Culture Archives

The Jewish News of Northern California

A banner is held by pro-Israel fans outside Villa Park, home of the U.K. team Aston Villa, before its UEFA Europa League match against Israel, Nov. 6, 2025. (Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

Israel’s path to the World Cup would be easier through Asia. Why is it sticking with Europe?

by Deborah Danan June 26, 2026June 26, 2026

(JTA) — TEL AVIV — More than five decades after Israel’s only World Cup appearance, the Israel Football Association says it has no intention of trying to leave Europe for […]

Nancy Katz unfolds one of the first chuppahs she made. (Alix Wall)

Art

Marin JCC wraps itself in Nancy Katz’s colorful silk

by Alix Wall June 24, 2026June 25, 2026

Mimi Greisman adapted a secular song about a dinosaur into a hit Jewish children's song about a "Shabbat dinosaur." (Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff)

The J. Interview

She’s the Shabbat dinosaur knocking at your door — ‘Knocking 1, 2, 3’

by David A.M. Wilensky June 23, 2026June 23, 2026

Left to right: Yarden Crane, Michael Tejeda and Aviva Feder. (Courtesy Contra Costa Midrasha)

Podcasts

Young and old discuss conversion in ‘Bina’ podcast’s latest episode

by Bina Podcast from Contra Costa Midrasha June 18, 2026June 18, 2026

Emily Blunt in "Disclosure Day." (Courtesy of Universal Pictures)

Film

In ‘Disclosure Day,’ Spielberg is at odds with Jewish thought about aliens

by PJ Grisar June 18, 2026June 18, 2026

Greg Berguig hits a two-run homer as the Brandeis/Sherith Israel Lionhearts play the Kol Shofar Maccabees during a softball game at the Tamalpais High School softball field in Mill Valley, June 14, 2026. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff)

Sports

5 synagogues step up to the plate in BATS — the Bay Area Torah Softball league

by Aaron Levy-Wolins June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

Film

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s 2026 lineup: 65 films and an award for Rachel Bloom

by Lea Loeb June 17, 2026June 18, 2026

The raucous world of "Yes" is unsparing in its satire of a country partying near the abyss. (Courtesy of Kino Lorber)

Opinion

Cultural boycotts of Israel just reached peak absurdity

by A.J. Goldmann June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

Books

Local authors examine family legacies, Ethiopian Jews and Holocaust trauma

by Rahel Knight June 16, 2026June 23, 2026

Images of Albert Einstein and Emma Goldman are featured in "Ask Jewish Lives," an AI bot that bases its conversations on the "Jewish L:ives" series of biographies. (Dov Abramson Studio)

Opinion

Want to ask Einstein about Zionism? A new AI tool lets users chat with Jewish history

by Andrew Silow-Carroll June 16, 2026June 17, 2026