Other items in today’s column include
*StandWithUs selects local high school interns and Emerson Fellows
*Personals
*Recommended reading
*In memoriam
SAN DIEGO — The Anti-Defamation League is offering to high schools and middle schools a curriculum designed to challenge biases and to encourage students to think critically, according to George Selim, ADL’s New York-based senior vice president of programs. “With our powerful, new civics curriculum we’re cultivating the next generation of leaders to actively participate in their communities and champion social justice. We’re especially excited about partnering with Bites Media with their carefully curated articles which lift up and highlight the relevance of our civics lessons.”
Major themes in the curriculum include: 1) A Civic Mindset; 2) Power and Privilege; 3) Identity and Membership; 4) Social Justice and Civil Rights; 5) Media Literacy.
“There are a lot of digital resources for educators and parents, but there are few that bridge the gap between the need for students to have a fuller understanding of current events and the need to develop empathy and understanding of others,” said Nick Farrell, Bites Media CEO. “What’s unique about this partnership is that Bites Media is strengthening an already robust ADL civics curriculum with news articles that teach about current events in a way that gives students the tools to examine how prejudice, discrimination and bias have contributed to and shaped those issues.”
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StandWithUs selects local high school interns and Emerson Fellows
The pro-Israel organization StandWithUs, which educates students about the Jewish State and responds to anti-Zionist and antisemitic propaganda, has named three local high school interns and two Emerson Fellows for the upcoming academic term.
High School interns will be Mark Zaga at the San Diego Jewish Academy, Ben Davis at La Jolla High School, and Rebecca Danzig at Canyon Crest Academy. Emerson Fellows — so called because of a grant given by Steve and Rita Emerson to promote pro-Israel education on college campuses — were awarded to senior Niv Levy at San Diego State University and junior Sivan Barashy at UC San Diego.
Levy founded and served as president of the Israel American Council’s Mishelanu (One of our own) chapter at UC Santa Barbara, and while studying there, through involvement with Hillel and Students Supporting Israel, helped to defeat student resolutions in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Barashy, meanwhile, serves on the executive board of Tritons for Israel and previously served as president of that group’s Ambassadors at UC San Diego.
Yosef Condiotti, the San Diego regional director of StandWithUs (who completes one year in that position on Thursday), commented that he was “thrilled that this year San Diego has such strong representation from exceptionally high-quality students who will passionately educate about Israel and have already demonstrated their ability to combat antisemitism. I am proud of how well they adapted to the ‘new normal’ of virtual reality. Teaching the future generation about Israel is critical and no pandemic will stop us from accomplishing our mission.”
Normally, high school interns and Emerson fellows would be brought to StandWithUs headquarters in Los Angeles for five days of orientation, but this year both conferences were held via Zoom because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Personals
* Siblings Noah and Talia Baird will have a joint b’nai mitzvah at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 — you might think of that as 10-10-10-20 — at Temple Solel. Their parents are Becky and Daniel Baird.
*Encinitas-based science fiction writer David Brin, whose novel The Postman was made into a movie by Kevin Costner, has written an appeal for support of the U.S. Post Office at a time when President Trump is opposing the use of mail-in ballots.
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Recommended reading
*Blacks, Latinos, Asians/ Pacific Islanders and Native Americans are in. Jews, Muslims, Women, LGBTQ and any other group are out. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) requiring California State University students to take at least one course about any of the four in-groups in order to graduate, CalMatters reports in Times of San Diego.
*Journalists Lynn Scherr and Ellen Goodman, co hosts of the She Votes! podcast, wrote a satiric article in the name of the late women’s voting rights leader Susan B. Anthony rejecting President Trump’s pardon. It was published on the website of Moyers on Democracy. Thank you to Bruce F. Lowitt for calling our attention to it.
*The Cassirer family lost another round in its long-running battle to recover a painting by Camille Pissarro that an ancestor had been forced to turn over to the Nazis in return for an exit visa. The latest adverse ruling was made by a three judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Times of San Diego carried the story.
*Rafael Medoff in the Washington Times contends that Democrats are wrong to oppose the U.S. seeking “regime change” in other countries. Sometimes, he argues, that may be the only way to prevent genocide.
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In memoriam
Susan Elihu-Sinaee, 81, died Sunday, Aug. 16, Am Israel Mortuary announced. Graveside funeral services were officiated by Rabbi Joshua Dorsch of Tifereth Israel Synagogue at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 19, on the Mount Sinai Jewish Lawn at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com Free obituaries in memory of members of the San Diego County Jewish community are sponsored on San Diego Jewish World by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg.