Lawrence (Laurie) Baron, now retired, served as the Nasatir Professor of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University. He served from 1988 to 2006 as director of SDSU’s Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. He was the founder in 1995 of the Western Jewish Studies Association.
He writes two satire columns for San Diego Jewish World: “Humoring the Headlines” under his byline, and “Hounding the Headlines,” under the byline of his dog Elona.
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Books to his credit, available on Amazon, include:
Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema
The Modern Jewish Experience in World Cinema
The eclectic anarchism of Erich Muhsam (Men & movements in the history & philosophy of anarchism)
His most recent articles are:
“Making Room for the Jews: The House I Live In (1945),” AJS Perspectives, Summer 2023, 86-88.
“The Revolt of Job: Salvaging the Lost World of Rural Hungarian Hasidim,” Journal of Jewish Identities, 16:1-2 (January/July 2023), 181-198.
“Persistent Parallels, Resistant Particularities: Holocaust Analogies and Avoidance in Armenian Genocide Centennial Cinema, in Armenian and Jewish Experience between Expulsion and Destruction, ed. Sarah M. Ross and Regina Randhofer (Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2021), 267-296.
“The Pioneering American Jewish Women Directors from Elaine May to Claudia Weill,” Jews and Gender (Studies in Jewish Civilization), ed. Leonard Greenspoon (W. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2021), 217-243.
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ICE men wearing masks
When they go on raids
Going into schools
It makes kids afraid. … {Laurie Baron}
Satire: California Dragnet (Melody: California Dreaming) Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & SatireICE agents wearing masks and tactical gear raided an Italian restaurant in San Diego and arrested 19 workers for having counterfeit green cards. San Diegans felt relieved that they can now eat safely at local restaurants without worrying that their chefs and servers are illegal immigrants poisoning their meals. {Laurie Baron}
Satire: Policing the Padres Read More »
Lawrence Baron, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & SatireDonald Trump’s threats to withdraw federal funding from Harvard if it doesn’t comply with his demands presage his ultimate plan to transform the university into a propaganda arm of MAGA ideology. [Laurie Baron]
Satire: MAGAtizing Harvard Read More »
Israel, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAKristi Noem has floated the idea of producing a reality show called “The Americans” in which immigrants compete for the prize of being granted a fast-track path to citizenship. Only Afrikaners and white Australians and Europeans will be eligible to participate. Trump plans to follow up “The Americans” with these other political game shows. [Laurie Baron]
Satire: Political Game Shows Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAAll our bribes are here.
Call them gifts.
For the president who takes grift. … [Laurie Baron]
The Gifts (Melody: Leaving on a Jet Plane) Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USADespite posting an AI generated picture of himself as pope, Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social (aka False Asocial) post that he will not run for pope in the upcoming conclave. [Laurie Baron]
Satire: Passing on the Papacy Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAWhen asked by reporters whom he wanted to succeed Pope Francis, Donald Trump said, “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice.” Since I wanted to know more why he aspires to be pope, I surfed the internet and found him discussing it with Pete Hegseth on Signal. The following is the transcript of his comments. [Laurie Baron]
Satire: The Great White Pope Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USATo identify Jesus to the Immigration Centurion Expellers, Stephen approached Jesus and acted as if he were about to kiss him since if he actually kissed him, he would risk being discriminated against as gay. ICE apprehended Jesus and spirited him away on a donkey headed to a notorious Roman carcer in Aegyptus. [Laurie Baron]
Satire: A Gospel for Today Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & SatirePerhaps I am being paranoid, but I fear being targeted by ICE or the Department of Justice for attending a Hands-Off march, mocking Trump in my columns, and signing petitions critical of how Israel has conducted the Gaza War. (Laurie Baron)
Satire: My DOGE Seder Read More »
International, Israel, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAI raised the tariffs
On both U.S. friends and enemies. I raised the tariffs
I’m a genius on economies. … [Laurie Baron]
Satire: I Raised the Tariffs Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAWhen MAGA voters pull the levers on the machines, the tumblers will roll. If a voter picks a straight MAGA ticket, he or she (there is no “they” in MAGA world), will view three pictures of Teslas, and the voter will be issued a coupon for a free Tesla. To be sure, this will mean Musk will give away millions of Teslas, but that’s not a problem since for some reason the inventory of unsold Teslas at dealers keeps growing. [Laurie Baron]
Satire: X Voting Machines Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAUnaware that there are two other branches of government that can challenge his authority [though Congress is apparently unaware of this fact too], Donald Trump (aka Donelon Trusk) has decided to impose a new constitution on the United States. [Laurie Baron]
Satire: The Donstitution Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
Professor Lawrence (Laurie) Baron has been its President for every one of those 30 years. As he puts it, “The WJSA doesn’t have term limits, only life sentences.” If put to a vote, conference participants would have rejected Laurie’s contention that, “No one over 77 should be president of anything.” [Alan Levenson]
Western Jewish Studies Association Honors Laurie Baron Read More »
International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USABefore launching a trade war with Canada, Donald Trump drafted a speech justifying it. After my spies in the Oval Office were fired by DOGE, they leaked his statement to me. (Laurie Baron)
Satire: Our Enemy Canada Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA