SAN DIEGO — Jewish Family Service has posted on Facebook the following notice: “Many thanks to the Liebermensch Family and community donors who recently funded a comfort facility to bring more dignity and compassion to families experiencing homelessness—many for the first time. Once completed, the new Liebermensch Family Comfort Facility will be equipped with ADA-accessible showers, baby changing stations, and full-sized restrooms—providing guests a welcoming space to care for themselves and extra room to get ready for work and school.
These simple comforts of home are often taken for granted but make a world of difference for Safe Parking guests working to lift themselves out of a difficult situation. Thank you to Councilmember Kent Lee and everyone who attended our exciting groundbreaking event (January 18) at JFS’s Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus. Every night, JFS provides safety, security, and support for hundreds of unsheltered San Diegans living out of their vehicles, many of whom are experiencing homelessness for the first time.
Through six Safe Parking lots located throughout San Diego County, we provide a welcoming environment, meaningful resources and tools, and dignified support to help families stabilize and transition back into permanent housing. With wraparound services focused on basic needs assistance, employment, family wellness, school success, financial education, credit repair, and most importantly, a return to stable housing. Learn more at www.jfssd.org/SPP ”
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The San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday packaged on its front page a story about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting any Palestinian sovereignty with a local story about the Public Defender’s Office accusing Superior Court Judge Howard Shore of racism against Palestinians, African-Americans, and Mexican-Americans. The Public Defender’s Office wants Shore removed from any cases in which its office is handling the defense. Judge Shore was censured last month by California’s Commission on Judicial Performance for skipping without authorization 185 days of work in 2021 and 2022. An Orthodox Jew, he said he had taken Fridays off in order to drive to Los Angeles prior to Shabbat to help his son and daughter-in-law care for his grandchild. In claiming that Shore was prejudiced against Palestinians, the public defender’s office paraphrased a conversation in which Shore allegedly spoke in derogatory fashion about having relatives who farm in Israel, who now are unable to raise their crops because guest workers from Gaza are no longer available – likening those guest workers to Mexicans who cross the border to work in agricultural jobs.
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Three short films made by Israeli filmmakers who have participated in the Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative will be the subject of a 6 p.m. reception, screening at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 5, and director talks immediately following. They are White Lie by Eyal Elisha, Letter to a Pig by Tal Kantor, and Requiem for a Whale by Ido Weisman. To reserve free tickets, click here.
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The San Diego Humane Society, headed by Gary Weitzman, is sponsoring a North County Walk for Animals on March 16 at Kit Carson Park, 3333 Bear Valley Parkway, Escondido. Early bird registration through January 31 is $20 for adults and $10 for children through the age of 17. Walk participants who register before March 16 will be eligible for a pancake breakfast, a T-shirt, a bib, and will receive a donation envelope to place “all the cash and checks you’ve collected” to help 40,000 animals a year that are cared for at Humane Society shelters. The goal of the walk is to raise $150,000.
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The San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir will concertize at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 10, at Congregation Beth Israel, 9001 Towne Centre Drive, San Diego. To register for a $10-per-person ticket, click here. A dessert reception follows the Beth Israel Men’s Club-sponsored event.
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Tifereth Israel Sisterhood is offering for $12 through its Traditions Gift Shop a souvenir plate picturing Masada with the legend “Masada Shall Not Fall Again.” The limited edition plate “commemorating the mount where brave Jews once held their ground against the Romans” until they committed mass suicide knowing that they soon would be overwhelmed. The plate was made by the Naaman Porcelain factory, which was founded by members of Kibbutz Kfar Mesarik. Naaman, founded in 1939, was one of the original manufacturer of porcelain and ceramics in Israel. Click here to request an appointment at the gift shop.
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A free showcase of woodworkers, photographers, artists, ceramicists, jewelers, authors, and a doll maker, among other artisans, will take place from 1 p.m to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 7, at Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd. Two of the exhibitors — Bill Goldschneider and Leah Horstman — won Best of Show awards at last year’s San Diego County Fair respectively in woodworking and photography. A few exhibitor positions are available. If interested contact Don Harrison of the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club via this link.
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SDJW staff report