Donald H. Harrison

Bible Leaves So Many Quesions Unanswered about Dinah

Aside from the terrible tale of the kidnapping and apparent rape of Jacob’s daughter Dinah in the biblical book Genesis, we know very little about Dinah other than the usual obscurities which the Torah does not explain, which prompt us to think of what is happening and why, some of which we list below. This tale also raises the question of the Bible’s view of women. [Rabbi Israel Drazin]

Bible Leaves So Many Quesions Unanswered about Dinah Read More »

Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Requiem for the San Diego Rep

I was heartbroken to learn that The San Diego Repertory Theatre, known locally as The Rep, is suspending operations as of June 19, 2022. Performances by Hershey Felder will be relocated to other venues (tbd), but the rest of the lineup has been cancelled and their staff laid off. Reasons for this are many including the pandemic, a flooded theatre space just as things were recovering, noisy construction in the re-invented Horton Plaza, and a parking structure with prices so stiff they seemed designed to drive business away. [Eric George Tauber]

Requiem for the San Diego Rep Read More »

Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jewish Musician and Cultural Leader Eileen Wingard Reminisces About Her Career

Violinist Eileen Wingard was never the star of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Such billings belong to conductors like Zoltan Rozsnyai, Peter Eros, David Atherton, Yoav Talmi, and Jung-Ho Pak, all of whom she played under during a career stretching from 1967 through 2004. Or perhaps the stars are donors like Irwin and Joan Jacobs, who in 2002 gave the San Diego Symphony an amazing gift of $120 million, the largest ever given to an orchestra in America. [Donald H. Harrison]

Jewish Musician and Cultural Leader Eileen Wingard Reminisces About Her Career Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Novel Incorporates Vignettes about Patrons of a Jerusalem Café

Ehrlich’s Café Shira is an imaginative series of vignettes that take place in an establishment much like Café Tmol Shilshom, wherein the regulars at each table have their own stories. Sometimes they are interwoven with the stories of waitresses Rutha and Rona and café owner Avigdor; other times, they are in a world of their own, made known to us only by the remarkable insight and intuition of the hard-working, extremely empathetic Rutha. [Donald H. Harrison]

Novel Incorporates Vignettes about Patrons of a Jerusalem Café Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East

Larry Schwartz: Organizer of AFT Local 1931

A large crowd gathered on December 1, 1995, to rename the Quad at San Diego City College as Schwartz Square.  The gathering was in honor of history professor and American Federation of Teachers #1931 President Larry Schwartz.  He had died at age 62 of a brain tumor ten months prior to the ceremony. The dedication plaque there reads: “In memory of Larry Schwartz. He inspired students, challenged colleagues, and shared the passion and action of his time.” [Donald H. Harrison]

Larry Schwartz: Organizer of AFT Local 1931 Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

A Guide for the Aging

Stand-up comedians know that audiences will laugh at jokes made about the subjects which make them the most uncomfortable, including their body shapes, their sexual activity (or lack of it) and the infirmaries of age. Janet Pitler, with a Jewish knack for self-deprecating humor, puts such material into 61 poems which Bob D’Amico illustrates with imaginative cartoons.  The result: an opportunity for those of us who are aging (and who isn’t?) to laugh at ourselves – either in the quiet of our reading chair, or possibly reciting the poems aloud with our friends. [Donald H. Harrison]

A Guide for the Aging Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Trivia, Humor & Satire

A Jewish Tour of Balboa Park

The San Diego Zoo is known as one of the world’s premier institutions for the conservation of endangered wildlife species. Along with its sister San Diego Safari Park, located in the San Pasqual Valley, the San Diego Zoo is considered one of the best, if not the very best, zoos in the world. Of particular Jewish interest is the fact that the San Diego Zoo has served as a big brother to the Tisch Family Zoo in Jerusalem, which also is known as the Jerusalem Zoo. Many of the exhibits in Jerusalem are modeled on those in San Diego and both zoos have received generous financial contributions from San Diegans. {Donald H. Harrison]

A Jewish Tour of Balboa Park Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Stan Andrews: A Foolish Hero?

Some will call Stan Andrews a hero because he fought and gave his life for Israel during that country’s War of Independence.  Others will call him a fool because he lusted after combat with the same recklessness that he pursued and casually bedded women. The truth lies somewhere in between the two assessments.  Through meticulous research, the authors pieced together a complex portrait of a young man who was an accomplished writer, portraitist, and pilot.  [Donald H. Harrison]

Stan Andrews: A Foolish Hero? Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Before Melvin, Padres had 11 players, 2 coaches with at least one Jewish parent

Since the team’s induction into Major League Baseball in 1969 until 2021, the Padres counted 11 players and two coaches on its rosters who had at least one Jewish parent. In 2022, Bob Melvin became the team’s first manager with a Jewish parent. [Donald H. Harrison]

Before Melvin, Padres had 11 players, 2 coaches with at least one Jewish parent Read More »

AAA-Writers and photographers, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food, USA

Frida Kahlo Loved Jews So Much She Invented Jewish Ancestry

The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is the subject of several murals at Chicano Park. Modern genealogists say that she was the daughter of a mother of mixed indigenous and Spanish descent, Mathilde Calderon y Gonzalez, and a German Lutheran father, Guillermo Kahlo. However, Frida herself always insisted that her father, who was an important influence on both her life and her art, was actually Jewish. [Donald H. Harrison]

Frida Kahlo Loved Jews So Much She Invented Jewish Ancestry Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Assassinated Gay Jewish Political Leader Harvey Milk Is Honored by the U.S. Navy

The “christening” ceremony featured a principal ceremonial address by Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk, as well as remarks by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro; Vice Admiral Jeffrey Hughes, deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development; and Rear Adm. Michael Wettlaufer, commander of the Military Sealift Command. Sponsors of the ship were U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with Milk, and Paula Neira, clinical program director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health. Neira shattered a bottle of sparkling wine across the ship’s bow in a time-honored Navy tradition. [Donald H. Harrison]

Assassinated Gay Jewish Political Leader Harvey Milk Is Honored by the U.S. Navy Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Graduation Day at the Radiation Treatment Center

Today, April 29, 2022, was a bellringing day for me at the Jacobs Medical Center at UCSD Health Sciences.  I completed a 33-day course of radiation in the hope of arresting a meningioma that was growing on top of my brain.  On July 1, I will have an MRI to learn how well the treatment worked. [Donald H. Harrison]

Graduation Day at the Radiation Treatment Center Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA