Nine men at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center took part in what is believed to be the first known group b’nai mitzvah ceremony at the facility. Though none was born Jewish or formally converted, participants studied for a year, read from the Torah, and delivered commentaries with help from educator Kiki Lipsett and several rabbis. Participants described the ceremony as personally transformative and a source of solidarity, identity, and commitment to change. The ceremony also highlighted practical barriers to formal conversion in prison, including lack of access to a mikvah and circumcision. San Quentin’s Jewish chaplain described the community as inclusive and said Jewish participation has supported some men’s rehabilitation.

The Leslie Family Preschool at Palo Alto’s Oshman Family JCC will stop describing its program as Reggio Emilia-inspired after a planned trip by American Jewish early-childhood educators to the Italian city was canceled. The trip’s organizers said participants faced pressure to sign a statement distancing themselves from Gaza’s occupation; Jewish educators and Italian Jewish leaders called the pressure antisemitic, while Reggio Emilia’s mayor apologized for seeking a declaration but rejected the antisemitism charge. Preschool director Ilana Gelemovich said the school will instead describe its unchanged, child-centered teaching as constructivist and grounded in Jewish values. The dispute comes amid expanding Jewish early-childhood education in the Bay Area, supported by grants from EarlyJ.

Dorothy Saxe, a Bay Area Jewish philanthropist, pioneering collector of contemporary studio glass and founding trustee of San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum, died at her Menlo Park home on Oct. 13 at age 100. With her husband, George, she built a collection of more than 700 works and donated much of it to museums, including the de Young. The couple also supported Jewish institutions and community organizations across the Bay Area. Saxe served as a trustee of the Contemporary Jewish Museum until her death and held leadership and advisory roles with several arts and Jewish organizations. Family and colleagues remembered her generosity, warmth, artistic knowledge and commitment to Jewish life.

Rabbi Brian Lurie reflects on six decades of Jewish communal service and argues that Jewish federations have weakened their community-wide role by relying increasingly on wealthy donors, leaving them reluctant to address contentious issues such as Gaza. He supports the New Israel Fund's liberal and humanitarian work, remains a Zionist, and says Israel must ensure full equality for Arab citizens while retaining the Law of Return. Lurie condemns Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank, fears another Benjamin Netanyahu victory would further erode democratic values, and sees Gadi Eisenkot as a leader who could represent democracy, pluralism, and individual rights. He also stresses the importance of service, family, and maintaining ties between American Jews and Israel.

A Berkeley City Council race between Majdi Gaith Abuhamdieh and incumbent Igor Tregub has been dominated by disputes over Israel, Zionism, and antisemitism rather than local issues. Clergy and Jewish organizations condemned Gaith's claims of a “Zionist takeover” and his attacks on Tregub, while Berkeley Jews for Majdi and signer Alisa Nowik defended his criticism of Israeli policy as distinct from hostility toward Jews. Tregub has faced public confrontations from pro-Palestinian activists, but says Israeli and Palestinian lives have equal value and condemns the Netanyahu government's human-rights violations. Both candidates use Berkeley's public campaign-financing program, which bars direct PAC contributions but not independent expenditures; Tregub says he rejects AIPAC's tactics and doubts it is contributing to anyone in Berkeley.

Icelanders narrowly rejected reopening EU accession talks, with 52.8% voting against and 47.2% in favor. The result has intensified divisions in the small, close-knit country, where political disagreements affect families and friendships. The debate reflects longstanding concerns about sovereignty and control of fishing grounds, as well as memories of the 2008 financial crisis and distrust of outside authority. The article notes similarities to Brexit, including warnings about misinformation and emotional campaigning, while stressing that Iceland’s small population makes political tensions especially personal and unlikely to fade after the vote.

Five mobile routers are recommended for reliable internet while camping, working remotely, streaming, navigating and using multiple devices in a motorhome or campervan. The selection includes the 5G TP-Link Archer NX200 as a value option, the AVM FRITZ!Box 6850 LTE as an all-rounder, the TP-Link TL-MR6400 as an affordable LTE entry model, the ZTE MC888 5G for high performance, and the battery-powered Netgear Nighthawk M3 for flexible use outside the vehicle. The article emphasizes that mobile LTE or 5G routers can provide a more dependable private Wi-Fi network than overloaded campsite hotspots.

Official German salary data shows that full-time employees earned a median gross annual salary of €54,066 in 2025, while nominal wages rose 4.2 percent from 2024 to 2025. A salary-comparison calculator uses April 2025 gross monthly wages to show how full- and part-time workers rank against their peers. According to the IW, earning at least €9,720 per month in a full-time job places someone among the top 4 percent of earners, while the comparable threshold for 20-hour part-time workers is €5,348. The article stresses that gross wages provide only a rough measure of wealth because assets, other income and taxes are not included, and notes that many Germans underestimate their relative income position.

Jewish and Jewish-connected musicians Victor Urbancic, Robert Abraham and Heinz Edelstein fled Nazi Europe and arrived in Iceland between 1935 and 1938, despite restrictive immigration policies and widespread antisemitism. Iceland’s need to build national cultural institutions as it moved toward independence helped them establish careers. Urbancic led the Reykjavík Orchestra and introduced major works and opera; Abraham shaped choral music and founded the Philharmonia Choral Society; Edelstein helped create music education infrastructure. Their contributions helped lay the foundations of Iceland’s classical music scene, but their story went largely unrecognized for decades. Musicologist Árni Heimir Ingólfsson’s newly translated book documents their lives and argues for preserving their artistic legacy without reducing them to symbols of persecution.

Jewish refugee musicians Victor Urbancic, Robert Abraham and Heinz Edelstein escaped Nazi Europe and helped establish Iceland’s classical music institutions, despite the country’s restrictive, antisemitic immigration policies. Urbancic led the orchestra that became the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and introduced major choral and operatic works; Abraham built the choral scene, while Edelstein developed music schools and teaching. Musicologist Árni Heimir Ingólfsson’s newly translated book restores their largely overlooked histories and highlights how chance connections and Iceland’s need for cultural institutions enabled their contributions. Scholars say preserving refugee musicians’ records is urgent, while emphasizing that their work should be valued as art and not only as testimony to persecution.