International

‘Lark Ascending’ by Zina Schiff has S.D. Zoo inspiration

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Throughout the years, many composers have been fascinated by the sounds of birds. Vivaldi imitated birdcalls in his Four Seasons, Haydn, in his Toy Symphony, Beethoven, in his Pastoral Symphony, Respighi incorporated a recording of a bird into his Pines of Rome, and a jazz violinist once popularized a

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Eileen Wingard, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Jewish trivia quiz: Little Richard, RIP

Rock and roll pioneer Little Richard died last week at the age of 87. Richard (whose real name was Richard Penniman) had his first hit, Tutti Frutti, in 1955, followed by other hits including Long Tall Sally, Good Golly Miss Molly, Jenny Jenny, and Slippin’ and Slidin’. He was a major influence on so many musicians who followed, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Joan Jett, Brian Wilson, Bette Midler, and Elton John. Which of the following is true about Little Richard? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, USA

We celebrate our Jewish mothers!

My wife, the former Nancy Zeiden, having a last name that started with “Z,” typically found herself at the end of the line, or the person whose name was printed last or near last in any program. This being mother’s day, I thought I’d correct this alphabetical injustice for anyone who has found herself in the same situation. Therefore, we are running our Mother’s Day salute in reverse alphabetical order! We start with Shelley Zimmerman’s mother, Elaine Zimmerman… [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Eric George Tauber, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, USA

Some coronavirus restrictions eased at Seacrest Village

Seacrest Village Retirement Community has reported that as of Friday, it had tested 125 residents for coronavirus, and thus far had received results for 104 residents — all negative. “We expect the remaining 21 test results within the coming days and will report back to you as soon as possible,” reported Pam Ferris, President and CEO of the home for seniors which is run under Jewish community auspices. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, USA

Dream of Azerbaijan’s ‘bronze woman’ lives on

“I was tortured, sold in the black market. But I am free now. I can go anywhere in the world, except Shusha.” This is what Princess Natavan says in my recurring dream — a dream that is particularly vivid this week.It has now been 30 years that Azerbaijani residents of the Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan were expelled from their native lands. The city of Shusha fell to the Armenian occupation on May 8, 1992. The Armed Forces of Armenia brutally murdered 200 people, took hostage more than a hundred civilians, and expelled over 22,000 Azerbaijanis from their hometown. [Aybaniz Ismayilova]

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International

Meet Maya Abed, IsraAID volunteer coordinator in San Diego

These are busy times for Maya Abed, who hopes that in her near future she will be even busier.

This weekend she graduates from California State University Long Beach, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in communications.  She also has signed up to learn Spanish this summer in an effort to add another language to her fluent English, Hebrew, and American Sign Language.  And, for the next several months, at least, she is working as an IsraAID volunteer coordinator with the Jewish Family Service food distribution program in San Diego County. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Is Iran going home?

Aside from the devastation of the Wuhan virus, Iraq closed its 1,000-mile southern border with Iran for “security reasons” after months of Iraqi protests against Iranian interference in its domestic affairs. Oil prices flirted with zero in the wake of the Russia-Saudi oil war, and demand dropped owing to the virus, further gutting Iran’s treasury. Iran harassed U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, but according to Navy sources, the action was clearly for domestic consumption and posed no actual threat (although a mistake on either side could have had major repercussions, making President Trump’s warning more than reasonable). Germany, Tehran’s strongest defender in Europe, pulled the plug on Iran’s proxy army Hezb’allah. More than 390 members of the U.S. House of Representatives — including Ilhan Omar, not normally an opponent of the Iranian government — called for extending the international arms embargo against Iran, set to expire in October. [Shoshana Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Einstein documentary includes historic San Diego footage

In the trailer above for the documentary Einstein: Still a Revolutionary, the children seen and heard chanting “Einstein! Einstein! Rah! Rah!” are San Diegans. Possibly some of them may be centenarians still alive today.  The full documentary briefly shows Einstein being greeted in San Diego by Mayor Harry C. Clark on December 31, 1930 as he disembarked here from the Belgenland. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

The Supreme Court and the Knesset

t was announced late last night that the Supreme Court decided not to interfere in the democratic process: (a) the prime minister was elected by Israelis who knew that he was under indictment, and (b) the coalition is being formed according to established parliamentary procedure. It is, therefore, not for the judiciary to tamper with democracy, even if the democracy is misguided in the eyes of many. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]

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Middle East

Ilhan Omar’s challenger is Antone Melton-Meaux

No “evil doings of Israel” for Antone Melton-Meaux, as Ilhan Omar once proclaimed. Rather, he argues that “Israel has long stood as a beacon of liberal democracy.” In backing a two-state solution, Melton-Meaux reflects: “The United States must be a partner in realizing a modern, prosperous Palestine. We need to renew our focus as an international leader in peace and help end this conflict.” [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

Remembering our Jewish Mamas as Mother’s Day approaches

With Mother’s Day coming this Sunday, May 10, we thought we’d solicit from readers some favorite memories and photos of your Jewish mothers.  Eileen Wingard was kind enough to help us launch this feature with a recollection about her mother, Rose Schiff, z”l.  As you will read, Eileen incorporated into her recollection two other areas of interest for this publication: Judaica collections and San Diego Jewish community reflections on Israel. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Eileen Wingard, Middle East, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, USA

Hillel webcast ponders ethics of pandemic

During what Hillel of San Diego described as a webcast report from the front lines on Monday, May 4, UC San Diego student Bianca Kermani posed a question to San Diego State University graduate Sheryl Warfield, who is now working as a nurse in the intensive care unit of the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. “What flaws have you noticed in the system?” she asked. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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