drawings and David Stromberg’s Afterword. This 2022 tale edition was first published in 1945 as Gimpl tam. I disag...
San Diego Jewish World
** By Miriam Gershenson** Miriam Gershenson Israeli flags at Humphrey’s by the Bay for Yom HaZikaron (Photo: Albert Kreimerman) SAN DIEGO– It was a cold night, but the view was worth it. We didn’t realize the event would take place outside. Albert, my husband, didn’t take a sweater, I brought a thin jacket. As we approached the location, we realized the Yom HaZikaron event is the biggest event we have attended to date since moving to the area. Security was no joke. They checked my purse and scanned Albert and me with the metal detecting wand. There was a ton of security everywhere. Police cars...
San Diego Jewish World
First Fruits: A Shavuot Story by Amalia Hoffman © 2023, Agawath, Massachusetts: Harold Grinspoon Foundation; Library of Congress Control Number 2023943564, 18 pages, $8.95. SAN DIEGO – Shavuot arrives this year on Tuesday night, June 11. This hard-cover book is intended to introduce your toddler to the holiday of Shavuot, getting your hands dirty gardening, the joy of sharing, and the names of the seven species of ancient Israel. Deuteronomy 8.8 describes the Land of Israel as a “land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey.” Illustrations...
San Diego Jewish World
By Jerry Klinger Jerry Klinger KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel — “Kiryat Shemona” means the Town of the Eight. It is an unusual name to those unaware of how many place names in Israel reflect the historical Jewish struggle to live in their ancient homeland. In the upper northwest of the modern State of Israel, Kiryat Shemona is surrounded by much natural beauty as part of the beautiful Hula Valley. The longest cable car in Israel, not operational currently, rises from the city to the top of the Manara Cliffs in the Naphtali Range. The air atop is cool and pleasant. A magnificent view spreads across the...
San Diego Jewish World
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Along with being at war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel was attacked on its border in the north. In order to avoid civilian casualties Israel evacuated the population in the towns and villages in the south and the north of the country. Initially, people were accommodated in hotels in the center of the country, with each family being allocated a room in a hotel, and this situation has persisted in the months since then. Thus, over two hundred thousand people have been forced to leave their home and live in unfamiliar and cram...
San Diego Jewish World
Joel Perez as Henry and Melinda Lopez as Mariana in Stir, 2024. (Photo: Rich Soublet II.) By Sandi Masori Sandi Masori SAN DIEGO — what was the last good play you smelled? No, that’s not a typo, I’m talking about using a sense that isn’t often thought about in theater, your nose. Usually theater will engage your sense of sight and hearing, and once in a while, through water sprays or air fans, your sense of touch, but I’ve never been to a play before that purposely engaged my sense of smell. Yet, Stir, which was commissioned by the Old Globe Theater and is currently making its world premiere a...
San Diego Jewish World
By R. Barbara GitensteinPresident Emerita, The College of New Jersey Barbara Gitenstein NEW YORK — Right after October 7, 2023, my concerns about the war in Gaza and Israel was focused on the reality of the horror and losses on both sides—those who died or were taken hostage at the hands of Hamas and those who died at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces. Ironically on October 7, my husband and I were at the Metropolitan Opera watching Nabucco, Verdi’s opera about the Hebrew exiles in Babylon. The fact that the Metropolitan made no comment during the performance about the events of that mor...
San Diego Jewish World
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