Jewish History

Who were the Righteous Gentiles?

It was as Lawrence Baron, the distinguished history professor, rather than as Laurie Baron, the brilliant satirist, for whom women and some men gathered for a Zoom presentation on Tuesday sponsored by Tifereth Israel Synagogue’s Sisterhood.  They asked him to evaluate the factors that led some non-Jews during the time of Hitler to risk their lives and those of their families to protect Jews from the genocide.  Who, indeed, were the people who have become known in history as “The Righteous Gentiles”? [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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

San Diego County, nation, respond to hate incidents

Two grocery store incidents in Santee earlier this month in which a man wearing the hood of the Ku Klux Klan, and a man and woman wearing masks featuring swastikas, continue to reverberate.  San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher proposed that a countywide Human Relations Commission be re-established and empowered to look into such incidents, and the San Diego Union-Tribune ran three opinion pieces Monday on the incidents and their impact on the City of Santee. In another response to hate, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) arranged for 25 olive trees to be planted at Kfar Silver Youth Village in southern Israel in memory of Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was murdered when a gunman attacked Chabad of Poway on the last day of Passover in 2019. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Jewish trivia quiz: Jerry Stiller, z”l

Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller died last week at the age of 92. Stiller was most famous for playing the quintessentially Jewish, but technically non-Jewish Italian Frank Costanza, father of George Costanza on the Seinfeld sitcom. Born to Polish immigrant parents, Stiller grew up in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side, and studied drama after serving in the army during World War II. He married comedian and actor Anne Meara, and the two created a hugely successful comedy duo, focusing on their lives as an intermarried couple. Among their bits was an “I hate you” routine, in which Meara called Stiller a “matza head” and he called her a “shillelagh shiksa.” What was one of Jerry Stiller’s first acting roles? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
 

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Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Four violin pieces by Zina Schiff in celebration of Jerusalem Day

Yom Yerushalayim, marking the unification of the City of Jerusalem at the end of the Six Day War, will be commemorated  this Friday, May 22. Thus, I am writing this column about my sister, violinist Zina Schiff’s 1995 4Tay Records release, King David’s Lyre, a celebration of Jerusalem 3000. The CD consists of works by Jewish composers from many different corners of the globe. Since Jewish longing for Jerusalem spanned over two thousand years in Diaspora, it is fitting that a tribute to Jerusalem includes Jewish composers from around the world. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Havdalah from the porch of a celebrated cantor

Shavua tov! Shavua Tov!  A good week!  A good week! In Voorhees, New Jersey, Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro and her daughter Rebecca have often led Havdalah services by Zoom from their porch since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic  This last Saturday night, May 16, was no different. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

AJC rabbi fights international anti-Semitism

Rabbi Andrew Baker, an official with both the American Jewish Committee and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), says because of the coronavirus pandemic, there probably will be a drop in anti-Semitic incidents in 2020.  However, this is because potential targets, such as synagogues and Jewish schools, have been closed during the pandemic.  When re-opened, he said, they may become targets again. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

FDR not as portrayed in ‘Plot Against America’

In HBO’s recent adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Plot Against America, American Jews are coerced by President Charles Lindbergh to move to rural parts of the country so they will become “Americanized” and shed their Jewish ways. In real life, however, it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who wanted to do just that. [Rafael Medoff, Ph.D]

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Never Again Education Act passage hailed

Jewish and pro-Israel organizations responded favorably to the passage in the U.S. Senate of the Never Again Education Act, H.R. 943, which would provide federal funding to help give teachers across the country the necessary resources to teach about the Holocaust in their classrooms. The bill passed the House on January 27 and now goes to the President for his signature.  Following are comments from some of the organizations {Compiled from news releases]

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International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Protecting workers in San Diego County’s food chain

In a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, Charlene Seidle, executive vice president of the Leichtag Foundation, interviewed three panelists who help to make certain that the health and rights of workers in the food industry are recognized as an important priority for our society. [Our shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Antisemitic acts at highest recorded level in U.S.

The American Jewish community experienced the highest level of antisemitic incidents last year since tracking began in 1979, with more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment reported across the United States, according to new data from ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). The record number of incidents came as the San Diego Jewish community grappled with a violent, antisemitic shooting in Poway, along with horrific antisemitic attacks in Jersey City, Monsey, and a spree of vicious assaults in Brooklyn. [Anti-Defamation League press release]

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Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

Some advice if you see a Nazi or a Klansman

So, imagine you are shopping, and into the store comes someone who is wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood, or a face mask with a swastika on it, as happened respectively at a Vons and a Food4Less outlet in Santee recently.  What should you do? [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

Two jails: One tough jailer

Two jails-separated by thousands of miles-reflect two 20th century struggles for independence. The irony lies in the fact that these two geographically distant fights for freedom were against the same harsh ruler and jailer, the British Crown. Today, neither Israel’s Central Prison Jerusalem (C.P.J.) nor Northern Ireland’s Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast house inmates, but even as museums, their powerful histories continue to echo in the halls and cells. [Deborah Rubin Fields]

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Travel and Food