By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO COUNTY (Friday, May 5, 2022)
San Diego City Councilwoman Dr. Jen Campbell joined San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and Supervisor Nora Vargas in the opening of a Safe Parking Lot in the Rose Canyon area for homeless people. She said: “We know that permanent housing is the solution to ending homelessness. This Safe Parking Lot in Clairemont offers social work, 24-hour security, meals, and help with job searches and resumes.” She thanked Jewish Family Service of San Diego for its “constant work in coordinating the Safe Parking Lot Program.”
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta met with members of San Diego’s Arab and Muslim community Thursday at Sufi Mediterranean Cuisine in Clairemont, according to a Times of San Diego article by Chris Jennewein. Bonta said his office has taken steps to fight hate crimes including a new Racial Justice Bureau, a hate crime coordinator, and an Office of Community Awareness, Engagement and Response. Among attendees was Hasan Ikhrata, CEO of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) who commented, “I’m proud of being an Arab American. I’m also proud that I live in a country that allows me to say this.”
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Various Chabad Houses, including that in University City headed by Rabbi Moishe Leider, are planning a Lag B’Omer bonfire at 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 9 at La Jolla Shores by the Kellogg Park.
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In a profile by the Jewish Council of America, U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-California), who represents parts of San Diego and Orange Counties, comments: “I am very proud to have been raised by a Jewish dad and Catholic mom and brought up in both faith traditions. Being raised in a multi-religious household has made me a better elected official, and has influenced how I approach law-making: with acceptance and openness to all faiths. I thank the Jewish Democratic Council of America for highlighting my work and for supporting all Jewish families.”
CALIFORNIA
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) has been urged to resign by the editorial board of The New York Times. The newspaper wrote: “If she cannot fulfill her obligations to the Senate and to her constituents, she should resign and turn over her responsibilities to an appointed successor. If she is unable to reach that decision on her own, Mr. Schumer, the majority leader, and other Democratic senators should make it clear to her and the public how important it is that she do so.”
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State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and David Bocarsky, executive director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee, will participate with Anti-Defamation League representatives in a State Capitol news conference Tuesday, May 9, to release a new ADL report, “Hate in the Golden State,” exploring extremist violence in California. Other participants will include Assemblymembers Corey Jackson and Mike Fong.
NATIONAL
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, commenting on Thursday’s conviction of four Proud Boys for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, noted that the group’s leaders and previously those of the Oath Keepers had been convicted. A fifth Proud Boy defendant was convicted on other charges, but not of seditious conspiracy. Garland said investigations continue into other participants in the storming of the Capitol.
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), defending Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s trips taken at Harlan Crow’s expense, commented: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “took 157 trips, including 28 international trips … Ruth Bader Ginsburg was not alone: Justice Stephen Breyer … took 233 reported trips, including 63 international trips…. I would point out that Justice {Elena} Kagan has done the same thing; Justice Sotomayor has done the same thing and yet none of my Democrat colleagues care because this is a political attack directed at a Justice they hate. … Justice Stephen Breyer repeatedly traveled on the penny of a prominent Democratic billionaire, the Pritzker family. Now J.B. Pritzker is the Democrat governor of the State of Illinois … Justice Breyer was a longtime member of the board that awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. What does that mean? It means that Justice Breyer traveled on the dime of these Democrat billionaires. In 2019 Justice Breyer traveled to New York City, Vancouver, and Paris. In 2018, Justice Breyer traveled to Ireland and Spain. In 2016, he traveled to New York, Spain, and France. In 2013, he traveled to Norway, Sweden, Denmark. In 2012, he traveled to Beijing and to London. All of this paid for by the Pritzker Foundation. None of my Democrat colleagues are mad about this. Let me be clear: I’m not suggesting that Justice Breyer is corrupt. I’m suggesting that this committee is corrupt because it is a kangaroo circus.”
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First Son Hunter Biden has retained attorney Abbe David Lowell to represent him in the ongoing investigation of his business and tax matters by U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss. In the wake of Lowell’s hiring, Biden’s previous attorney Josh Levy resigned.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), commenting on the proposal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) to permit the nation’s debt limit to increase while requiring spending cuts, said the proposed bill would adversely impact cancer research, veterans’ health care, Meals on Wheels and Head Start. “If Republicans won’t level with the American people about their terrible bill, Senate Democrats are going to do it for them,” Schumer said.
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Dr. Rochelle Walensky, 54, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will leave her position at the end of June. In a letter announcing her decision, Walensky wrote “The end of the COVID-19 health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC director.” Subsequently, President Joe Biden issued this statement: “Dr. Walensky has saved lives with her steadfast and unwavering focus on the health of every American. As director of the CDC, she led a complex organization on the frontlines of a once-in-a-generation pandemic with honesty and integrity. She marshalled our finest scientists and public health experts to turn the tide on the urgent crises we’ve faced. Dr. Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans. We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her the best in her next chapter.”
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David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, which is the parent company of CNN, said it is appropriate for CNN to be hosting a Town Hall for former President Donald Trump next Wednesday, notwithstanding critics complaints that he has a record of inflammatory rhetoric and his many legal battles. Zaslav explained on CNBC: “The U.S. is a divided government. We need to hear both voices. That’s what you see. Republicans are on the air at CNN. Democrats are on the air. All voices should be heard on CNN.”
INTERNATIONAL
A number of Jews will participate in the coronation ceremonies of King Charles III of Britain on Saturday, including Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who will walk with other religious leaders in front of Charles and Camilla at the end of the coronation service. He told the Jewish News of the United Kingdom: “We will stand in a line, the king will come in his full regalia and in his historic 16th-century crown, which is only worn at coronations, and he will stand in front of us. We will give him a blessing in unionism, a pair of blessings.” No microphone will be used for this part of the ceremony, so that Mirvis can comply with the rules of Shabbat. Another participant will be Baroness Gillian Merron, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who will be one of four representatives of non-Christian faiths symbolizing Charles III’s commitment to Britain’s “community of communities.” The baroness will carry one of the coronation robes to the king at the Westminster Abbey ceremony. She commented: “This is an honor beyond anything I could ever have imagined. I feel humbled to be making history in a Coronation ceremony that will validate Britain as a community of communities.” Ha’aretz reported that three of the 12 composers commissioned to write music for the coronation are Jewish: Roxanna Panufnik, Debbie Wiseman and Nigel Hess. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog will represent their nation at the ceremonies. They and Rabbi Mirvis all will have accommodations within walking distance of Westminster Abbey.
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Shmuel Suantek, a member of the Bnei Menashe community in Manipur, India, appealed to Israel after Meitei rioters burned down two synagogues and 210 Bnei Menashe homes as part of a larger battle between predominantly Christian tribal communities known as Kukis and non-tribal ethnic communities known as Meiteis over allocation of government jobs. The Bnei Menashe although not Christian, have come under the Kuki umbrella, according to The Times of Israel. Suantek told Ynet News: “We are begging and asking the Israeli government to bring us now to our country, to Israel.” Since the rioting, the area has been put under martial law by the Indian government.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com