Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Erez Sherman (@RabbiESherman) of LA’s Sinai Temple…former LA Times sportswriter Steve Springer (@steveaspringer) who covered the Lakers for many years…and LA sportscaster Ted Sobel (@tedsobelsports). They analyze the NBA star’s online promotion of an anti-Semitic film…and how it should be dealt with. Springer and Sobel also look at the long history of Jewish involvement in the NBA and the groundbreaking association between Jewish Hall-of-Fame coach Red Auerbach and his Hall-of Fame African-American player, Bill Russell ..read more

Suggested lede: Scully and Sandy: Through a Jewish Lens Ken Jeffries talks with veteran Los Angeles Jewish sportscasters Ted Sobel @tedsobelsports and Randy Kerdoon @RandyKerdoon about their memories of the late Vin Scully and Jewish icon Sandy Koufax ..read more

April 15th is the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s breaking the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It also comes during the first night of Passover for this year. Ken Jeffries talks with Occidental College Professor of Politics Peter Dreier (@PeterDreier)…who is also the co-author of several baseball books…on how various Jews (including the first Jewish baseball superstar Hank Greenberg…and believe-it or not Maury Povich’s father and Carly Simon’s mother) helped Robinson along the way…and how he and his wife Rachel developed an everlasting connection with the Jewish people ..read more

Ken Jeffries talks with Robin Washington (@robinbirk)…the Editor-at Large of the Forward…and one of the founders of the Alliance of Black Jews and Rabbi Abraham Cooper (@CooperRabbi) the Associate Dean of LA’s Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Director of Global Social Action. They say she is not an anti-semite…but WAS wrong to say the Holocaust wasn’t about race. Washington also offers thoughts on the ADL, Louis Farrakhan and his own experiences growing up Black and Jewish and Rabbi Cooper says the Wiesenthal Center has an offer for ABC ..read more

Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Erez Sherman (@RabbiESherman) of Sinai Temple in LA’s Westwood District…who says a nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offered the use of its BASEBALL FIELD for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur…so the temple could hold outdoor covid-safe services for children who can’t be vaccinated yet—and others who wish to attend. (Indoor and streaming services are still being offered). Rabbi Sherman talks about his gratitude toward the Church—and how he and his wife Nicole Guzik (who is also a Rabbi at the temple) plan to share the bim and sermons at the outdoor service ..read more

Synagogues grapple with security, coronavirus and a big-9-11 anniversary…during the Days of Awe. Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (@CooperRabbi) which works with the LAPD in helping law enforcement provide synagogue security ….Rabbi Yossi Eilfort…the Director of the Beverly Hills-based security service Magen Am USA (magenamusa.org) and Melissa Balaban, the CEO of IKAR (ikar.org)…a Los Angeles synagogue which is tackling these issues head-on ..read more

Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Abraham Cooper @CooperRabbi, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action of LA’s Simon Wiesenthal Center…which is working “hand in glove” with the LAPD on matters of security for shuls. He also discusses COVID protocols…and how they might affect synagogue services ..read more

State Senator Henry Stern (D-Calabasas) whose “Never Again Education Act of 2021” is designed to give teachers and students the tools to learn about the Holocaust and other recent genocides by offering new teaching methods and enhanced resources…and according to Stern…to remedy a recent rise in anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and other acts of hatred. Ken Jeffries reports ..read more

Archie Gottesman of jewbelong.com (https://www.jewbelong.com/) described as ‘the woman behind Manhattan’s boldest billboards’ is now boosting Judaism. Jewbelong  is behind NYC billboards that say “Here’s an idea: Let’s ask everyone who is wondering if anti-Semitism is real…to wear a yarmulke for a week and then report back”…and “So you eat bacon—God has other things to worry about”.  And they also promise never to ‘JewBarrass’ you ..read more

Ken Jeffries talks with veteran actor Stephen Tobolowsky (“Groundhog Day”, “Californication”, “Deadwood”, “Silicon Valley”, “One Day at a Time”, “The Goldbergs”.) He discusses his long career and his current project, “A Good Day at Auschwitz”. It’s an audio play available online for $20 at LA Theatre Works/LATW (https://latw.org/). It's the true story of a man he befriended in a synagogue who actually found LOVE amid the terror of a concentration camp ..read more