Items in today’s column include:
*Fraud warning!!
* Remembering the Pittsburgh Massacre
* Arizona-Israel Partnership Fostered by Jewish National Fund
* Opioid Crisis News
* Political bytes
* Coming our way
* Mazel tov! Mazel tov!
* In Memoriam
SAN DIEGO – Astronaut Jessica Meir, who earned her doctorate from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego, on Friday was part of the first all-female team to do a space walk from the international space station.
She and fellow American astronaut Christine Koch were tasked with repairing a power control unit – a job that in the slow motion of space took seven hours and 17 minutes, including interruptions to take congratulatory calls from President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Presidential Advisor Invaka Trump, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
According to Wikipedia, Meir is the 15th Jew to go to space, and the 4th Jewish woman.. Those who preceded her, in the order of their flights, were Boris Volynov; Judith Resnik, z”l; Jeffrey A. Hoffman; Ellen S. Baker; Marsha Ivins; Jerome Apt; David Wolf; Martin J. Fettman; John M. Grunsfeld; Scott J. Horowitz; Mark L. Polansky; Ilan Ramon, z”l; Garrett Reisman; and Gregory Chamitoff. All were Americans except Volynov, who flew for what was then the Soviet Union, and Ramon, who flew for Israel.
Resnik died in the 1986 explosion of the spacecraft Challenger and Ramon similarly was killed in the 2003 explosion of the Columbia.
*
Fraud warning!!
An innocuous looking “annonymous survey” purporting to come from SDJewishworld may pop up on your computer and ask eight questions about your readership habits, and then ask you to choose a prize. This survey is neither from San Diego Jewish World nor was it authorized by us. We don’t know what will happen if you click on one of the prize choices, but we advise against it. This is an elaborate phishing expedition by someone who hacked into our website, so please readers, beware! — Donald H Harrison, editor.
*
Remembering the Pittsburgh Massacre
Coinciding with the one year anniversary of the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, The Jewish Federation of San Diego County is sponsoring at 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27, a “Pause with Pittsburgh,” in which people who register will receive a series of text messages from the Federation that will include 1) a video with a mourning prayer and the names of the 11 lives lost; 2) A link to a livestream video where you can join the Pittsburgh community in a public memorial service; and 3) an opportunity to submit a message of support. “No matter where you are, together, we will pause and pledge to maintain our abiding sense of unity and responsibility for one another,” a Federation message said.
*
Arizona-Israel Partnership Fostered by Jewish National Fund
* Sol Lizerbram, a San Diego County resident who serves as national president of the Jewish National Fund, has participated in a signing ceremony with Joaquin Ruiz, vice president of global environmental futures of the University of Arizona; and Uri Gat, co-director of the JNF Joint Institute Project, to establish an ongoing research and teaching program in Israel’s Arava region to produce food, water, and energy security. “Israel’s south and America’s Southwest know the challenges of farming in arid regions all too well,” Lizerbram told the Arizona Jewish Post, “Today, both Israel and America lead the world in the development of innovative farming methods for arid areas. This initiative will empower African farmers by democratizing access to agricultural training and knowledge sharing.”
*
Opioid Crisis News
Attorney Roman Silberfeld of Robins Kaplan LLP has been selected by the City of Encinitas to be its legal advocate in a lawsuit against manufacturers and distributors of opioid products. San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, also has brought legal action against the pharmaceutical companies.
*
Political bytes
* Congressman Susan Davis, D-San Diego, is polling her constituents about President Trump and Ukraine. The four questions on the survey inquire: 1) Do you believe the President’s actions surrounding Ukraine demonstrate an abuse of power? 2) Do you believe it is unlawful for a president to call on foreign governments to investigate political rivals? 3) If the allegations against him are true, do you believe President Trump should be impeached? 4) Do you think there is value in continuing an inquiry before holding an impeachment vote?
* County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who voted on the losing side in the board’s decision to direct its staff to draw up an ordinance banning the sale of flavored vaping products, explains: “By banning flavored tobacco products and e-cigarettes, more people will turn towards the illicit market, mainly on the internet, which will end up harming more people. We should address the enforcement rather than ordering new ineffective regulation.”
*
Coming our way
* Zev Bar-Lev, a retired linguistics professor at SDSU, plans a series of free lectures at 12:30 p.m. the second Thursday of the month at Jewish Family Service’s College Avenue Center, which rents space at Temple Emanu-El, 6299 Capri Drive. The tentative dates and subject matters: Nov. 14, anti-Semitism; Dec. 12, Shoshana’s Shabbat; Jan. 9, How many genders are there?; Feb. 13 “Feelings:” Natural vs. Supernatural Ethics; March 12, The Great Atheist (Russell) and the Bible; and April 9, Tweaking the Kabbalah (Alphabet Parade).
*
____________________________________
Do you want to share with the San Diego County Jewish community your family’s life cycle events? Please send details to editor@sdjewishworld.com, along with your name and phone number for verification purposes.
____________________________________
Mazel tov! Mazel tov!
*Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, a vigorous nonagenarian, was called as the emeritus cantor of Congregation Beth Israel to chant the birkat kohanim (priestly blessing) at that Reform congregation’s Yom Kippur service. His rendition can be viewed in the videotape embedded above.
* Jacob Ghitman, son of Cristal & Mark Ghitman, became a bar mitzvah today at Tifereth Israel Synagogue.
*
In Memoriam
* Chabad at La Costa announces the death of Morris (Moshe) Teshuba, OBM, father of Anna Mintz. The funeral will be held Sunday, Oct. 20, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
*
Harrison is the editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via editor@sdjewishworld.com