Jewish History

Jewish community to observe Yom HaShoah April 8

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — The Jewish Federation of San Diego County will host the annual Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Commemoration event on Sunday, April 8 at 1:30pm,  at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. Hundreds will gather to observe this occasion with a solemn commemoration including Holocaust survivors, families and school children. The program will feature […]

Jewish community to observe Yom HaShoah April 8 Read More »

Jewish History, San Diego County

Simone Veil’s memoir provides inspiration for all

Une Vie (One Life) by Simone Veil, (c) 2017, Stock, France.   By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — On the cover of Simone Veil’s autobiography, written in 2007, we read that she is a member of the Academie Francaise, though this is not mentioned in the book. It would seem that after a long and

Simone Veil’s memoir provides inspiration for all Read More »

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

Australian rabbi grew up in secular Los Angeles home

    Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of stories researched during Don and Nancy Harrison’s 50th Wedding Anniversary cruise from Sydney, Australia, to San Diego.  Previous installments of the series, which runs every Thursday, may be found by tapping the number of the installment:  1, 2.  By Donald H. Harrison SYDNEY,

Australian rabbi grew up in secular Los Angeles home Read More »

International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food, USA

Museum examines war bravery, Holocaust brutality

    Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of stories based on editor Donald Harrison’s 50th anniversary cruise with his wife Nancy from Sydney, Australia, back to San Diego, and the people they met and places they visited along the way. By Donald H. Harrison SYDNEY, Australia – Dedicated as the Maccabean

Museum examines war bravery, Holocaust brutality Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Travel and Food

Jewish solons condemn Holocaust law in Poland

SACRAMENTO, California – The California Legislative Jewish Caucus on Wednesday, March 14,  introduced AJR-35 condemning a new law in Poland subjecting individuals who cite the participation of Poles in Nazi crimes to imprisonment for up to three years, despite the historical record of this collaboration. “The Law on the Institute of National Remembrance is an attempt

Jewish solons condemn Holocaust law in Poland Read More »

International, Jewish History, USA

Community says farewell to Gussie Zaks, z”l

  By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—At a packed funeral service Tuesday, March 13,  at Tifereth Israel Synagogue, the community bade a final farewell to San Diego’s First Lady of Holocaust Survivors, Gussie Zaks. The longtime lecturer, organizer, and educator—who had told her story of survival countless times to students, club members, law enforcement, and

Community says farewell to Gussie Zaks, z”l Read More »

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

Cantor Merel’s life story now on video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KKSf-1YCrQ&feature=youtu.be By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO —  I suppose it’s not unusual for a cantor to be able to sing show tunes and operatic arias in addition to Hebrew prayer melodies.  But when the cantor still can hit the high notes at age 93, that’s truly remarkable. Cantor Sheldon Merel, the cantor emeritus of

Cantor Merel’s life story now on video Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Rabbi makes a deal with God, survives the Holocaust

By Beth Sarafraz BROOKLYN, New York — On a Sunday morning, June 22, 1941, the Nazis invaded Lithuania. The gentile population was ecstatic to hear the news and, after church services that day, celebrated Hitler’s troops goose-stepping over the border into their country. Each town and village greeted the Nazis with bouquets of flowers as

Rabbi makes a deal with God, survives the Holocaust Read More »

International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

When trauma is transmitted parent to child

Elizabeth Rosner, Survivor Café, The Legacy of Trauma [and the] Labyrinth of Memory (Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2017) 270 pages, $26 © Oliver B. Pollak  RICHMOND, California — Elizabeth Rosner comes to trauma study under unique personal circumstances. Her father, Carl Rosner originally of Hamburg, was freed from Buchenwald concentration camp at the age of 15 in 1945

When trauma is transmitted parent to child Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Oliver Pollak

Jewish poets read their works at Lawrence Family JCC

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California  — The tenth anniversary of Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices was ushered in with an impressive line-up of featured poets. The January 23 program in the Astor Judaica Library at the Lawrence Family JCC opened with Chris Baron, Professor of English at San Diego City College.  His book of poems, Under

Jewish poets read their works at Lawrence Family JCC Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County