International

Dita Kraus’ memoir tells of Shoah, early Israel

Antonio Iturbe, a Spanish author, wrote a fictional account of Dita (Polachova) Kraus’s life titled The Librarian of Auschwitz, in which Dita was cast as a heroine who risked her life to expose children at the notorious Nazi death camp to a few books on diverse subjects.  The point of the story, for many, was that in spite of the inhumanity all around them, there were people for whom kindness, literature, learning, and knowledge remained paramount objectives. Now comes Kraus’s own memoir of her remarkable life, which gives us a fuller picture of who she is, and the experiences she had pre- and post-Auschwitz. [Donald H. Harison]

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

Orlanskys spend their 71st Valentine’s Day together

Danny and Arlene (Addleson) Orlansky, who celebrated their 71st Valentine’s Day as a married couple on Friday, say the man who was their Cupid was the late Rabbi Morton Cohn of Congregation Beth Israel. Two years after the end of World War II, on a Sunday when Arlene was being installed as president of the Temple Youth League, Rabbi Cohn suggested that because the teens of the only three synagogues in the county (Beth Israel, Tifereth Israel, and Beth Jacob) didn’t know each other, they should have the occasion double as a dance in his Reform congregation’s social hall. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, USA

Two children face European anti-Semitism

By some strange coincidence – or perhaps not – in the same week as many world leaders gathered in Jerusalem to mark (celebrate?) the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I was in the middle of reading a book about one child’s experience of anti-Semitism. And that child’s experience reminded me of one of my own at a similar age. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International

Isachar Zacharie: Lincoln’s Chiropodist and Spy

In early 1863, a friend discussed with Abraham Lincoln the idea of restoring European Jewry to its ancient homeland in Palestine. Lincoln agreed that the vision of a Jewish state in the Holy Land merited consideration. “I myself have regard for the Jews,” he is reported to have said. “My chiropodist is a Jew, and he has so many times ‘put me on my feet’ that I would have no objection to giving his countrymen ‘a leg up.’” Lincoln was referring to Isachar Zacharie, his foot doctor and confidante. Zacharie’s relationship with Lincoln was complex, but two things are clear: first, Zacharie had Lincoln’s confidence and, secondly, he represented American Jewry in Lincoln’s eyes. [Michael Feldberg, Ph.D]

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Jewish History, USA

Calls mount for Stephen Miller’s resignation

Three San Diego County representatives – Democrats Susan Davis, Mike Levin, and Scott Peters – are among 108 members of the House and 24 Democratic Senators who thus far have called for the dismissal or resignation of Stephen Miller as a White House senior adviser, according to national news reports. Their call, reinforced by commentary from Jewish organizations disavowing the white nationalist sentiments of Miller, who is Jewish, came in the wake of leaked emails indicating that Miller has been pushing a xenophobic agenda. The emails were leaked to the Southern Poverty Law Center by a former Breitbard News reporter last November. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Middle East, USA

172 years later, Communist Manifesto still resonates

This month marks 172 years since the first publication of the Communist Manifesto. All around the world people will be commemorating February 20th with group read-alouds, and other ways of noting the occasion. Undoubtedly, this is a moment that we should not allow to pass without some reflection on the meaning to us today of Marx and Engels’ pamphlet. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, International, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

Alexander Vindman unfairly treated, like Dreyfus

He is a Jewish military officer, from a disputed foreign territory, wrongly accused, publicly disgraced, banished across an open body of water, and abandoned to an isolated location. No, not Alfred Dreyfus, the French officer who was falsely convicted of colluding with Germany and then whose badges, stripes, cuffs and sleeves of his jacket were torn off on Jan. 5, 1895, at the Military School in Paris, and sent across the Atlantic Ocean to a prison on Devil’s Island in French Guiana for five years. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was removed from the National Security Council by President Trump on Friday after he testified before the Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives of the chief executive’s attempted collusion with the president of Ukraine. Vindman’s testimony contributed to Trump’s impeachment in the House followed by his acquittal in the Senate. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, International, Jewish History, USA

Climate change meets tradition in High Atlas Mountains

By Nicolas Pantelick MARRAKECH, Morocco — Two weeks ago, I set out with three of my colleagues from the High Atlas Foundation (HAF, Marrakech) to the village of Gourrama in the Moroccan Middle Atlas Mountains. Our journey, from sunrise to sunset, took us across rugged terrains and through communities of all sizes. I reveled in

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International, Middle East, The World We Share

Trump’s ‘Travesty of the Century’

After three years in office, one can hardly be surprised at what Trump is capable of saying, doing, or scheming. In the middle of his impeachment trial, Trump finally released his “deal of the century”—a deal that completely ignored several United Nations resolutions, accords that were sponsored by the European community and the United States, and bilateral agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D.]

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Alon Ben-Meir, Middle East, USA

Celebrating Abraham Lincoln on his 211th birthday

Abraham Lincoln had a warm friendship with the Jewish communities of his time.  That’s one of the reasons why, today on the 211th anniversary of his birth,  I am so proud that some cities of San Diego County have honored the 16th President of the United States in various ways. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA

Veterans Museum features WWII testimonies

World War II testimonies of the living, and the honored dead, were on display Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Balboa Park.  Stu Hedley, 98, a survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, lectured on his experiences of December 7th, 1941.  Elsewhere, on video tape, Sy Brenner, a Jewish medic who fought in France and was imprisoned in Nazi Germany, told the story of “The Night I Was Killed.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Hadassah Hospital treats San Diegan wounded in terror attack

  JERUSALEM (Press Release) — Ori Hamo’s father, Kobi, was planning a big surprise. He flew from San Diego to Israel on February 5 to attend his lone-soldier son’s swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall hours later. Ori joined the army in December. Ori and a group of soldiers were heading to the event in

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Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Chemi Peres, in father’s tradition, wins innovation award

GUTERSLOH, Germany (Press Release) — The 2020 Reinhard Mohn Prize on “Fostering Innovation. Unlocking Potential” is being awarded by the Bertelsmann Stiftung to Nechemia (“Chemi”) Peres, Chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. In bestowing the prize, the Bertelsmann Stiftung is recognizing Peres for his outstanding efforts to promote innovation that serves both

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Business & Finance, International, USA

‘Deal of Century’ prompts split in Israeli right wing

It’s been a while since Bibi pressed Trump to release his Deal of the Century. As we’ve heard from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner, it’s more a vision than a concrete plan. Somewhere at its heart are several basic ideas, such as Israeli expansion and the creation of a Palestinian state. However, there is a lot of detail to work through, most likely by negotiations before anything major can occur. However, Bibi’s base, more than Bibi himself, has seized on the elements favorable to them and are urging unilateral Israeli expansion. Depending on who’s talking, it’s a formal acquisition of the Jordan Valley, Maale Adumim, Gush Etzion, Ariel, and other settlements. Bibi has wavered between encouraging this kind of talk, saying that he’d do it this week or next, and saying that he needs the support of the Americans to do it. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA