Other items in this column include:
*Racial justice
*Jewish Students Bill of Rights
*Recommended reading
SAN DIEGO — Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School on Sunday, June 7, celebrated the 57th anniversary of its founding in a Zoom gathering that highlighted the life of the late Eilene Cummins, a longtime volunteer and former board president for the Orthodox school at 3730 Afton Avenue, San Diego. A video tribute from her three daughters and eight grandchildren emphasized such qualities as her “incredible kindness, love and concern for everyone she touched”; the fact that she was “grounded in her own faith” that she had a “love of learning;” that she provided a “framework for my entire life;” that she took “pleasure in giving;” that she “would bake brownies for the Fire Department;” that she was “accepting of people from all religious streams;” that she “gave each of us her individual attention,” and that “each and every one of her grandchildren are practicing Judaism.”
Co-chaired by Debbie & Sol Kempinski and emceed by Head of School Rabbi Simcha Weiser, the gala neared its goal of raising $150,000 by Tuesday night for scholarships to the K-8 school in which emphasis is placed on both secular and Judaic studies. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the teachers have been conducting classes via Zoom, including in music as was demonstrated during the program when students from their homes recited the U.S. pledge of allegiance and sang “Hatikvah,” the Israeli national anthem in unison.
Greetings were extended by Rabbi Aaron Kotler of Beth Medrash Gevoha in Lakeside, New Jersey, the same yeshiva where Rabbi Weiser had been a student, and by Rabbi Dov Lipman, who made aliyah from the U.S. to Israel and served as a member of the Knesset. During his years as an MK, Lipman received in his office Soille San Diego Hebrew Day students on their trips to Israel marking their graduation from the 8th grade. Both rabbis complimented the 320-student day school for helping to assure the continuity of the Jewish people
Zeji Ozeri sang synagogue melodies during the program, accompanying himself on guitar. He gave a lively rendition of popular songs that pupils learn in the 2nd grade.
Holocaust survivor and author Edith Eger, in a brief presentation, offered some inspirational thoughts for students such as “the opposite of depression is expression;” that there is a “difference between a job and a calling,” and, accordingly, that students should find what gives them the most satisfaction; and “love is not a feeling; it is an action.” Eger presented two autographed copies of her book The Choice to winners of a drawing, and also announced that her next book, The Gift, is due for publication in November.
Other speakers included Todd Salovey, associate artistic director of the San Diego Rep who is also a former board president of Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School, and Giovanna Reinking, Soille’s director of education, who introduced a video of students and their families bringing pizzas (kosher of course) to the homes of the teachers who taught them on line this semester.
Rabbi Weiser commented that the teachers are able to transmit “a lot of love” through the internet to their students.
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Racial Justice
*Religious leaders of many faiths signed a full page advertisement in The San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday that expressed “solidarity with the black community and all who seek justice.” The San Diego County Jewish community was well represented, including these rabbis from the Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform movements.
—Rabbi Alexis Berk, Temple Solel
—Rabbi Michael Berk, Congregation Beth Israel (emeritus)
—Cantor Caitlin Bromberg, Temple Etz Rimon
—Rabbi David Castiglione, Temple Adat Shalom
—Rabbi Dr. Laurie Coskey, Chavurah Kol Haneshamah
—Rabbi Josh Dorsch, Tifereth Israel Synagogue
—Rabbi David Frank, San Diego Jewish Academy
—Rabbi Benj Fried, Temple Emanu-El
—Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel, Congregation Beth Israel
—Rabbi Philip Graubart, eetired (formerly Congregation Beth El)
—Rabbi Bradley Greenstein, community rabbi.
—Rabbi Leah M. Herz, Seacrest Village Retirement Communities
—Rabbi Ally Jacobson, San Diego Jewish Academy
—Rabbi Marty Lawson, Temple Emanu-El (emeritus)
—Rabbi Avi Libman, Congregation Beth El
—Rabbi Thomas Liebschutz, retired
—Rabbi Devorah Marcus, Temple Emanu-El
—Rabbi Scott Meltzer, Ohr Shalom Synagogue
—Rabbi Alexis Pearce, chaplain
—Rabbi Paula Reimers, community rabbi
—Rabbi Yael Ridberg, Congregation Dor Hadash
—Rabbi Sammy Seid, Ner Tamid Synagogue
—Rabbi Ron Shulman, Congregation Beth El
*U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) is a co-author of proposed legislation to transform policing in America. Called “The Justice in Policing Act,” the measure:
–Prohibits federal, state, and local law enforcement from racial, religious and discriminatory profiling. Requires training on racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling for all law enforcement.
–Bans chokeholds, carotid holds, and no-knock warrants in drug cases at the federal level and incentivizes state and local governments to do the same.
–De-militarizes the police by limiting the transfer of military weaponry to state and local police.
–Removes barriers to prosecuting police misconduct and recovering damages. Reforms qualified immunity to hold officers accountable who violate a person’s civil rights.
–Increases transparency by requiring dashboard and body cameras.
–Makes lynching a federal hate crime, which the House passed in H.R. 35.
–Creates a National Police Misconduct Registry to prevent problematic officers who are fired or leave an agency from moving to another jurisdiction without accountability.
“These reforms are long overdue,” said Davis. “These reforms are transformational in addressing these issues. They also need to be accompanied by significant investments that achieve social, economic, and environmental justice in our communities.”
*The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. issued this statement: “As George Floyd is memorialized today in Houston, we mourn with his loved ones and stand with African Americans and all communities who have been grievously harmed by the longstanding racism and injustice that led to his murder and so many others. We join the millions of Americans from all walks of life who are outraged and coming together to commit to a better way forward for our nation. We must find new ways of working together to truly fulfill the promise of the words engraved on the walls of the Museum that “all men are created equal.”
* San Diego City Council President Georgette Gómez on Saturday issued the following statement about an incident that occurred Thursday evening, when plainclothes San Diego Police detectives pulled a woman into an unmarked vehicle and threatened to shoot protesters asking who they were and what they were doing. “I am calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into this incident, and for the officer who threatened to kill unarmed protesters to be placed on leave,” said Gomez, a candidate in the 53rd Congressional District. “It is incredibly disturbing to hear police officers threaten people’s lives.”
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Jewish Students Bill of Rights
Club Z, a Zionist youth group based in Northern California, is calling on the state Legislature to adopt a Jewish Students Bill of Rights to counteract anti-Semitism in the public schools and universities. It calls for “The Right to Free Expression; The Right to a Fair Education; The Right to a Safe Learning Environment; The Right to a Comprehensive Definition of Anti-Semitism; and The Right to Fair Protections.” Discussion of the proposed Jewish Students Bill of Rights may be accessed via this link.
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Recommended reading
Former San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman wrote an Op-Ed in The San Diego Union-Tribune that was headlined “No one hates a bad cop more than a good cop” in reaction to George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com