Jewish History

Dianne Feinstein now in political hot water

Besides being angry at Republicans for pushing Barrett’s confirmation through — in contrast to the way they refused to act on former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland — some left-wing Democrats are also angry at Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California).  Like all other Democratic Senators, Feinstein was opposed to  Barrett, but unlike the rest of them, she congratulated Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) on the way he conducted hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Graham is in a tight reelection battle against Democrat Jaime Harrison, and some Democrats feel Feinstein’s friendliness toward Graham may hurt Harrison’s chances as well as those of Democrats hoping to flip the Senate from Republican to Democratic control.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Jewish News from San Diego and Beyond

I’ve decided to change the name of my column from “Our Shtetl San Diego County” to “Jewish News from San Diego and Beyond.”  The reason probably is self-evident.  While much of the news that affects our readers occurs in San Diego, important stories with a bearing on our lives also come from other places as well, including Washington D.C., New York, Sacramento, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, to name just a few.  So the new column name allows me to be more inclusive in my coverage. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Dutch Protestant Church ‘confesses’ antisemitism guilt

The Protestantse Kerk Nederland or PKN (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) announced that it will, for the first time, “confess” its guilt for contributing to a climate of anti-Semitism before, during, and after World War II. It will admit to falling short “in speaking and in silence, in acting and in not acting, in omitting, in attitude and in thoughts.” [Dorian de Wind]

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Dorian de Wind, International, Jewish History

Pakistani prince visited Rancho Lilac

There is no shortage of world-class leaders who have visited and left their mark on Valley Center, among them a future king of England (Edward, Prince of Wales);  a president of the United States (Dwight Eisenhower), and a widowed First Lady (Eleanor Roosevelt). But there also was a prince — not a fairytale prince, but a legendary blue-blood better known as a playboy, socialite, racehorse jockey, and husband of one of the world’s most famous movie stars. He was also a diplomat and United Nations official, and it was in that role that he came to Valley Center in 1959. {Robert Lerner]

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International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

Feds evaluate death penalty for Poway Chabad shooter

Federal prosecutors still haven’t decided whether to seek the death penalty for the assailant who killed Lori Gilbert Kaye and wounded three other people at Chabad of Poway during a Passover 2019 observance, Kristina Davis of  The  San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Saturday.  The newspaper said that the defense team for defendant John T. Earnest, 21, has reported that the coronavirus pandemic has hampered “mitigation investigation critical to a meaningful penalty phase in a capital prosecution.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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

Biden likens North Korea to pre-war Nazi Germany

Former Vice President Joe Biden compared the U.S. relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un today to America’s “good relationship with Hitler before he, in fact, invaded Europe — the rest of Europe.”

The comparison came during one of many sharp exchanges Thursday night between Biden, the Democratic nominee for President, and  President Donald J. Trump, the Republican,  in their second and last debate before the Nov. 3 election.  [Donald H. Harrison)

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Jewish Nobel Prize Winners; Does It Matter?

The capabilities of Jews in countless areas are no secret and if we were to award the highest prizes and recognitions based on accomplishments in all fields, Jews would receive even more awards than we already do. However, I do not think getting medals or trophies should be a reason for Jewish pride. I do not spend time counting the number of awards because it is not what we need to stand out for. We need to be prominent for fulfilling the role that the world truly expects from us. [Michael Laitman, Ph.D]

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International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Sports & Competitions, USA

SAJAC hosts forum on Jewish genetic risks

The two-hour program kicked off with a review of Ashkenazi history by UCSD clinical Urology Professor Dr. Franklin Gaylis. He explained how the shtetl-confined Ashkenazi communities of Eastern Europe, complicated by consanguineous marriages, concentrated the incidence of BRCA 1 and 2 mutant genes in their population, to a rate of 1 in 40 persons. Eighty percent of modern Jews have Ashkenazi ancestry.These genes cause a predilection for breast and ovarian cancer. [Irv Jacobs, M.D]

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International, Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

A new blow to Iran’s forgotten Jews

Next week, an online event organized by the human rights group “3 Generations” will feature New York Times op-ed columnist Roger Cohen, who sparked an international furor in 2009 when he visited Iran and announced that the oppressed Jews there were not really so oppressed, after all.  Cohen’s assertion that Iranian Jews were “living, working and worshiping in relative tranquility” was met with scorn across the political spectrum. Jeffrey Goldberg, in The Atlantic, called him “credulous.”  The Anti-Defamation League charged Cohen with viewing Iran through “dangerous rose-colored lenses.” J.J. Goldberg, in The Forward, characterized Cohen as “simply naive, and dangerously so.” [Rafael Medoff, Ph.D]

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Streaming Jewish programs (Oct. 18-23)

Compiled by Laurie Baron, Ph.D SAN DIEGO — All times are Pacific Daylight Time. Sunday, October 18 8 am  Luca Ascoli, “The Jews of Italy,” Sephardic World. 8 am  Yevilah McCoy, “Keynote Address,” Jewish Coalition for Racial Equity Virtual Conference. 8 am Moshe Halbertal and Jonathan Sacks, “Strange New World- Conversations in Times of Crisis- Religious

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Former San Diegan aids Sephardim seeking Spanish citizenship

UPDATE: March 14, 2026 — Nichole Martinez Kruse reports that she has closed the Welcome Home Sefardi business and therefore is no longer offering to facilitate for a fee citizenship applications for Portugal and Spain. — Editor, San Diego Jewish World. By Nichole Martinez Kruse ZARAGOSA, Spain — Throughout my life, I was drawn to

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International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County

Crypto Jews: Finding and Embracing their Roots

By Mimi Pollack L’Chaim San Diego Magazine SAN DIEGO — My late fiancé, an 8th generation New Mexican, used to tell me about the secret or crypto Jews of New Mexico. He was convinced that although he was raised Catholic, some of his ancestors were “Conversos” or secret Jews who came to New Mexico when

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Jewish History, Mimi Pollack, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA