New memoirs, novels and poetry collections from local Jewish authors By Andrew Esensten Dec 7, 2022 “Near Normal Man: Survival with Courage, Kindness and Hope” by Ben Stern with Charlene Stern (Redwood Publishing, 320 pages). As a Holocaust educator, Ben Stern of Berkeley has shared his story of surviving the Warsaw Ghetto and the Majdanek and Auschwitz concentration camps with many audiences over the years — both through speaking engagements and… Read More
Books Sequel to controversial Holocaust novel ‘Boy in Striped Pajamas’ is here At one point in John Boyne’s new novel “All The Broken Places,” a 91-year-old German woman recalls, for the first time, her encounter with a young Jewish… By Andrew Lapin, JTA Dec 1, 2022
Religion Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd gets a boost in the U.S. Synagogues and Hebrew schools in the United States looking to help their communities celebrate Sigd, an Ethiopian Jewish holiday, have gotten a helping… By Philissa Cramer, JTA Nov 22, 2022
Books ‘Family Secrets’ podcast host Dani Shapiro returns to fiction Unspooling long-held family secrets has become a specialty of Dani Shapiro’s. She has hosted the popular “Family Secrets” podcast for several years, and… By Howard Freedman Nov 17, 2022
Seniors Why this S.F. Holocaust survivor supports universal basic income J.’s coverage of books is supported by a generous grant from The Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund Looking at Gisèle Huff today, elegantly dressed, perfectly… By Dan Pine Oct 21, 2022
Books In ‘Bad Jews,’ Emily Tamkin tells a history of American Jewish infighting The history of Jewish identity and politics in America has been told as a triumph of spiritual renewal (“A Certain People,” Charles Silberman, 1986), as… By Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTA Oct 20, 2022
Books Out of a literal melting pot comes her literally stellar chicken soup In Molly Yeh’s exuberant followup to “Molly On the Range,” the Julliard-trained percussionist-turned-food blogger-turned-Forward… By Liza Schoenfein, Forward Oct 18, 2022
Organic Epicure 'Budmo!' Ukrainian émigré Anna Voloshyna's timely new cookbook Food coverage is supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky. Two years ago, Anna Voloshyna tried to interest publishing houses in a… By Alix Wall Oct 17, 2022
Books Book takes Jewish children to ‘The Very Best Sukkah’ — in Uganda Shoshana Nambi is a rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. A native of Eastern Uganda, she grew up in the… By Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Forward Oct 13, 2022