Donald H. Harrison is the publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.
Harrison began his journalism career in 1962 on the UCLA Daily Bruin. Following graduation he joined the staff of the Associated Press, and later became politics writer for The San Diego Union. Afterwards he pursued a career in tourism, helping to establish San Diego’s Cruise Ship Program as well as Old Town Trolley Tours of San Diego. He also wrote for such Jewish publications as the San Diego Jewish Press Heritage and San Diego Jewish Times before starting San Diego Jewish World in 2007.
Don’s latest work is the three-volume Schlepping and Schmoozing Along the Interstate 5.
He is the author of six previous books. Those with links may be obtained on Amazon.
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Argentine mystery writer Sergio Olguín has conjured a hard-hitting Jewish investigative journalist Verónica Rosenthal as his protagonist in a mystery that begins with a traffic accident victim’s missing wife and child and eventuates into an investigation into illegal adoptions and sales of human body parts. [Donald H. Harrison]
Crime, Estranged Lovers Themes of Mystery Novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
There was a time the San Diego International Airport was known by everyone as Lindbergh Field after the aviator Charles Lindbergh, who spent a lot of time in town overseeing the construction of his airplane, “The Spirit of St. Louis,” by Ryan Aircraft. After the job was completed, Lindbergh made several stops across country en route to New York, including in St. Louis. This was where donors lived who had financed his plane. Then, on May 21, 1927, Lindbergh, the 25-year-old pilot, completed the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, in the process becoming an international celebrity. If he had simply retired on his laurels at that point in his life, the name “Lindbergh Field” today might still be emblazoned across the airport entrance. [Donald H. Harrison]
Here is a Holocaust memoir that is so well told that you feel like you are sitting in the room with Harry Lenga, listening to him as he relates the meaningful episodes of his life. His narrative, as transcribed and edited by his son Scott, is at times folksy, other times philosophical, and always interesting. [Donald H. Harrison]
H’nai Matov: Brothers Working and Surviving Together Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History
Sabine Fröhlich grew up a Catholic in Breslau, Germany, but her ancestry was Jewish. Along with her parents and her older brother Andreas, she was declared to be a Jew according to the Nazis’ bizarre racial classifications. Like self-identified Jews in Germany, she was systematically excluded from normal life—even the Catholic school which she had attended. Her parents wisely decided to send her to England, but after they made it across the border to the Netherlands, the family reunited. [Donald H. Harrison]
A German Catholic Girl Learned of Life as a Persecuted Jew Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History
If he were so inclined, Greg Smith could have a lot to brag about. Over a period of 25 years, he won seven elections to serve as the San Diego County Assessor as well as the county’s recorder and clerk. He headed a staff of between 400 and 500 county workers in the combined operations of assessor-recorder-clerk. [Donald H. Harrison]
Greg Smith: A Quarter Century as Assessor, Recorder, Clerk Read More »
Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food
Beginning in 2014, Rabbi and Mrs. Meltzer invested $100 per month in the Kiva organization until they had built up a credit of approximately $8,000. They pored over lists of worthy borrowers, who were vetted by Kiva’s microloan partners throughout the world. The Meltzers then decided to which borrowers they wished to make interest-free repayable loans. [Donald H. Harrison]
Rabbi Scott Meltzer Introduces B’nai Mitzvah to the Joy of Giving Read More »
Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA
No sooner than Cleator took over the office as acting mayor, he broke the news to me that Queen Elizabeth II of England would be visiting San Diego, and that I, as communications director, would be in charge of the city’s press arrangements for the traveling and local media. [Donald H. Harrison]
Oh, the Mishaps that Greeted Queen Elizabeth II on Her San Diego Visit! Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA
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
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
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
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
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
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
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