Bay Area Swastika found outside elementary school in Marin By Lillian Ilsley-Greene Jun 2, 2023 A swastika was found spray-painted outside an elementary school in San Anselmo Thursday, according to an email to parents from school district officials. Teachers at Wade Thomas Elementary School…
Film At SF DocFest, secrets from a Jewish mother’s hippie past By Andrew Esensten Jun 2, 2023 One day in 1969, Linda Goldfine left work at a Boston department store and hopped aboard a West Coast-bound van full of hippies she had just met. They ended up at a commune in the Santa Cruz…
Northern California Darrell Steinberg will not seek third term as Sacramento mayor By Dan Pine Jun 2, 2023 Over his multiple terms as a Sacramento City Council member, a California state legislator and Sacramento’s mayor, Darrell Steinberg has never lost an election. That record will remain unbroken.…
Opinion The Sassoons are having a moment. Here’s why that matters. By Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah Jun 2, 2023 (JTA) — The Sassoon family is having a moment. The Baghdadi Jewish dynasty that made its fortune in trade across the Indian subcontinent and East Asia is the subject of the current exhibit at the…
Art Welcome to this elderly couple's floating art-filled Berkeley home By Andrew Esensten Jun 2, 2023 Paul Canin sits in the bright, low-ceilinged living room of his Berkeley home on a recent afternoon, flipping through the yellowing pages of the diary he kept during World War II. As a radar…
Bay Area J. to win 11 national Jewish journalism awards next month By J. Staff Jun 1, 2023 The American Jewish Press Association has announced that J. The Jewish News of Northern California will win 11 Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism for work published in 2022,…
Theater 'A Transparent Musical' is speaking its truth and singing its faith By Gary Rudoren Jun 1, 2023 This story was originally published in the Forward. “Jewish and queer, that’s your headline,” Faith Soloway, the composer and lyricist behind the new musical, “A Transparent Musical” told…
Organic Epicure With a $5 ask, Homemade Cafe fights hunger on Berkeley’s streets By Alix Wall Jun 1, 2023 Collin Doran’s grandfather taught him to “never look down on anyone.” Those words have stuck with him to this day, and Doran credits his late grandfather Leo Merzon for the inspiration behind an…
U.S. In Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, a lesson in Jewish ritual By Ron Kampeas Jun 1, 2023 PITTSBURGH (JTA) — Testifying at the trial of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, Carol Black described how, right before he opened fire, she had taken her yarmulke and tallis out of her velvet tallis…
Torah The priests are gone, but their special prayer still fills me with awe By Rabbi Shana Chandler Leon Jun 1, 2023 The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon. Naso Numbers 4:21-7:89 In a Modern Orthodox synagogue in the San Fernando Valley on a festival…
Northern California Sacramento leaders denounce antisemitism after city council chaos By Maya Mirsky May 31, 2023 After a man repeatedly made antisemitic comments at recent city council meetings, culminating in protests and outright chaos last week, members of the Sacramento community are taking a public stand…
Travel Israelis flock to tiny Peruvian town for vacation and psychedelics By Jacob Kessler May 31, 2023 PISAC, Peru (JTA) — About 20 miles northeast of the tourist capital of Cusco, the small Peruvian town of Pisac sits nestled among the verdant Andes Mountains. Lined with cobblestone streets and…
Local Voice Israeli protests should include Palestinian rights issues By Itzik Goldberger May 31, 2023 Many groups have united in organizing protests against the right-wing Israeli government’s plans for “judicial reform” — human rights organizations, women’s rights groups, retired military officers…
TV Will Midge Maisel's Jewish legacy be more than a punchline? By Shira Li Bartov May 31, 2023 (JTA) — After five seasons, 20 Emmy awards and plenty of Jewish jokes, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” aired its final episode on Friday. The lauded Amazon Prime show from Amy Sherman-Palladino has…
Bay Area USF's new social justice grad program will make Jewish JEDIs By Emma Goss May 31, 2023 In 2009, Erin-Kate Escobar was one of the first students to graduate from the University of San Francisco with a minor in Jewish studies and social justice. USF, a Jesuit university, had introduced…
U.S. Rabbi takes stand as Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial begins By Ron Kampeas May 31, 2023 PITTSBURGH (JTA) — When Shannon Basa-Sabol was asked to recount the events of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in court on Tuesday, what stood out was her memory of the death of Bernice Simon.…
Bay Area S.F. family who lost 'antique Judaica' in house explosion files suit By Maya Mirsky May 30, 2023 David Garth and his family lost their home and all their possessions in February when their next-door neighbor’s house exploded, ripping a hole through their Sunset District home and setting it on…
Local Voice What should Stow Lake’s new name be? We asked, you answered By David A.M. Wilensky May 30, 2023 We recently asked our readers what they think Stow Lake’s new name should be. In light of its namesake, noted antisemite and former California State Assembly Speaker William W. Stow, the picturesque…
The Bagel Report Austin Basis on playing TV writer in final season of 'Mrs. Maisel' By The Bagels May 30, 2023 This week, we’re joined by actor Austin Basis — who plays Alvin, the head writer of “The Gordon Ford Show,” the show-within-a-show in the final season of “The Marvelous Mrs.…
Opinion Two scholars hope to secure the legacy of ‘Jewish Renewal’ By Andrew Silow-Carroll May 30, 2023 (JTA) — Rabbi Arthur Green gave the commencement address last week at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Conservative flagship where he was ordained 56 years earlier. His talk was mostly a response…
Opinion As a retired Jewish comedy writer, I support the writers' strike By Sybil Adelman Sage May 30, 2023 This story was originally published in the Forward. As a WGA member, I was verklempt when I saw over 1,000 demonstrators and hundreds of onlookers at the recent event, “Rally at the Rock.” The street…
Recipe D is for delicious on National Doughnut Day By Faith Kramer May 30, 2023 In honor of National Doughnut Day on June 2, I am featuring two doughnut recipes — including a fried, yeasted version adapted from former Bay Area resident Rachel Teichman’s “D is for Donut,” a new…
Israel Israeli man killed in shooting as West Bank violence continues By Ben Sales May 30, 2023 (JTA) — An Israeli man was killed in a terror attack on Tuesday in the northern West Bank, the latest in a string of violent incidents in the territory this year. The victim was identified as Meir…
World Alliance of Orthodox rabbis calls for release of Evan Gershkovich By Ben Sales May 30, 2023 (JTA) — An umbrella association of American Orthodox rabbis is calling on the Russian government to release Evan Gershkovich, the imprisoned Jewish reporter for the Wall Street Journal. The…
Bay Area Bay Area leaders join one of the last flights of Ethiopians to Israel By Emma Goss May 25, 2023 As she exited a chartered flight that had taken her from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Tel Aviv, Joy Sisisky found herself holding a stranger’s luggage. The Ethiopian man who handed her his belongings…