Proposed Tlaib speech in Poway protested

Other items in today’s column include:
*$300 million authorized to fix the cross-border sewage problem
*Political bytes
*Coming our way

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO – The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund successfully sued to prohibit the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) from teaching about Islam in the San Diego Unified School District as part of an anti-bullying program.  Now the organization is  protesting a proposed CAIR-sponsored speech in the Poway Unified School District by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, a Palestinian-American who is considered one of Israel’s most vocal critics in the Congress.

Daniel Piedra, the FCDF executive director, said in a letter to Poway School Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps that the proposed speech at 7 p.m., Dec. 21, in the theater of West View High School, would be hurtful in a city that last April 27 experienced a gunman’s attack on Chabad of Poway, in which Lori Gilbert-Kaye was killed, and three other persons were wounded, including Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein.

“Rep. Tlaib has a public history of making anti-Semitic remarks and espousing animosity toward the State of Israel,” wrote Piedra. Further, he said, “Rep. Tlaib has compared the boycott movement of Israel to the American boycott of Nazi Germany, claimed that thinking about the Holocaust gave her ‘kind of a calming feeling,’ and decried the ‘racist policies of the government and state of Israel.’”

Piedra, who is Catholic, said  “Our letter is a sign of support for the local Jewish community and a notice to Congresswoman Tllaib that anti-Semitism is not welcome in San Diego.  Poway is still healing from the horrific massacre at the Chabad center.  We hope District leadership will understand that CAIR and Rep. Tlaib’s divisive rhetoric would open fresh wounds.”

Requests for comments from CAIR and the Poway Unified School District are pending.

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$300 million authorized to fix the cross border sewage problem
The San Diego congressional delegation, consisting of Susan Davis, Mike Levin, Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, and—temporarily until he formally resigns – convicted Congressman Duncan Hunter, has received word that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will  include authorization of $300 million in four yearly installments of $75 million to combat the continuing scourge of sewage flowing from Tijuana over the U.S.-Mexican border.

Peters commented, ““The USMCA delivers a massive funding investment that can fix the Tijuana River’s sewage spills once and for all. This funding can stop the environmental crisis that has plagued our community for decades and will improve public health. I am grateful for the longstanding advocacy of so many leaders who have demanded that these sewage spills are resolved with the urgency they deserve, and I thank my fellow members of the San Diego congressional delegation, and Senator [Dianne] Feinstein and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, for their continued pressure to get this cleanup done. This is a significant victory for the San Diego community and our environment, and a product of trademark San Diego teamwork.”

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Political bytes

*Sara Jacobs, a candidate in the 53^rd CD from which Rep. Susan Davis is retiring, has been endorsed by Equality California, which describes itself as “the largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the United States.”  The group’s executive director, Rick Zbur, said “as the sister of a trans sibling and a gender non-confirming sibling, Sara has an intimate understanding of the challenges facing the LGBTQ community, especially LGBTQ youth.  We know she would be an exceptional leader and a champion for our community in Congress.”  Jacobs responded, “In Congress, I will proudly fight to ensure that all our LGBTQ+ siblings, including my actual siblings, have equal protection under the law.  It is long past time that we ensure that all Americans have access to opportunity, no matter whom they love or how they identify.”

* Equality California also endorsed Terra Lawson-Remer in San Diego County’s 3^rd Supervisorial District, with Zbur describing her as “a proven leader, educator and community organizer with a long record of fighting for full economic and social equality for the LGBTQ community. She will be a powerful champion for justice on the Board of Supervisors and we are proud to stand with her in her campaign.”

*City Councilwoman Barbara Bry says about political insiders who believe she will lose the race for mayor: “We will prove them wrong again.”  She described Assemblyman Todd Gloria, a Democrat, and Councilman Scott Sherman, a Republican, as partisan candidates who “will be targeting me in the primary because they don’t want to face a strong and independent woman in the general election.”

* Former 49^th CD Congressman and Mrs. Darrell Issa is hosting “an intimate dinner with special guests Governor and Mrs. Pete Wilson” at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.  Cost of the fundraiser in support of Issa’s congressional comeback bid in the 50^th CD is $1,500 for individuals and $2,800 for couples.

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Coming our way
* Marcia Hazan, HIAS, and Danielle & Brian Miller Geppetto’s will be the honorees at Jewish Family Service’s Heart & Soul Gala on Saturday evening, April 25, at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla.  Philanthropists Evelyn & Ernest Rady are the honorary chairs, and Marie G. Raftery, Dr. Robert Rubenstein, and Scott Schindler are the gala chairs.

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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com