Donald H. Harrison

[caption id="attachment_119310" align="alignright" width="100"] Donald H. Harrison[/caption]

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.

[showhide type=”pressrelease” more_text=”Show More” less_text=”Show Less”]

[/showhide]

Pros and Cons of Ken Burns’ Holocaust Documentary

Many readers of San Diego Jewish World know Baron via his political satire columns, but I asked my colleague to put his hat back on as a Holocaust scholar to assess how well Burns’ documentary had covered the subject.[Donald H. Harrison]

Pros and Cons of Ken Burns’ Holocaust Documentary Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

The Self-Deceptions of a Drug Addict and Her Enabling Aunt

This memoir is about different kinds of self-deception.  One form is that of a drug addict who keeps telling herself and others that she is on the road to recovery and doesn’t need any 12-step programs or psychological help.  The other is about a well-meaning aunt, who enables her drug-addict niece by pretending not to know that she is still using. [Donald H. Harrison]

The Self-Deceptions of a Drug Addict and Her Enabling Aunt Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Death Brought This Family Together

Herschel ran out on two marriages and three children.  After being convicted of smuggling marijuana, he fled to Sint Eustatius where he all but disappeared to the outside world, while building a reputation on the Dutch Caribbean Island as a pharmacist and a professor.  This memoir starts with a notice to his son Michael that he has died. [Donald H. Harrison]

Death Brought This Family Together Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Overcoming Obstacles to Honor a Father

From the time she was a child, author Sarah Birnbach always went to her father Marvin for comfort.  Her strained relationship with her mother permitted no such interaction.  When her father died, in some ways she felt like an orphan, even though her mother was still living.  There was no recognition on her mother’s part that Sarah was grieving too.  What would she know about loss, her mother would say, she wasn’t married for 54 years. [Donald H. Harrison]

Overcoming Obstacles to Honor a Father Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion

Firing and a Resignation Request at Local Chabads

Chabad of San Diego’s regional director Rabbi Yonah Fradkin has announced that he has fired Rabbi Yehuda Hadjadj as the rabbi at Chabad of UC San Diego and has asked for the resignation of Rabbi Mendel Goldstein of Chabad of Poway.  Neither Rabbi Hadjadj nor Rabbi Goldstein could be reached for immediate comment. [Donald H. Harrison]

Firing and a Resignation Request at Local Chabads Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, USA

Submerged Jewish Themes in ‘The Face of the Waters’

At 87, Robert Silverberg has won every science fiction award there is on offer, not to mention a tremendously large fan base.  You might think he has done it all, but now comes a new paperback version of his 1991 book, The Face of the Waters, in which the Jewish writer offers us an odyssey on a faraway water planet with creatures as fantastical as any that Homer ever conceptualized. [Donald H. Harrison]

Submerged Jewish Themes in ‘The Face of the Waters’ Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Israeli Athlete Survived the Holocaust and the Munich Olympics Massacre

ESPN and ESPN+ will premiere at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept 20, The Survivor, an hour-long documentary on the murder of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics. Reporter Jeremy Schaap interviews Shaul Ladany, a teammate of the slain athletes, who has been dubbed an “ultimate survivor.”  Along with his family, he had earlier in his life survived the Holocaust. [Donald H. Harrison]

Israeli Athlete Survived the Holocaust and the Munich Olympics Massacre Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

How Those Children’s Toys and Games Come Into Being

While most of the book is a hoot – imagine creative adults on the floor happily expressing their inner children as they experimented with toy prototypes – there are some very serious, reflective chapters as well.  In 1976, a mentally unbalanced employee killed two executives at MGA and wounded three other workers before killing himself.  The man had a “hit list” and on it was Breslow, who, to take a phone call, had just stepped out of the meeting room where his two colleagues were slain.  Breslow discusses the impact of that horrific event on his life. [Donald H. Harrison]

How Those Children’s Toys and Games Come Into Being Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Curator Vows Holocaust Exhibit Will Find a Permanent Home

Project RUTH – “Remember Us: The Holocaust” – which was on exhibit for two years at the Chula Vista Public Library is in the process of closing, but even though it soon will be gone, creator and curator Sandy Scheller vowed Sunday, August 21, that its content won’t be forgotten. [Donald H. Harrison]

Curator Vows Holocaust Exhibit Will Find a Permanent Home Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, San Diego County

Jerusalem-San Diego Zoo Exchange Event Highlights Political Leaders’ Interwoven Career Trajectories

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — For more than half her 20-year tenure as a Democratic member of Congress from San Diego, Susan Davis encouraged the exchange of students from Jerusalem and San Diego, remembering that her own time spent as a young woman on an Israeli kibbutz was formative in her own life.

Jerusalem-San Diego Zoo Exchange Event Highlights Political Leaders’ Interwoven Career Trajectories Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

San Diego Jewish World Honors Community Leaders From the ‘Outside’ and ‘Inside’

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — This publication held its first annual event on Sunday, July 31, at an afternoon reception in a private home with a sweeping panoramic view of the La Jolla coastline. Jacob Kamaras, San Diego Jewish World’s editor and publisher, emceed the affair at which Roz Rothstein, a co-founder and CEO

San Diego Jewish World Honors Community Leaders From the ‘Outside’ and ‘Inside’ Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Opinion, San Diego County

Where I-5 Jewish Stories Are Found

The three-book series offers 90 stories in all – a mosaic of Jewish life, personalities, and influences along the Interstate 5 corridor from the Mexican border to the Orange County line. It has been a pleasure authoring this trilogy, which has been augmented by the photography of Dr. Ben Dishman and Fred Kropveld, two fellow congregants of Tifereth Israel Synagogue. [Donald H. Harrison]

Where I-5 Jewish Stories Are Found Read More »

Ben Dishman, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Fred Kropveld, San Diego County, Travel and Food

A Scroll of Ancient Music that Leads to a Romance

This book is a fictionalized account of Jacqueline Semha Gmach’s life in Tunisia and Canada before settling in San Diego where her store of cultural knowledge for many years defined programming at the Lawrence Family JCC.  It is also a love story, travelogue, and collection of photos that are dear to Gmach. [Donald H. Harrison]

A Scroll of Ancient Music that Leads to a Romance Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, San Diego County