Other items in today’s column include:
*Political bytes
*Recommended reading
SAN DIEGO – Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and once Opposition Leader in the Knesset, met on Friday with small groups at Leichtag Commons, the San Diego Jewish Academy, and the Jewish Federation of San Diego, as part of his mission to build stronger bridges between Jews of Israel and the Diaspora.
I caught up with him at the San Diego Jewish Academy, where he was welcomed by Charles Wax, the chairman of Waxie Sanitary Supply, who was the first president of the 40-year-old Academy, and also is a donor to JAFI’s “Wings” program which supports “Lone Soldiers” from abroad who are injured or wounded during their service with the Israel Defense Forces.
Only the day before in Israel, Ori Hamo, 18, an alumnus of SDJA and son of its Hebrew language teacher Hagit Cohen-Hamo, had been among a dozen inductees of the Israel Defense Forces who had been injured when a car driven by a Palestinian rammed into them near the Kotel in Jerusalem, then sped off. It was a coincidence that this pre-scheduled visit to the school by Herzog brought him together with Hamo’s mother and with Wax, whose philanthropy helps the program which will tend to Hamo’s non-life threatening wounds. Shortly after Herzog spoke at her school, Cohen-Hamo flew to Israel to be with her 18-year-old son, and with her husband who was already in Israel when the attack occurred.
“Hagit, we wish well to you and your son and we love you and your husband; and we are sure he will be fine, and as always he will be in everyone’s supportive thoughts,” Herzog told Cohen-Hamo as she sat in his select audience of about 36 students, parents and board members. San Diego Jewish Academy has a student enrollment of 600.
In a brief presentation about the Jewish Agency and during a question-and-answer session, Herzog told about school programs in Israel to better acquaint students with Jewish life in other parts of the world, and also reported that a great revolution is occurring within Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) populations concerning their integration into the rest of Israeli society.
Herzog — grandson of Israel’s first chief rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (for whom he was named); the son of Israel’s sixth President Chaim Herzog, and the nephew of its famed diplomat Abba Eban – said that the Jewish Agency has “signed with the Ministry of Education in Israel that all sixth and seventh graders will learn about Diaspora Jewry and the story of Jewry worldwide.”
This was done, he said, because “Israelis have no clue about world Jewry, especially North American Jewry” and likewise, he said, “North American Jewry also doesn’t know much about Israel.”
“To my mind,” he said, “the biggest challenge is to enable the young generation to know each other.”
While the Jewish community in the U.S. is pluralistic, in Israel, most people are either Orthodox or secular, although Reform and Conservative movements have made inroads.
So Israeli educators could understand American Jewish pluralism, he said, “We brought over to the United States all the leadership of the Ministry of Education, all the professionals, to see what is – Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and even Haredi – and to understand. It was mind boggling for them; they didn’t know.”
So that Americans will better understand Israel, and feel a sense of connection and togetherness with Israelis, he said, “We are bringing about 100,000 young Jews to Israel every year in programs that serve the need of building leadership.” At the same time, it is sending approximately 4,000 shlichim (envoys) to teach about Israel at summer campus, college campuses, schools and community centers.”
Asked about Haredi men studying in Torah academies and not going to work, nor serving in the Israeli military, Herzog said there are many changes going on in that community. “The truth of the matter is that there are 50 shades of black,” he said. “There is a huge change because of women empowerment and employment, a huge change of going into the Army, but because of politics, one doesn’t see the changes. They don’t want to live on other people’s money. They’re poor and they want to get out of poverty. Also the size of the family is going down because for the economy and because women are working.”
He added, “Since none of you are reading Haredi websites, you don’t know what is going on, but the revolution is going on.”
The JAFI chairman was asked if he was concerned about the political situation in the United States.
Indeed he is, he responded. While historically the Democratic party was “much closer to Israel and the Jews,” today “you can see the rhetoric on Israel, and I am worried about certain phenomena in the left wing of the Democratic party.”
Herzog said there needs to be more education of American public officials about Israel, and he suggested that they be brought to Israel so they can “understand what it is all about.” The presence in Congress of some anti-Israel Democrats is worrying “but that it not to say that it is over and out.”
One of the fifth grade students in attendance asked Herzog how old he was when he decided he wanted a life in politics.
He responded that in 1975 (when he was 15) his father was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations when a resolution was passed declaring Zionism to be a form of racism. (It has since been repealed). “My father defended the Jewish people in that battle, and the next day my father tore up the resolution. We had a rally of tens of thousands of people in Manhattan, and I knew then that was what I wanted to do.”
Another pupil wanted to know if he might run for high Israeli office.
“Ask my wife,” he quipped. “She is happy that I am at the Jewish Agency, but I never shy away from politics. One way or another, only time will tell.”
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Political bytes
*Former Congressman Darrell Issa has been endorsed by former Arksansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich in his battle to return to Congress as a representative of the open 50th Congressional District.
*The Republican Jewish Coalition has accused the Democratic party of “turning its back on Israel.” A statement from Matt Brooks, its executive director, said: “Elizabeth Warren, who came in third in Iowa, is happy to speak to anti-Israel groups like J Street, but she told a town hall audience [on Feb. 6] that she will shun AIPAC. Now she is standing by while her supporters slander the bi-partisan, pro-Israel group that has a decades-long track record of bringing Democrats and Republicans together to support our ally, Israel. The winner of the Democrats’ Iowa caucus, whether it ends up being Sanders or Buttigieg, has spent the last year labeling the only democracy in the Middle East a human right abuser.”
*San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez, running in the 53rd Congressional District, tells potential donors: “We just got word that an outside super PAC – funded with undisclosed dark money – just dropped $370,000 to prop up our opponent ahead of the March 3rd primary. “ In an apparent reference to Sara Jacobs, she added: “This massive expenditure will benefit or one opponent who is a known billionaire and self funder with a track-record of trying to buy seats in Congress … Our opponents know that Georgette has consolidated the most local support and has a strong and proven track record of standing up to Trump as San Diego’s City Council President. But they have virtually unlimited sums of money to spend against us in these final weeks. We can’t let them drown out our voices.”
*Sara Jacobs, a candidate in the 53rd Congressional District, attends a meet-and-greet gathering at 7 pm., Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 9813 Edgar Place in the Mt Helix area at the home of Dr. Ed and Sue Cherlin.
*Escondido City Councilwoman Olga Diaz, running in the 3rd Supervisorial District, said her city is “geographically bigger than Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar combined. She has represented San Diego residents on multiple county-wide boards. Public service shouldn’t be about who has the most money to buy the election.” Diaz is in a three-way race against incumbent Supervisor Kristin Gaspar and challenger Terra Lawson-Remer.
* Supervisor Kristin Gaspar has a fundraiser from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20, at the home of Donna & Tom Anderson at 379 San Antonio Avenue in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego.
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Recommended reading
*Chabad’s website reports that kippah-wearing Seth Frydberg has been sworn in as the newest deputy sheriff in Bexar County, Texas.
*Philanthropist Adam Milstein offers on his website an approach to combating growing anti-Semitism.
*StandWithUs has announced it has set up a reward fund for anyone who provides information leading to conviction of persons who commit hate crimes against Jews.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com