Other items in today’s column include:
*Free membership for Holocaust survivors
*550 Men attended the annual Men’s Event of the Jewish Federation
*Political byes
*Coming our way
*Mazel tov! Mazel tov!
By Donald H. Harrison
(c) image licensed to the U.S. Post Office by Harvey Milk Foundation
SAN DIEGO — The slain San Francisco County Supervisor Harvey Milk (1930-1978) is celebrated as the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Besides being gay, he also was Jewish. Both communities can take pride in the United States Navy deciding to name after him a new fleet oiler that is being built at General Dynamics NASSCO here in San Diego.
At a ceremony celebrating commencement of construction on Friday, Stuart Milk, nephew of the supervisor, commented that the ship’s naming “sends a global message of inclusion more powerful than simply, ‘We tolerate everyone,’” it was reported by Andrew Dyer of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Harvey Milk had served in the Navy in the late 1940s and early 1950s as an officer homeported in San Diego. He was forced to resign after “being caught in a San Diego park popular with gay men,” the newspaper said.
Attending the ceremony were San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and three public officials who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community: State Senate President pro tempore Toni Atkins, Assemblyman (and mayoral candidate) Todd Gloria, and City Councilman Chris Cate.
The first street sign in the United States to honor Milk was erected by the City of San Diego in 2012.
The fleet oiler USNS Harvey Milk will deliver dry goods to Navy ships while they are underway in addition to replenishing their fuel oil. It is the second ship in a class named for the civil rights leader and U.S. Rep. John R. Lewis (D-Georgia). The USNS John Lewis also was built by NASSCO in San Diego.
In the current U.S. Navy fleet there are other ships named for Jews, among them: the littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords, named for the former Arizona congresswoman who survived an assassination attempt; USNS Fisher, a vehicle cargo ship named for philanthropists Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher; the destroyer USS Carl M. Levin, named for the U.S. Senator who had been a long time chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee; and the attack submarine USS Hyman G. Rickover, who is regarded as the father of the nuclear Navy.
Among former Navy ships were a destroyer escort and a frigate named for assistant surgeon Ben Richard Bronstein, who was killed during World War II; and the USS Samuel Gompers, named for the labor leader who founded the American Federation of Labor.
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Free membership for Holocaust survivors
In response to an appeal by the San Diego Holocaust Survivor Coalition for Jewish organizations to reach out to the estimated 500 Holocaust survivors in the greater San Diego area, the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club has offered free membership to any survivors who may be interested. Its executive committee also voted to waive fees for Holocaust Survivors at its special events. I had the privilege of bringing the successful motion before the club, while urging other Jewish organizations to follow suit.
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550 Men attended the annual Men’s Event of the Jewish Federation
The recent Men’s Event of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County attracted 550 persons, who enjoyed the comedy of stand-up comic MODI, met members of the Givati unit of the Israel Defense Forces, who are in San Diego for “Peace of Mind” therapy sessions away from the scenes of action, and learned about the Shinshinim program, in which 18-year-old Israelis defer their service in the IDF for one year to work as emissaries in Jewish communities around the world. The Dec. 8 event, held at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, was co-chaired by Larry Katz, Seth Krosner, Danny Recht, and Dr. Bob Rubenstein. Thirty Jewish institutions and congregations were represented.
Political bytes
*Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont has scheduled an appearance at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, in the athletic quad of San Ysidro High School, 5353 Airway Road, San Diego. Charles T. Clark of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that it will be Sanders’ fourth visit to the county since he began campaigning for the 2020 nomination. The Lo Angeles Times meanwhile reported that Sanders has withdrawn his endorsement of “Young Turks” radio host Cenk Uygur in the 25th CD representing parts of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Although Sanders did not give this as a reason, Uygur, a Turkish-American has been criticized for comments disparaging women, African-Americans, Jews, and Muslims.
*Rabbi Michael Berk, spiritual leader emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel, writes in an Op-Ed for the Times of San Diego that President Trump “has been eliminating … what anyone who’s ever worked in any organization knows is vital: institutional memory (let alone institutional intelligence and ethics). And that’s perhaps the real danger of the Trump presidency—that we will forget what institutional integrity is: what righteous leadership is like; what morality and decency in politics is like. The danger is that we will forget how our own government is supposed to operate – at least in terms of morality and ethics. I worry that we will forget what normal is.”
*Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, a Palestinian-American who is critical of Israel, has garnered sympathy and reportedly several speaking invitations in the aftermath of the Poway Unified School District’s revocation of its permission to speak at Westview High School on December 21st. J. Harry Jones of The San Diego Union-Tribune quotes Mustafa Dustin Craun of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – California as saying as a result of the controversy attendance at a place to be announced may be even higher than originally expected. The editorial board of The San Diego Union-Tribune scolded the Poway Unified School District, saying: “Her visit was approved with April’s Poway synagogue shooting and this week’s kosher supermarket shooting in New Jersey fresh in people’s minds. To be clear, there is no place for anti-Semitism or hate speech. But there is a place for free speech. It’s called American, and Poway’s Westview High School flies the American flag.”
*Ken Stone of Times of San Diego reports a planned debate Feb. 7 in the 50th Congressional District, from which convicted Congressman Duncan Hunter is expected to soon resign. The debate was arranged by William Del Pilar, president of the Valley Center Business Association, and so far has announced participation by Republican candidates Darrell Issa, a former congressman from a neighboring district; former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, and Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who ran unsuccessfully in 2018 against Hunter in the district which has a heavy Republican registration. The debate is to be held in Valley Center’s Maxine Theater. To date, state Sen. Brian Jones, R-Santee, has not been invited. Del Pilar said candidates “need to be able to show they have something in the till to compete.”
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Coming our way
* Congregation Beth Israel hosts a “Me and My Latke” breakfast at 8 a.m. for preschool families and friends at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 9001 Towne Centre Drive.
*The Sid Rubin Preschool at Congregation Beth Israel will celebrate Chanukah with songs, music, and dancing at noon Friday, December 20, at 9001 Towne Centre Drive.
* Congregation Beth Israel will host a Chanukah Shabbat service at 6:15 p.m., at which participants will light their chanukkiot prior to a music filled service. A Chanukah Oneg will follow “with plenty of latkes” at 6:15 p.m., Friday, Dec. 27.
*Rabbi David Saperstein, former director for Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center and former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom and the current co-chair of the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, will be the visiting scholar Jan. 17-18 at Congregation Beth Israel. On Friday evening, Jan. 17, he will give a sermon on “Martin Luther King: his Message for Today” and after the oneg, he will discuss “Being the Hands of G-d: Jewish Social Justice at a Time of Crisis and Opportunity.” On Saturday he will speak at a 12:30 lunch ($15 members, $25 nonmembers) on “Jewish Lawyers and the Civil Rights Movement: How Jewish Lawyers Helped Shape Civil Rights Law and Policy in the 20th Century.”
*Comedian Kevin Nealon of Saturday Night Live performs stand-up comedy at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 29, at the Lawrence Family JCC, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Ticket: $38, JCC Member $33.
*Alden Solovy, a liturgist, will be the scholar in residence March 27 and 28 at Congregation Beth Israel. On Friday evening, March 27, he will deliver a d’rash on Parashat Vaykira followed by a discussion after the oneg on “Halleluyah: The Biblical Basis of Prayer.” On Saturday, Solovy will discuss at a 12:30 p.m. lunch: “My Life Is a Prayer: What Makes Prayer Personal.”
*Siona Benjamin, a Bene Israel who grew up in Mumbai, India, will discuss her art work following presentation of a documentary on her life and work by film maker Hal Rifkin, beginning at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, at the Lawrence Family JCC, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Ticket: $18, JCC member $15.
* The current political situation in Israel will be the subject of three lectures by political scientist Jacob Goldberg, who had served as a senior adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Each will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 16; Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18 at the Lawrence Family JCC, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Ticket, single lecture $28, JCC member $23. Series $63, JCC member $52.
*The Philadelphia-based Koresh Dance Company, founded by Ronen Koresh, will perform a dance production inspired by Matisse’s painting “La Danse,” at 7:30 p.m, Wednesday, March 25, at the Lawrence Family JC, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Ticket: $38, JCC member $33.
*The journey of the Sarajevo Hagaddah will be the subject of a multi-media presentation by Bosnian-born accordionist Merima Kljuco, with pianist Seth Knopp and video artist Bart Woodstrup, at 7:30 p.m.,Thursday, March 26, at the Lawrence Family JCC, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Kljuco interprets the Sarajevo Haggadah as a “universal symbol of exile, return, and co-existence.”
*Congregation Beth Israel plans to celebrate its 18th year on its campus in the University Towne Center area at its annual fundraiser on Saturday evening, June. 6. It has sent a “save the date” notice to its members.
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Mazal tov! Mazal tov!
Upcoming bar/ bat mitzvahs at Congregation Beth Israel include Eli Chang, son of Lisa and Douglas Chang, on Dec. 21; Teagan Darling, son of Debbi and Trevor Darling, on Dec. 21; Luke Nelson, son of Sheryl and Eric Nelson, on Dec. 28; Julia Nieberg, daughter of Michele Melden and Benjamin Nieberg, on Jan. 4; Katelyn Gardner, daughter of Julie and Andrew Gardner, on Jan. 11; Lev Grezemkovsky, son of Claire Grezemkovsky and Uriel Grezemkovsky and stepson of Perry Kirkland, on Jan. 25; Hannah Lowy, daughter of Haydee Ojeda-Fournier and Andrew Lowy, on Feb. 8; Harrison Ratner, son of Marcie Sinclair and Andy Ratner, on Feb. 22; Reid Habas, son of Allison and Brian Habas, on Feb. 29; and Sydney Schechter, daughter of Laurel and Seth Schechter, on Feb. 29.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com