Donald H. Harrison

Why Sinai and ‘sinah’ are still best frenemies

On Shavuot we celebrated the greatest moment in Jewish history — the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Our ancestors stood at the foot of that mountain and received the divine blueprint for how to live as a holy people. But our sages, with their sharp eyes and even sharper sense of wordplay, noticed something curious about the location. The mountain is called Sinai. And what does that sound like in Hebrew? Sinah — שִׂנְאָה — hatred. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

Why Sinai and ‘sinah’ are still best frenemies Read More »

Antisemitism, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Public lives not matched by family’s private ones in ‘Purpose’

On the surface it seems that his family is the “ideal” family. Dad Solomon (Cornell Womack) is a civil rights hero and minister, and his mom is a former lawyer turned homemaker. The photos on the wall show them with all the greats of the Civil Rights movement. [Sandi Masori]

Public lives not matched by family’s private ones in ‘Purpose’ Read More »

San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

This is America – and we are not alright

He came rushing in, a foot taller than me, much heavier and wider than me, angrily screaming that I was a f*** b****** and that we (Jews) are all f*** b***s and murderers That we had murdered his grandfather, his grandparents. I had just unlocked the House of Israel in Balboa Park last Saturday to prepare for my volunteer staffing shift. I had not expected a rage-filled Palestinian man to burst in, screaming at me. I was cornered behind the counter with him making antisemitic comments … [Barrett Holman Leak]

This is America – and we are not alright Read More »

Antisemitism, Barrett Holman Leak, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Aviva Saad and Ronnie Diamond Older Adult Center dedicated

Now named in honor of Aviva Saad, founding program coordinator of 19 years, and Ronnie Diamond, who worked hard to start and continually fundraise for the Center since it first began as the University City Older Adult Center. The Center that now bears their names will carry forward their legacies of compassion, connection, community and care. [Press Release]

Aviva Saad and Ronnie Diamond Older Adult Center dedicated Read More »

Jewish History, Lifestyles, Press Release, San Diego County

Israel continues to grow notwithstanding Mideast turbulence

Even amid war, tension, and uncertainty, the country’s population reached more than 10 million, growing by 146,000 people over the past year. People are still choosing to make aliyah (immigration to Israel). Young families are planting roots. Communities, both new and established, are expanding to create thriving populations. Not because we have to, but because it’s the place to be a part of the Jewish people. (Russell Robinson)

Israel continues to grow notwithstanding Mideast turbulence Read More »

Israel, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Afro-Peruvian folk music opens SDSO concert

The 37-year-old Lopez is the current composer-in-residence of the San Diego Symphony. This piece was commissioned in 2013 by fellow Peruvian native, Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, then Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and was dedicated to Harth-Bedoya, even embedding his initials into the entire work. [Eileen Wingard]

Afro-Peruvian folk music opens SDSO concert Read More »

Eileen Wingard, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

In the wake of Islamic Center tragedy, interfaith suspicions still linger

For our enemies, for those who commit the greatest violence motivated by the deepest hatred, it does not matter if we stand arm in arm or cower alone. We are all on their hit list. If anything, our division makes us easier targets, our silence coming across like acceptance. [Matt Winstel]

In the wake of Islamic Center tragedy, interfaith suspicions still linger Read More »

International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

San Diego mosque attackers influenced by online extremism

A review by the ADL Center on Extremism of the killers’ apparent respective manifestos reveals adherence to several ideologies, most prominently white supremacist accelerationism and inceldom, as well as virulent Islamophobia and antisemitism. Their writings, which have been shared on gore sites like WatchPeopleDie (WPD), also illustrate general misanthropy and an immersion in online nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) ecosystems. [Press Release]

San Diego mosque attackers influenced by online extremism Read More »

Antisemitism, Middle East, Opinion, Press Release, San Diego County, Technology, Travel and Food, USA

Congressional candidate inveighs against extreme pro-Hamas, anti-Israel sentiment

Maureen Galindo, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Texas’s 35th District, recently declared on Instagram that if elected she would turn the Karnes ICE Detention Center into “a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”
She went even further, calling for a “castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.” [Stan Caplan]

Congressional candidate inveighs against extreme pro-Hamas, anti-Israel sentiment Read More »

Antisemitism, Israel, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Mamdani commemorates ‘Nakba Day’

Nakba Day is the silliest, most childlike excuse ever created to explain away defeat in war. Most nations and peoples who are vanquished take their losses in a saddened, subdued manner. The less said the better. The Arabs would proclaim it from the highest of their tall, looming minarets, where Muslims make the call to prayer five times a day. [Bruce S. Ticker]

Mamdani commemorates ‘Nakba Day’ Read More »

Antisemitism, Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Children’s book presents Jewish legend of 15th Century Spain

This historical fiction novel explores the lives of Jews in 15th-century Spain through the perspective of a young girl named Loma (Paloma) and the struggles faced by her family. The author researched her own Spanish Jewish heritage, which inspired her to write this novel, suitable for children ages 8–11.
[Cailin Acosta]

Children’s book presents Jewish legend of 15th Century Spain Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors